On our way to Luederitz we stopped at Garub to watch the wild horses of the desert. It is surprising how they survive in this bleak environment. We saw a number of them at the well, fighting with each other. A single oryx also came for a drink, hardly taking any notice of the horses. The remaining 90km of the road were straight and boring and I was happy to use my automatic speed control so that I did not even have to keep my foot on the accelerator, but could relax. In Luederitz we rented a large, colonial-style flat. There were 3 bedrooms, a large living room with TV and many very old German books, 2 bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen with sitting area and an entrance hall. For the whole flat we paid about 40 Euro per night! It had a special atmosphere, it looked as if the owners from colonial times had just left. Luederitz disappointed us first as we walked through an area of old, disused industrial buildings and rotten houses. The other day we discovered the new waterfront with restaurants and shops which is much nicer, but nothing special. They still had the Christmas decoration on, a bit behind the time.
We visited the old diamond-town Kolmanskop. It was interesting to see how well organized and technically equipped people lived there in the desert up to 60 years ago. Now the sand is claiming the area back with dunes walking through open doors into deserted houses. Still, what can be seen is impressive. Most houses were built in a generous style, there was a theatre, gymnasium, shops, hospital and even a small railway connecting the few houses. In the surrounding area diamonds are still harvested, but not by the handful on the surface anymore as it was the case in former times. All vehicles and people leaving the diamond mining area are screened for hidden gems.
From Luederitz we went on a day trip to Diaz point. On this barren and sandy peninsula we really needed the 4x4 again. We watched seals and dolphins playing in the sea, flamingos in the lagoons and we even had a good view at the penguins on the nearby
