Sights in Namibia
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Etosha National Park
The 20,000 sq km (7722 sq mi) Etosha National Park is one of the world's greatest wildlife-viewing spots. For a few days each year, this immense, flat, saline desert is converted by the rains into a shallow lagoon teeming with flamingos and white pelicans. However, it's the surrounding bush and grasslands that provide habitat for Etosha's diverse wildlife.
It may look barren, but the landscape surrounding the pan is home to 114 mammal species as well as 340 bird species, 16 reptiles and amphibians, one fish species and countless insects.
The best way to see Etosha's animals is to hire a vehicle, park near a waterhole and wait for the lions, elephants and springboks to…
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Fish River Canyon
There's nowhere else in Africa like Fish River Canyon, which has been gouging this gorge for thousands of years with incredible results. It's huge - 160km (99mi) long and 27km (17mi) wide - and most of the canyon falls within Fish River Canyon National Park, where you can camp, walk, hike or relax in the bubbling hot springs.
At the northern end of the national park, there's the Hobas Information Centre, picnic sites, camp grounds, walking trails, and access to some of the best viewpoints in the canyon.
From Hobas, you can walk the five-day Fish River Hiking Trail to Ai-Ais, at the other end of the canyon. The 85km (53mi) walk follows the sandy bed of the river (it should…
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Fish River Canyon
The NWR Administers The Main Access Points To Fish River Canyon, which is entered at Hobas, near the Northern end of the park, or at Ai-Ais, near the Southern end. All accommodation must be booked in advance through the Windhoek office. Daily park permits, which cost around US$3 per person and around US$3 per vehicle, are valid for both Hobas and Ai-Ais.
Note that following the death of an ill-prepared hiker in 2001, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) decided to prohibit day hikes into Fish River Canyon, despite the fact that over the years, thousands of people have done it without incident. During the cooler weather, however, you may be able to get special permission at…
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Katutura
Unlike its South African counterparts, the township of Katutura is relatively safe by day if you stick to the northern areas and/or find a local who can act as a guide. An especially interesting spot is the informal Soweto Market, where traders sell just about anything imaginable. A shared taxi from the Wernhill Park Centre to Katutura costs around US$1 per person.
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Daan Viljoen Game Park
The beautiful Daan Viljoen Game Park sits in the Khomas Hochland about 18km west of Windhoek. Because there are no seriously dangerous animals, you can walk to your heart's content through lovely wildlife-rich desert hills, and spot gemsboks, kudus, mountain zebras, springboks, hartebeests, warthogs and elands.
Daan Viljoen is also known for its birdlife, and over 200 species have been recorded, including the rare green-backed heron and pin-tailed whydah - if you're serious about birding, the park office sells a handy identification booklet. Daan Viljoen's hills are covered with open thorn-scrub vegetation that allows excellent wildlife viewing, and three walking tracks…
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Hot Springs
Ai-Ais is Nama for 'Scalding Hot' and these springs are beneath the towering peaks at the southern end of Fish River Canyon National Park. Although the 60°C springs have probably been known to the San for thousands of years, the legend goes that they were 'discovered' by a nomadic Nama shepherd rounding up stray sheep. They're rich in chloride, fluoride and sulphur, and are reputedly therapeutic for sufferers of rheumatism or nervous disorders.
The hot water is piped to a series of baths and jacuzzis as well as an outdoor swimming pool. A pleasant diversion is the short scramble to the peak which rises above the opposite bank (note that the trail isn't marked). It…
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Tintenpalast
The road east from Alte Feste leads to the Tintenpalast, now the parliament building, which was designed by Gottlieb Redecker and built in 1913 as the administrative headquarters for German South-West Africa. The name means 'Ink Palace', in honour of all the ink spent on the typically excessive government paperwork it generated. It has also served as the nerve centre for all subsequent governments, including the present one.
The building is remarkable mainly for its construction from indigenous materials. The surrounding gardens were laid out in the 1930s, and include an olive grove and a bowling green. In front, have a look at Namibia's first post-independence monument,…
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Goerke Haus
Lieutenant Hans Goerke came to Swakopmund with the Schutztruppe in 1904, though he was later posted to Lüderitz, where he served as a diamond company manager. His home, designed by architect Otto Ertl and constructed in 1910 on Diamond Hill, was one of the town's most extravagant.
