The next trip was easily decided when we saw that one of the most beautiful 'abandoned' places was in Namibia - Kolmanskop, only a 800km far away town in the South West of the country. We made it a weekend trip and would visit Luderitz at the same time.
One must know that Namibia is the driest country in Southern Africa and while driving, it got only confirmed. In our way there we only passed through 3 towns. Good to refuel the car, and us at the same time.
The landscapes, even being so arid are one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. In between rocky mountains, sandy dunes and flat - as far as the eyes can look- steppes. You can only be amazed by Mother Nature every time you blink your eye.
The roads of Namibia are amazing. When I mean amazing, I don't mean Africa-amazing, but Europe-amazing. Even better then Europe. Just a dream. First of all : no traffic - at all. So cruising at a little 150km/h is more than normal. But then beautifully paved with absolutely no potholes and straight…as far as the eye can see. And well maintained as well (or maybe that's just because there is only one car every hour that passes there). You just need to remember to watch out for animals. The occasional ostrich, wild horse or springbok can jump in front of your speedy car.
Luderitz doesn't have a lot to offer. It's a small coastal town that has about one decent bar and restaurant. The main attraction is Kolmanskop. Kolmanskop is an old german diamond town that has been now abandoned to the desert. And the dunes take a good advantage of that. One day Johny discovered diamonds just laying on the sand to take away. Soon the germans came and started to build a city in just a couple of months. But later, they discovered there was way more richness and shiny stones in Oranjemund, a city more in the south, and soon the city was completely deserted. We first bought our permit to enter the place and joined a guided tour who brought us around the village. It was a surreal environment and the playing of the sand with the abandoned houses made you realise nature is always stronger then human.
We visited a couple of bays around Luderitz to spot flamingos and seals and soon discovered that the weather can changes in the blink of an eye. At some point, when we where at the Diaz Point (big cross, erected in honour of Bartholomeo Dias, navigator) where we couldn’t see 1 meter in front of us.
We spend our last hours enjoying a drink or two back in Luderitz and soon hit the road again back to Windhoek.
