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Felsenkirche
Sea-View zum Sperrgebiet Restaurant
Lüderitz
Look Out For Dunes on the Road.The Desert Has Retaken this Diamond Mining Town
Kolmanskop was a diamond mining town, and now is ghost town. It was abandoned in 1956 because richer discoveries and the depressed value of diamonds after WW II. Mining by digging a huge hole is not what happened here. This was an alluvial mine which means the sand was sifted and picked through to find the diamonds. Diamond rich land eroded in South Africa by wind and rain only to be deposited by the Benguela current off the coast of Namibia. From there the winds blew the sand and diamonds inland. The town itself isn’t that impressive but the way the dunes have retaking town is quite amazing. The sand is absolutely everywhere and various objects such as bath tubs and signpost are just lying around. There is a museum here which explains the history of Namibia’s diamond mining but the best part of this place is to walk around in and out of the buildings and see how the desert has retaken the town.
Tours in English and German around 9:30 am.
It is best to have your own transportation.
Kolmanskop is about 20 kms west of Luderitz.
