Lüderitz: Ghost Town of Kolmanskop

As Insignia was tying up at its berth this morning, I spotted a tent with the words “Kolmanskop Tours.” Yeah!

As soon as the ship was cleared, we headed to the tent to check it out … R740 for two … including R/T transportation, guided tour, admission, and free time at the ghost town. Perfect. We signed up on the spot. That’s about $42 for the two of us. Pretty darn good.

The vans shuttle visitors back and forth to what the brochures describe as the “forbidden zone” … just 15 minutes away. That designation holds true for the fenced off area where the mine itself is located. Although the mine is now defunct, there are still diamonds to be mined … it’s just cost-prohibitive to do so.

Upon arrival, a guide took us to the all-purpose building that he said was the last one to be built in town … and also the biggest. Back in the day, the building served as a gym, a ballroom, an opera and theater house, and even a cinema … the first of its kind. There was no entertainment today. Rather, this is where the guide regaled us with the history of the town … which, during German colonial times, was known as Kolmannskuppe.

Kolmanskop, an Afrikaans word for Coleman’s Head, was little more than a railway station back in the day. Then, in 1908, one of the rail workers whose job it was to clear the rail lines of the ever blowing Namib Desert sand, found a shiny object that was determined to be a diamond. The rest is history, as they say. The Germans arrived to establish a larger settlement and began to mine the diamond field. By 1912, a million carats of diamonds were being produced annually.

The town had all the luxuries necessary to entice people to live there. A hospital, which had the first x-ray machine in the Southern Hemisphere that served a dual purpose … to x-ray workers to ensure they weren’t carrying diamonds out by swallowing them; a power station; a casino; an ice factory; a school and teacher’s house; the aforementioned all-purpose building … across the road from which was the big residence built for the entertainment manager so that he could host the performers brought in to entertain the population. There were also accommodations for the 500 or so people who lived there … a big dormitory for the single men and houses for the senior managers and their families. A butcher, a baker, a post office … everything one would need was available. Fresh water was at a premium and had to be brought in by rail.

At first, prospecting for diamonds was done freely, with those finding the precious gems selling what they found to the Germans. But eventually the Germans wanted stricter control over the operation and deemed the diamond fields “verboten.” Mining continued at a fever-pitch by the mining company. But, like all good things, this “diamond rush” came to a close eventually.

In 1928, alternate diamond fields were found at the mouth of the Orange River. By 1930, the Kolmanskop mine was all but depleted. By 1956, the town was abandoned. Nature — in the form of sand — took over. Then, in the 1980s, tourism came to the rescue. The town was partially restored and began to operate as a tourist attraction.

As we wandered around, our guide told us stories about life in Kolmanskop. He had a sense of humor as he explained that the two doctors and four nurses were accommodated in a building next to the 150-single men who lived in the dormitory. “Who came up with that bright idea, I have no idea,” he said with a wink.

In the ice house, he described how blocks of ice were made in metal tubes, and explained that each household received ½-block of ice daily. As well, they were given a certain amount of lemonade and water, and six bread rolls. Anything else people wanted, they had to purchase. He pointed to a small train that he said went around delivering the free daily provisions I listed above. That same train also served as a taxi for women, who found it hard to get around when the wind was a-blowin’.

After the tour, we went off on our own, slogging through the sand that is everywhere you look. We visited the shopkeeper’s house — which has been partially furnished. We went to the museum where a few artifacts are on display. We wandered over to the-once-fancy house built for the mine manager, who boasted the only view of the ocean 8 miles away.

Mui and I found the ghost town fascinating. We spent over two hours there. And still did not make it into all of the buildings. Czytaj więcej