Cape Cross lies a little over 120 kilometres north of Swakopmund on the C34 coast road. In January 1486 the Portuguese navigator Diogo Cão set up a stone cross here. Most people come for the seals, though: the cape is home to one of the largest Cape fur seal colonies in the world.
- Diogo Cão raises his cross
- 1486
- seals in November and December
- up to 210,000
- seal reserve and national heritage site
- 1968
- north of Swakopmund
- 120 km+
How many there are depends on the month and on the source. The old version of this site said 80,000 to 100,000. A fact sheet from the Namibian embassy gives up to 210,000 seals in November and December, counted from aerial photographs. By then the pups are born and the colony is at its fullest.
A boardwalk runs along the edge of the colony, so you see the seals up close without disturbing them. The crosses stand on a paved platform above the beach.
The story of the crosses
Cão was the first European on this coast. His cross, a padrão, had been inscribed back in Portugal. It gave thanks for a safe voyage and claimed the land for the Portuguese king.
On 30 January 1893 Lieutenant Commander Gottlieb Becker of the German warship Falke had the weathered original taken down and shipped to Germany. A wooden cross took its place at first. Soon after, on the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm II, it was replaced by a granite replica, in 1894 according to German Wikipedia, two years after the removal according to English Wikipedia. Towards the end of the 20th century private donations paid for a second cross closer to the Portuguese original. That is why two crosses stand on the cape today.
The seal colony
The seals here are Cape fur seals, also called brown fur seals. They are eared seals and live off the rich fishing grounds of the cold Benguela Current. Mostly it is females with their pups; the bulls arrive for the mating season in October.
Many pups never reach adulthood. Black-backed jackals and brown hyenas live off them, and with some luck you will see them at the edge of the colony. Because the seals eat a lot of fish, Namibia allows them to be culled, at Cape Cross too.
Be ready for the stench. With the wind in the wrong direction it is overpowering, and it stays in your clothes for a while. The area has been protected as the Cape Cross Seal Reserve since 1968; English Wikipedia dates the reserve to the early 1960s. You need a permit to enter, which you get at the gate.
Today, as of October 2026Diogo Cão's original cross was in the German Historical Museum in Berlin until August 2019. Namibia asked for it back in 2017, and in May 2019 the museum agreed to return it. It has been in Namibia since, though according to German Wikipedia its permanent home had not yet been decided. Since 1 April 2026 Cape Cross has been a premium park: foreign adults pay N$ 280 per day. Opening hours differ between sources. An embassy brochure gives 8 am to 5 pm from mid-November to June and 10 am to 5 pm from July to mid-November, while other sites simply say 10 am to 5 pm. The reserve now has a campsite and a lodge.
- Time needed
- one to two hours, half a day including the drive from Swakopmund
- Cost
- N$ 280 per foreign adult per day (as of October 2026)
- When
- October to December, when the bulls are in and the pups are born
Our tipArrive after 10 am, when the gate is open whatever the season. Drive slowly on the salt road, which turns slippery in fog.
Places to stay in Henties Bay and Cape Cross
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Sunbay
2870 Montrose street, Sunbay
- Kitchen
- Parking
- Pets allowed
- Wi-Fi
from €172per night on 18 November 2026
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Beachfront 3 bedroom house
Kiewiet
- Kitchen
- Parking
- Wi-Fi
from €77per night on 23 November 2026
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Huis Klipdrift
142 Kabeljou Street
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Wi-Fi
from €51per night on 18 November 2026
Check prices on trivagoCape Cross: frequently asked questions
When is the best time to see the seals at Cape Cross?
The Cape Cross colony is at its fullest in November and December, once the pups are born. The bulls arrive for the mating season in October.
Where is the original Cape Cross padrão?
Diogo Cão's stone cross was taken to Germany in 1893 and held in the German Historical Museum in Berlin until 2019. It returned to Namibia in August 2019, and two replicas stand on the cape.
How bad is the smell at the Cape Cross seal colony?
The Cape Cross seal colony smells strongly of fish and droppings, and with the wind in the wrong direction it is overpowering. The smell stays in your clothes for a while afterwards.