Sat. 18th May ‘24
Today we plan to explore Kolmanskop and Luderitz which are around 100km from where we are staying. Kolmanskop was an old mining town which thrived in the early 1900s when diamonds were found there. It declined as richer diamond deposits were found further south in Namibia and ultimately abandoned in 1956 but is now famous for derelict buildings knee deep in sand and a popular photographic paradise. Dave has bought Photo passes allowing us to wander around from 6am to 7pm whilst the public are only allowed in from 9am to 1pm.
We arrived at around 7am and had the place to ourselves for over an hour when another couple arrived. Dave went to the right and I went left wandering from building to building enjoying the paint peeling unhinged doors half buried in the sand blown in through the broken windows. The changing light through the windows added to the ambience, I was having so much fun I was late for our rendezvous. The place was still deserted so we swapped routes and continued until 9am when we met for coffee and cake as a late breakfast. As we clambered back into Mungo, Dave said “did you see the hospital? “ I hadn’t so it looked like a return visit after lunch.
One suggestion for Luderitz was a Catamaran trip but as time was short we decide to drive around some of the lovely beaches to Dias point and see the sea and wildlife from there. This is more like what Dave and Janet do, a dirt track around the peninsula. First stop was Grosse Bucht, a deserted windswept beach with a small shipwreck (which we did not find) and flamingos (which were not there!). Pretty enough but what a cold wind blew. We did stop to look at Halifax Island for the penguins but even with my binoculars they were too small to make out clearly. The flamingos were more obliging and posed for Dave with his new long lens.
Quickly we moved on to Diaz Point where Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Diaz landed in 1488. Sadly the bridge walkway had long since gone but it is still possible to scramble over the rocks and climb steps to the viewpoint and replica of the cross which Diaz had erected. This gives a great view of the traditional red and white lighthouse but not very photogenic. The cafe in front was more enticing so coffee was called for as it was still only 11am!!
We still had a long itinerary for today so swiftly moving on we drove into Luderitz for the Lonely Planet walk around town. Starting at the museum which was shut we then proceeded to look at Felsenkirche, the German Lutheran church, also shut and thirdly Goerke Haus with its art nouveau architecture and equally unusual history – you guessed it, also shut. Is there beginning to be a trend? What we did know was open was the Portuguese Fish restaurant we had passed earlier and highly rated on Google. Fish and chips, result, very tasty kingklip, a local fish grilled but with excessive garlic butter so as both had this.
The walk in my book continued to Shark Island (formerly Death Isle) but we opted to drive instead, good call in the interests of saving time. We were given a brief history of this reclaimed island which confirmed our knowledge that it had been a concentration camp from 1905 to 1907 with 3,000 Herero and Nama prisoners and relief that this time it was not the British who were the bad guys. There was also a very basic camp site there which made us wonder if we needed the luxury of Desert Vista or whether here or a hotel in Luderitz would have been better saving the early start and hour drive in the dark this morning.
Once we had walked around Luderitz we were happy we were not missing much by staying at Desert Vista. The final nail in the coffin was that the Spar shut at 1pm, so we had missed it!!! This could be a problem as we are camping way out in the desert, cooking for ourselves, for the next two nights. A Braai pack from the lodge helped alleviate that. Well I am sure we won’t starve and we are OK for wine and beer.
Returning to Kolmanskop in the afternoon was a brilliant idea. By the time we return at around 2:30pm there was not a soul in sight. Another happy hour was spent clicking away as Dave showed me the hospital and I showed him the classic shot with the sand filled bath. It is incredible that the buildings have survived and interesting to see how the sand has invaded them through the broken windows. The whole set up for tourists and photographers works really well and I would recommend that any keen photographers take advantage of the photo pass as there is nothing worse than being about to press the shutter and a head appears in shot.
I was surprised that there were not more photographers taking advantage of the peace and light conditions. I know Dave took many bracketed shots and I am not looking forward to the time that will be required to go through the images selecting the best for this post. After a completely mad Dave and Janet day and a quick Internet fix at reception we retire shattered to Desert Vista and cook our breakfast hamper bacon and eggs for supper and turn in early. Tomorrow we have a lie in with the alarm set for 7:30am so we have time to pack up and drive the 8km to breakfast before it ends at around 9am.