Goerke left for Germany in 1912 and eight years later his home was purchased by the newly formed Consolidated Diamond Mines (CDM) to house the company's chief engineer. When the CDM headquarters transferred to Oranjemund in 1944, the house was sold to the government and became occupied by the resident Lüderitz magistrate. In 1981, however, the magistrate was shifted to Keetmanshoop, and the…
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Woermannhaus
From the shore, the delightful German-style Woermannhaus stands out above surrounding buildings - you'd be forgiven for assuming it's the town hall. In fact, it was designed by Friedrich Höft, and built in 1905 as the main offices of the Damara & Namaqua Trading Company. In 1909 however, it was taken over by the Woermann & Brock Trading Company, which supplied the current name. In the 1920s, it was used as a school dormitory, and later served as a merchant sailors' hostel.
It eventually fell into disrepair, but was declared a national monument and restored in 1976. For years, the prominent Damara tower (formerly a water tower) of the Woermannhaus provided a landmark for…
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Swakopmund Museum
When ill winds blow, head for the Swakopmund Museum , at the foot of the lighthouse, where you can hole up and learn about the town history. The museum occupies the site of the old harbour warehouse, which was destroyed in 1914 by a 'lucky' shot from a British warship.
Displays include exhibits on Namibia's history and ethnology, including information on local flora and fauna. Especially good is the display on the !nara melon, a fruit which was vital to the early Khoikhoi people of the Namib region. It also harbours a reconstructed colonial home interior, Emil Kiewittand's apothecary shop and an informative display on the Rössing Mine. Military buffs will appreciate the…
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Jetty
In 1905, the need for a good cargo- and passenger-landing site led Swakopmund's founders to construct the original wooden pier. Over the years, however, it was battered by the high seas and damaged by woodworm, and in 1911, construction began on a 500m iron jetty .
When the South African forces occupied Swakopmund, the port became redundant (they already controlled Walvis Bay), so the old wooden pier was removed in 1916 and the unfinished iron pier was left to the elements. In 1985 it was closed for safety purposes, but a year later, a public appeal raised 250,000 rand to restore the structure. It's now open to the general public, but unfortunately once again suffering…
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Zoo Park
The centrepiece of Zoo Park, a former zoo turned park, is a column designed by Namibian sculptor Dörthe Berner, which commemorates a Stone Age elephant hunt that occurred here some 5000 years ago. In 1962 the remains of two elephants and several quartz tools used to cut up the carcasses were unearthed. The fossils and tools were displayed in situ under glass, but in 1990 they were transferred to the State Museum.
The rather anachronistic Kriegerdenkmal (War Memorial), topped by a golden imperial eagle, was dedicated in 1987 to the memory of the Schutztruppe soldiers who died fighting the troops of Nama leader Hendrik Witbooi in the Nama wars of 1893-94.
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Haunted Forest
The area dubbed the Haunted Forest, west of Okaukuejo, is so named for its bizarre moringa trees, which recall enormous pachypodia (elephant-foot trees) or the legendary boojum of Mexico's Baja California. San legend recounts that after God had found a home for all the plants and animals on earth, he discovered a bundle of leftover moringa trees. He flung them into the air and they fell to earth with their roots pointing skywards - and so they remain.
Lately, this bizarre stand of bulbous remnants has suffered a good measure of elephant damage, but its unusual forms still merit attention and at least a few inspired photos.
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The Mole
In 1899, architect FW Ortloff's sea wall - better known as the Mole - was intended to enhance Swakopmund's poor harbour and create a mooring place for large cargo vessels. Unfortunately, Mr Ortloff was unfamiliar with the Benguela Current, which sweeps northwards along the coast, carrying with it a load of sand from the southern deserts.
Within less than five years, the harbour entrance was choked off by a sand bank and two years later, the harbour itself had been invaded by sand to create what is now called Palm Beach. The Mole is currently used as a mooring for pleasure boats.
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Prinzessin Rupprecht Heim
Swakopmund brims with numerous historic examples of traditional German architecture. The single-storey Prinzessin Rupprecht Heim was constructed in 1902, and was first used as a military hospital. In 1914 it was transferred to the Bavarian Women's Red Cross, which named it after its patron, Princess Rupprecht, wife of the Bavarian crown prince.
