Pre-Luederitz goes back a long time. Cave paintings about 27,000 years old show evidence of a distinct tribe, now known as the Nama (hence Namibia). The surrounding land, mostly desert, is desolate like a moonscape, but is rich in minerals, especially diamonds. Businessmen seem to have been the first settlers around 1843-45 on this part of the coast, exploiting it for 'white gold', Guano or bird poop. Then diamonds got into the picture, and merchant Adolf Luederitz of Bremen, Germany, purchased large expanses of land in 1880 from the ruling Nama chief, thus the present name of the little town. Much of the region south of Luederitz is still 'Sperrzone', restricted zone, because of the many diamond mines that operate in southern Namibia.
The town is a mix of incongruous German colonial styles of the late 19th century. The Goerke house, a large mansion with stained glass windows, elaborate staircases, view balconies, wrought iron grills, and many separate rooms is one of the so called Diamond Palaces. Goerke was a wealthy mine inspector in the early 1900 and built this mansion to please his fussy German wife, who had to surround herself with all things German to be happy. She was not happy despite the grand mansion, but that is another story.
The Lutheran Felsenkirche (Church on the Rock) houses a stained glass window depicting Martin Luther, and another large stained glass window over the altar, this one a gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II.
The Streets are right out of a German town, small neat houses painted in Fachwerk (something like Tudor style) design along each side, and carry names like Hafen Strasse, Diamant Berg, Bahnhofstrasse, and Zeppelin Strasse.
The area around Luederitz, desert, lagoons, small rocky islands, is habitat for a variety of birds and animals.
There are rarely seen Hyenas roaming the vast desert expanse, even some abandoned German army horses have turned feral and have survived the harsh desert conditions for more than 100 years. It is said, that the horses have evolved to adjust to the arid conditions and they can live without water for up to a week without harm, something a regular riding horse would not be able to do.
There are flamingos, cormorants, a large variety of gulls, and even a thriving penguin colony around the shallow lagoons. A few whales were playing around the ship for most of the day. Dolphins are common. A large colony of seals live on rocky outcrops in sheltered bays.
Plant live in the desert is surprisingly varied, from the lone camel thorne tree, to desert melons and welwitschia mirabilis a plant that looks very much like a overgrown sloppy leek and lives more than 1000 years. Fog and dew are the plant's only sustenance, and some reach the ripe old age of 2000 years.
At the end of the 19th century, Mr Jan Kolman experienced the desert at it's most challenging. His wagon got wired in the sand about 10 miles south of Luderitz. Having no other choice at that time, he settled right at that spot and founded the little town of Kolsmanskop (Kolman's Head). It was short-lived, but had a a few settlers, a casino, a Kegelbahn (bowling alley) a theatre and some small shops...for a while. Now it as turned into a ghost town, slowly being buried by the shifting sands of the Namib desert. Most of the buildings are pretty unstable, and one enters at one's own risk, as what is left of the ceilings may collapse without notice. Winds are quite high in the region and work like emeryboards whittling away at the ruins.
When I stood outside one of theser reminders of passing fortunes, I could look over the empty waste lands of Diamond Area Number 1 (there is also a number 2), which are known under 'Sperrgebiet', forbidden zone. Diamonds are still being mined here, and the area perimeters are patrolled by guards, who are apparently thuggish enough to shoot first and neither bother with asking questions or removing bodies later. So one stays clear of razor wire, warning signs, fences etc.
Inside a little museum at Kolmanskop, some of the more popular methods of smuggling diamonds out of the mines, clarify why such strict control: Heels on safety boots (remember the song: She has diamonds in the soles of her shoes), cross bows to shoot them out, carrier pidgeons with parcels strapped to their backs, small packs made of radio tape, little packs attached to the outside fence and picked up by passers by, briefcases, rectums...the list and imagination go on.
After a bit of bargaining, we had engaged a taxi to get from Luederitz to this ghost town. The first half of the journey was a little disconcerting as the taxi had some trouble starting, and driver faked not knowing where to go, and kept on driving past the turn off to Kolmanskop. Nothing but empty desert past that, a convenient area for a little extortion or worse. Luckily I had studied the map and insisted quite strongly on his doing a u-turn by the time he got about a hundred feet past the turn off. He turned, but then he did not want to enter Kolmanskop drive, again a little stern prodding did the trick. At the ghost town, we asked him to wait (which he did as we ONLY pay at the end of a journey), and the return trip to Luederitz was uneventful and mercifully short.
Luederitz itself was delightful. Walking amongst the historic buildings evokes a feeling of wandering into a Kaiser Wilhelm contemporary township.
I had a gigantic piece of Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte, as tasty as if concocted in the Black Forest itself. Something would have been amiss, if the visit would not have included a last draft of local German style beer, enjoyed on a cozy terrace overlooking Luederitz Bay and the pale desert hills in the background.
Being Friday, school was out and the towns kids enjoyed 'sports day', meaning they all trooped to the town dock early afternoon and had a ball: trampolining inside a blow up rubber house, tipping see-saws en masse, clambering over rocks and dipping their feet into the water, sharing swings and crowding slides...pure clean fun.
Aboard we had the equivalent thereof: Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America had joined the ship for a couple of days to 'honour us Mariners', who travel on this 'pinnacle of ocean travel', the Grand World Voyage. That meant receptions, parties, special dinners, a bit of high level marketing....ah well, we can take it.
