15/09/2014
From Aus it is about a 120km drive to Lüderitz. The road is tarred, but I cannot help wonder how many accidents must happen on this stretch of road, with drivers simply falling asleep from the shear boredom of a straight line of asphalt in the sand.
If there is one thing you can be sure of, it is man’s insatiable hunger for riches. Zacharias Lewala knew full well what the stone was that he picked up in the area in 1908. He probably also realised the potential diamond rush that this would spark off. In no time, Kolmanskuppe developed into a town, complete with hospital, school, post office, all the necessary shops like a bakery, general dealer and butchery, and even a soft drink factory. For fresh water, they piped sea water from Elisabethbucht, and desalinated it. Each household got 20l fresh water and a block of ice per day. A clubhouse, called the Kasino, was built. This included a restaurant, bars, gambling salloons, a bowling alley, and a hall for concerts, plays, balls and gymnastics. All the necessary ingredients for endless days of entertainment and frolic. In the seven years after the discovery of diamonds, a staggering 5 369 814 carats were produced.
Kolmanskuppe survived World War I, the Great Depression, and the largest part of World War II. What it failed to survive, was the discovery of even larger diamond fields around Oranjemund, and in 1950, seven years after the mining company moved its headquarters to Oranjemund, Kolmanskuppe finally closed down. 
We spent some time exploring the remains of the once bustling Kolmanskuppe.
We both had romantic images of another little Germany in Lüderitz. We would have to own up. We were both rather disappointed. We drove around for a little while, and allowed the town to redeem itself a little with the very good peanut butter milkshake I had at the only coffee shop that at least looked somewhat interesting. Near the old Felsenkirche, we found some pretty old houses, but then decided to head back to Aus rather, in search of some wild horses. 
At the Garub waterhole, a shelter has been built for people to quietly sit and observe wild horses that come here to quench their thirst after a day in the Namib desert. We sat here for a while, and watched a few horses wearily traipse up to the waterhole. Some sped up a little as the smell of water gave them some hope of escape from the sweltering heat. And just as quietly as they arrived, they slowly disappeared out of sight.
Maybe we get to see some more horses tomorrow.
