A 17-year old Dutch tourist, Johan Marcus de Jongh broke his neck and died instantly after falling from a quad bike at Langstrand last Sunday. This was reported by the Namibian Police in their crime report. The tragedy again makes clear that riding quad bikes is a dangerous sport and cannot be learned with just a few minutes of instructions. In South Africa, quad bikes are banned, whereas in Namibia there is no existing legislation, not even a regulation that compels quad bike riders to ear helmets. The increase of quad bikes along the Namibian coastal recreational areas has been cause for complaints from the public. Even at Sierra Cafema, an exclusive tourism camp at the Kunene River, a well-known safari operator offers quad bike rides in tribal lands of the Himba people.

An envisaged residential development near the Walvis Bay lagoon has was given the OK by a recently completed environmental impact assessment study (EIA). About 185 new erven will be made available for the new upper class suburb to be called Meersig Extension 1. The famous Walvis Bay is an important sanctuary for thousands of migratory and sea birds another marine life. Especially for flamingos and pelicans, the wetland is of primary importance. The new suburb of 17 hectares will have a positive effect on the lagoon as the houses built there will protect the bird sanctuary against string winds and sand, which so far is a danger to the lagoon because of silt.