Lüderitz

Do visit the nearby ghost town of Kolmanskop. It is no longer signposted (January 2018) but easy to find. Drive out of town for about 8 km on the B4 and for the settlement on your right, just by the airport. Founded in 1908, it was a major settlement for diamond miners until richer ore and alluvial deposits were found near Oranjemund. The town boasted unbelievable wealth during the heydays of the diamond rush. Tabs in the Casino were occasionally paid in uncut diamonds, or diamond mining company shares. Kolmanskop had a tram, the only one in Africa, transporting passengers and delivering free ice blocks to re-stock private fridges. The clinic has an X-ray machine, likewise a first in Africa, but the reason was less charitable: workers were X-rayed for swallowed diamonds, and the clinical advantage of the device was only of secondary importance.

The last settler left in 1956, giving the town over to the sand dunes that have crept in and started to take over the town. It is one of Namibia's premier ghost towns. There are one-hour guided tours daily in the mornings at 9h30 and 10h45. Photographers can book special tours during sunrise when the scenery is particularly spectacular. A permit is required when not joining a tour and can be bought at the gate to Kolmanskop. It closes at 12:30. At the Desert Deli in Lüderitz (near the Spar supermarket) you can buy them after that time. Joining a tour is recommended though.

When you do the German-language tour, the guide will tell you that the Namibian government has struggled for over a decade to rebuild the railway from Keetmanshoop to Lüderitz, and as yet without success, while the Germans more than 100 years ago had done it in ten months. What they are not telling you is that the four thousand workers were inmates of various concentration camps, and in Lüderitz alone (on Shark Island) at least a thousand of them died. However, don't discuss that with strangers, or you might end up in a fist fight.

The souvenir shop in the old Casino hall stocks Namibian diamonds, reportedly for a very good price. There is also a bistro. The original skittle alley can be booked for special occasions, it is still fully functional.

The Penguin and Zeepard (sea horse) catamarans drive daily to Halifax Island, home to one of the few colonies of African penguins. Flamingos and seals can be spotted on tour, and a few dolphins usually chase the boat. Wear a windbreaker, even in summer, as the mornings out on sea can be very chilly. The catamarans depart from the Waterfront jetty at 08:00, adults N$450, one child free for every paying adult, otherwise half price (Jan 2018). This must normally be paid one day in advance at the information office (Lüderitz Tours & Safaris in Bismarck Street, Tel 202719) downtown. However, if the catamarans have space—they usually do—you can just come to the jetty and pay cash.

Shark Island is situated in the Lüderitz Bay circa 2 km from the city centre. It is used as a camp site but you may walk around without being a patron. The Germans used it as a concentration camp during their colonial expansion in the late 19th century. Until today, few Namibians know how to swim, and the sea is quite rough here. All that had to be guarded was therefore a small sand bank connecting the island to the town.

The small monument pointing out this dark spot of history has been removed but there are a number of plaques and shrines memorializing major and minor events of the island and of the town. There is a grave stone of the Frederiks clan which lost over 100 members to the Germans in this camp, and there is also a plaque for Brazilian navigator Amyr Klink who in 1984 rowed 7,000 km over the Atlantic, starting off here.

Largest maritime museum in Africa.