Cruise Port 7 – Luderitz, Namibia

by Ed · May 5, 2023

Greetings! Molo!

Today is April 29th, 2023. We are in Luderitz, Namibia, today!

Short history – a German named Franz Luderitz persuaded the German government to place this area under German protection. The town was named after Luderitz, and became a prosperous fishing village. A few decades later diamonds and gold were discovered, making mining the major business.

We are going to visit the Wild Horses of the Namib. Namib means “wide, open spaces”. I’ll explain the wild horses later…

We arrive at Luderitz just at sunrise. Today is the Crayfish Festival!

As we approach our berth we see several interesting buildings on the grounds just outside the harbor (as I interpret from the fencing that segregates them). This red building on the hill is the most interesting! This is the Shark Island Lighthouse.

We approach the pier. Very plain, no terminal.

Joy and I are soon on the bus to see the Wild Horses of the Namib. We head east, inland from Luderitz. There is mile after mile of mile after mile.

David is our driver and tour guide. His real name is Cambanwonorino… and I lost the rest of the name. So he asks us to call him David.

He shows us how the Namibs display a map of the country with their hand. The thumb is extended out and the forefinger is folded. The side of the little finger and palm are the coastline, and the thumb represents the eastern extension. Pretty clever! People can point out where a product is from, or where their hometown is by pointing at their hand!

We see some interesting things during the long drive. There are remnants of two train wrecks. This is the more spectacular of the two!

We pass close to the old mining town of Kolmanskop. It is now abandoned, only open to visitors. The shifting sands bury and reveal the town as it wishes, and the sands take on color based on its iron content. Today it seems fairly clean with a few dunes between buildings.

A curious marking is visible on a hill. You can see this in Google maps at the coordinates 26.615600 E: 15.513220 S. It says “KR’s NUNO ANIMIS”.

We pass a highway rest stop! David tells us this is a real rest stop, but Namibia doesn’t have rest stops like we have in the United States.

David spots the Namibian national animal – the Oryx – by the railroad tracks!

After an hour and a half we arrive at our destination. It is a viewing stand overlooking a water hole seemingly out in the middle of nowhere.

Near the viewing stand were patches of melons! Hundreds of melons! We learn these are very bitter and not good for anything.

We see several horses around the viewing stand area. This young guy only stands about 11 hands. These horses are relatively small!

The plaque in front of the stand reveals this is the Namib Feral Horse project, started in 1993.

We meet Bernd, our naturalist speaker. He tells us about the work done to protect the horses, but the numbers are dwindling. They are in their 13th consecutive year of draught. Five years ago the government drilled a well 5 km away and ran a pipe to provide water to the water hole. This helped ensure there was water for the animals. But hyenas also learned of the water source and moved in. They would kill as many as three horses a day.

This is what the viewing stand looks like. A bench runs down the center.

This is what the current water hole looks like. It’s about a five-meter-diameter pond. When we arrive all but one horse were close to the viewing stand.

All of the horses near us are bay colored, and too small and gaunt to be ridden.

One foal is here, too! It’s cute, but its eyes are wise beyond its year. It, like the adults, bears the white patch on the forehead.

These horses, despite the harsh environments, are beautiful and, except for being a little skinny, appear to be in very good health! They have adapted the ability to go for four days without water because that’s how long it takes for them to walk up to the grasslands at the foot of the mountains to eat and return.

No one is certain of their origin, but they were likely brought here by settlers and got loose. Over the centuries they evolved to handle the hot desert climate. They are gentle and friendly, but they are wild. No one owns them.

Eight ostriches were near the water hole when we arrived, but standing a hundred yards away from the water hole. All through our visit they, one by one, began walking away.

Oryx were slowly filing in. There are six here.

Two more come from the other direction and approach the water hole.

As the other six oryx arrive the one horse hanging by the water hole takes one last drink and heads out. It looks like a chestnut, not a bay.

Once all the oryx have had their fill they begin to move out. We are fortunate to see them – they might not be back for a week!

Then the horses near the viewing stand make their way to the water hole and take a long drink.

The horses begin their walk out to find some grass. The foal follows well behind. No one is in a hurry in this heat!

We were fortunate to see seven horses, eight oryx, and eight ostriches today! It’s time to head back to the ship.

On the highway I catch this sign. It seems rather obvious! But apparently the winds sometime cover the highway with sand in this area and driving gets treacherous.

Seeing the windmills tells us we are close to Luderitz. Namibia is seriously taking on more and more renewable energy sources!

Arriving in town the streets seem quiet. But this is a false serenity. Everyone is at the Crayfish Festival!

Even though the town is German in origin, we see relatively few German-architecture buildings in the short drive through town. But this house clearly stands out on our return!