Museum . . .  

In 1486, the early Portuguese explorer, Diogo Cao, erected a padrao or cross on a small rocky outcrop along the desolate and unforgiving shores that hug the Skeleton Coast. Battered by sudden squalls and fierce windstorms, blasted by the shifting desert sands and baked under a relentless sun, the cross remained undisturbed by Europeans for four centuries.

Cape Cross has witnessed many a shipwreck and maritime disaster and is home to a replica padrao or cross that stands on a terraced platform within the seal reserve.

The museum, within the lodge, houses many remnants of past settlers who relentlessly withstood the harsh desert elements to mine rich deposits of fossil guano and to harvest seal skins. The first railway line in Namibia was established at Cape Cross and visitors to the museum can delve in its historical value. Souvenirs, postcards, small mementos and the history of Cape Cross in book form can all be purchased in the museum.