Tom Peck - Luderitz and Kolmanskop Extension

We complete our journey over the Gamsberg Pass and back into Windhoek where we can stay at Hotel Thule and get ready for our flight tomorrow down to Luderitz in the south of the country

An early start today with our early morning flight from Eros Airport getting into Luderitz at 08.15

Here we will be met by our guide Marion who will take us to Obelisk Guesthouse in Luderitz town. From here Marion will give us an afternoon tour of the Peninsular with its rugged coastline forming lots of small bays. The birdlife here is prolific with flamingos, black oyster catchers and avocets as well as many species of waders.

Then we can spend time at Diaz Point named after the famous Portuguese explorer, Bartholomew Dias who erected a cross here in 1488,which can be reached by a boardwalk where the views out to see are spectacular.

The Diaz Point lighthouse also offers interesting photo opportunities as it stands out against the rocky background and the stormy Atlantic

A very early start today with a pre dawn pick up by Marion who will drive you out of the town to Kolmanskop, Namibia's most famous ghost town.

Once a thriving village built by the wealthy miners in the architectural style of a German town, with amenities and institutions including a hospital, ballroom, power station, school, skittle-alley, theatre and sport-hall, casino, ice factory, Kolmanskop started to decline during World War I when the diamond-field slowly started to deplete. By the early 1920s, the area was in a severe decline. Hastening the town's demise was the discovery in 1928 of the richest diamond-bearing deposits ever known, on the beach terraces 270 km south of Kolmanskop, near the Orange River. Many of the town's inhabitants joined the rush to the south, leaving their homes and possessions behind. The new diamond find merely required scouting the beaches as opposed to more difficult mining. The town was ultimately abandoned in 1956. The geological forces of the desert mean that tourists now walk through houses knee-deep in sand. Kolmanskop is popular with photographers for its settings of the desert sands' reclaiming this once-thriving town, and the arid climate preserving the traditional Edwardian architecture in the area.  

You'll end your day with a second opportunity to photograph Kolmanskop at sunset

Today we leave early again this time with Heinz, and retrace our steps to Kolmanskop but this time passing  through the town to enter the forbidden diamond territory, heading for Elizabeth Bay.
After about 1 km past the new E-bay diamond mine we arrive at the historic
Village of Elizabeth Bay which was abandoned in 1935.
The remains of the town and diamond plant were left to the elements and onslaught of the Atlantic coast .
We will spend our time exploring the old village and industrial ruins and with luck will have Namibia's famous sea mist clinging to the coast before it evaporates as the sun warms up the desert
On the way back to town we can spend some time visiting the Cape Fur Seal colony at Atlas Bay.
 

A final morning to wander around Luderitz before catching your 13.30 flight back to Windhoek.

Luderitz is known for its German colonial buildings, including the art nouveau Goerke Haus, built into the rock face on Diamond Hill and nearby, Felsenkirche is a hilltop church with panoramic bay views stretching around to Robert Harbour.  

You will be met at Hosea Kutako Airport, Windhoek by the driver from River Crossing Lodge who will drive you out into the countryside for your last night in Namibia

After breakfast, and dependant on your flight times, the transfer driver from the lodge will return you to the airport for your onward flights home