If you want to go.

Kolmanskop really is off the beaten track, but if you are touring Southern Namibia, it is a must see. It has a small shop, and does guided tours, but the best way is to just wander around alone and soak up the loneliness.

You’ll need to be staying in either Aus or Luderitz. If I had to do it again I’d recommend Klein Aus Vista as a base & see Luderitz in a day trip.

You should stop off and see the wild horses of Garub as well.

Background

Just outside Luderitz lies Kolmanskop. It’s a ghost town, and like any good ghost town it is now a tourist attraction. They are busy restoring parts of it, so maybe eventually it will stop being a ghost town and become a tourist town.

The place got its name when Johnny Kolman, got caught in a sandstorm, and survived despite losing his oxen. The hill he got caught on became known as Kolmans hill. Why this happened is not clear to me. Anyway soon after the railway came, but drifting sand meant it was always a problem line. In 1908 a worker picked up a diamond off the ground, and as the fact that you could simply pick diamonds like fruit sank in, a rush began.

As with all things to do with wealth, the wealthy stepped in and on 22 September 1908 the Sperregebiet was declared, 360km by 100 km in size, and giving prospecting rights to 9 companies. Kolmanskop was the hub of it all.

Although Luderitz was only 10 km, it is a long way to go in the desert with no car, so the village sprang up. In its heyday it was home to some 1,500 people, it got electricity before Germany, and the first X-ray machine in Southern Africa. Being a desert town with no well, water was imported from Cape Town. It was a happening place. Girls with loose morals bathed in champagne. War screwed things up somewhat, and in 1920 Ernest Oppenheimer came in and gobbled the whole lot up. He joined the 9 companies into Consolidated Diamond Mines, and by 1923, via the halbscheid agreement, had exclusive mining rights for the Sperregebiet. The headquarters of CDM were in Kolmanskop.

Ernie boy was not a shy lad and went onto get a law passed which effectively gave him control not only the diamond mining industry, but also the right to buy and sell diamonds as suited him, giving a monopoly whose remnants still survive.

Nothing is forever and by 1938, the diamonds had begun to dry up, and when a big deposit was found at Oranjemund, CDM moved its headquarters there. People began moving and the last person switched off the lights in 1956.

Now it is a dustbowl and a powerful reminder of how strong the desert can be. Modernity is returning though. While Roy was diligently getting great shots, and Neil and I were doing the same at a second tier level, Nigel and Mo were stuffing their faces with pancakes in the coffee shop.

Some art

These photos capture some of the feel of the place. There is plenty of material for lovers of surreal landscapes. A ghost town, wild horses, sand, Gemsbok.

Some oils will be loaded soon.