Apologies to Gareth and Kirst for an oversight in my previous blog – I wish you were with us, as well as Robs. Thanks Kirst for bringing this to my attention, in no uncertain terms.
We set off just after 8 for the 120 km drive into Luderitz, stopping off at Kolmanskop on the way. In the Garup area we were treated to sightings of the wild horses close to the road. Garup was once a station on the railway line between Aus and Lueritz. Because there was no drinking water in Luderitz, water was transported in barrels by train to the coast. Luderitz only received its own pipeline in 1990 and the station was closed. We drove past the station house, it is still standing but in a state of disrepair.
We were fortunate to see numerous gemsbok, springbok and ostriches on our drive this morning.
This is my second trip to Kolmanskop (Robs messaged us this morning about how jealous she was not to be with us this time – Kirst I'm sure you would also have loved to have been with us 😂). It is a place that I could spend days exploring. I love this ghost town, about 10km out of Luderitz, situated in the Sperrgebiet (forbidden territory). After diamonds were discovered in the area in 1908, the town developed into a bustling centre, providing workers shelter from the harsh Namib desert. Some large and elegant houses were built and it resembled a German town with an impressive array of amenities. Richer diamond deposits were then discovered near the Orange River and its inhabitants moved south. Within the space of 30 to 40 years Kolmanskop lived, flourished and died.
Today the ghost town is full of crumbling ruins, as the buildings are being reclaimed by the desert dunes and we are left with a fascinating reminder of the former glory of the town. We spent a couple of hours exploring the old buildings.
In Luderitz, Gray and Tony went to the tyre shop to sort out a new tyre, while Al and I explored the town. It is a coastal town on an extremely inhospitable coastline. On our last visit it was very misty and this time it was very windy. The architecture has a German influence and there are old houses and churches dating back to the early 1900,s.
We had lunch in town. Gray and I have been craving Luderitz Oysters and they certainly didn't disappoint.
We had an extremely windy trip home, with the wind whipping sand across the road.
We have had a wonderful time in Aus. I am going to miss it.
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