Namibia may be one of the least-densely populated countries in the world—but it’s certainly not one of the smallest. This fact became painfully clear on Easter weekend when 19 PCVs crammed into a combi built for 14 and headed south to the coastal town of Luderitz.
There were no Herero hats threatening to blind us with their points or drunk men trying to get cozy during the 15-hour journey, but there were still plenty of elbow nudges and knee cramps that even a pit stop in the Namib desert couldn’t solve.
The Combi Ride from Mariental (The Front Seats)
The Combi Ride from Mariental (The Back Seats)
Six Hours Later...
Group Shot in the Namib Desert (The Oldest Desert on Earth!)
Dar, Brooke and Flat Stanley Taking a Stretch Break
The scenery south of Windhoek is monotonous. Hours of dry plains, grassy savannahs, and eventually, the world’s oldest desert. Just when we thought we’d reached the edge of the earth—a point where civilization stops and nothingness begins—the German-inspired town of Luderitz sprung forth—and for three days, it felt like we were in a different country all together. Ocean views. Tar roads. Coffee shops. Even a crayfish festival.
Luderitz
Pelicans
Definitely not the Namibia I know.
We spent Friday afternoon touring a 100-year-old ghost town called Kolmanskop. Located about five kilometers outside Luderitz, this German mining village was built after diamonds were discovered nearby in 1908. I imagined Kolmanskop would boast faded signs and creaking saloon doors, tumbleweeds and a perfect place for showdowns. But it was far from the ghost towns of America’s Wild West. The architecture reflected the German style popular at the time, with two and three story cement mansions built into the sandy hills. Kolmanskop had its own hospital, ballroom, power station, school, theater, sports hall, casino and railway station (with a train that went all the way to nowhere). Water shipments arrived monthly from Cape Town and residents received daily deliveries of homemade lemonade and ice blocks to keep perishables cold.
The town was abandoned in 1956, after even bigger diamonds were discovered in Oranjemund. And while most of the buildings were filled with sand from past winter wind storms, it was clear these early settlers were living better than most Namibians are now.
New Sign
Old Sign
Jessica and Loren
Houses on Millionaire Mile
Enter at Your Own Risk...
...We Did
Easter afternoon felt a lot like Memorial Day weekend in America. Each of us grabbed a bag and walked the three kilometers to Shark Island for an early-evening braai with a view of the Atlantic.
Some of the Girls
Eric Manning the Grill
The Grilled Cheese Station
The Rocky Shores of Shark Island
Sailboats!
Shark Island Group Shot
Sunset
I didn’t know it at the time, but Shark Island was the site of a German concentration camp for Hereros and Namas from 1904 to 1907. Forced labor from these marginalized tribes helped build the city of Luderitz, as well as local railways. And it was here that Germans began to practice and perfect the methods that would later be used by Nazis against the Jews in World War II.
The views were beautiful and the rocky coast was the perfect setting for sunset. But later, when I learned of Shark Island’s troubled past, it seemed a little sad that this historic site was never memorialized, and that the 3,000 people who lost their lives aren't really honored or even remembered.
Instead, today's visitors to Namibia know shark island as a popular destination for holiday braais, breathtaking views, comfortable camp sites--and nothing more.
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