The idea was to expose convalescents to the healthy effects of the sea breeze. Until recently, one wing was still used as a maternity ward (the tourist literature claims it was closed due to a storks' strike).
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Turnhalle
Built by Otto Busch in 1909, the Turnhalle was originally the practice hall for the Windhoek Gymnastic Club. In 1975 it was modernised and turned into a conference hall, and on 1 September of that year, it was the venue for the first Constitutional Conference on Independence for South West Africa, which subsequently - and more conveniently - came to be called the Turnhalle Conference. During the 1980s it hosted several political summits and debates on the way to Namibian independence.
It's now the site of meetings of the National Council.
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Alte Gefängnis
Swakopmund brims with numerous historic examples of traditional German architecture. The impressive 1909 Alte Gefängnis was designed by architect Heinrich Bause, and if you didn't know it was a prison, you'd swear it was either an early East German train station or a health-spa hotel.
In fact, the main building was used only for staff housing while the prisoners were relegated to less opulent quarters on one side. Note that it still serves as a prison and is considered a sensitive structure, so photography is not permitted.
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Altes Amtsgericht
Swakopmund brims with numerous historic examples of traditional German architecture. Designed by Otto Ertl, the gabled Altes Amtsgericht building was constructed in 1908 as a private school. However, when the funds ran out, the government took over the project and requisitioned it as a magistrates' court.
In the 1960s it functioned as a school dormitory, and now houses municipal offices. Just so no-one can doubt its identity, the words 'Altes Amtsgericht' (German for 'Old Magistrates' Court') are painted across the front.
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Christuskirche
Windhoek's best-recognised landmark, the German Lutheran Christuskirche, stands on a traffic island at the top of Fidel Castro St. This unusual building, which was constructed from local sandstone, was designed by architect Gottlieb Redecker in conflicting neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau styles. The altarpiece, the Resurrection of Lazarus, is a copy of the renowned work by Rubens. The cornerstone was laid in 1907.
To view the interior, pick up the key during business hours from the nearby church office on Fidel Castro St.
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Bahnhof
Swakopmund brims with numerous historic examples of traditional German architecture. The ornate railway station, or Bahnhof, built in 1901 as the terminal for the Kaiserliche Eisenbahn Verwaltung (Imperial Railway Authority), connected Swakopmund with Windhoek.
In 1910, when the railway closed down, the building assumed the role as main station for the narrow-gauge mine railway between Swakopmund and Otavi. It was declared a national monument in 1972 and now houses the Swakopmund Hotel & Entertainment Centre.
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Felsenkirche
This prominent Evangelical Lutheran church, dominates Lüderitz from high on Diamond Hill. The church was designed by Albert Bause, who implemented the Victorian influences he'd seen in the Cape. With assistance from private donors in Germany, construction of the church began in late 1911 and was completed the following year. The brilliant stained-glass panel situated over the altar was donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II, while the Bible was a gift from his wife.
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Kaiserliches Bezirksgericht
Swakopmund brims with numerous historic examples of traditional German architecture. The impressive Kaiserliches Bezirksgericht was constructed in 1902 to serve as the district magistrates' court. It was extended in 1905 and again in 1945, when a tower was added. After WWI it was converted into the official holiday home of the territorial administrator. In keeping with that tradition, it's now the official Swakopmund residence of the executive president.
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Gathemann's Complex
The three colonial-era buildings of Gathemann's Complex were all designed by German architect Willi Sander. The southernmost was built in 1902 as the Kronprinz Hotel, though it was bought in 1920 by Heinrich Gathemann and converted into a private business to adjoin Gathemann House next door, which he had built in 1913. The northernmost of the three is the Erkrath Building, which dates from 1910 and originally served as a private home and business.
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Marine Memorial
Often known by its German name, Marine Denkmal, the Marine Memorial was commissioned in 1907 by the Marine Infantry in Kiel, Germany, and was designed by Berlin sculptor AM Wolff. It commemorates the German First Marine Expedition Corps, which helped beat back the Herero uprisings of 1904. As a national historical monument, it will continue to stand, but one has to wonder how long it will be before the Herero erect a memorial of their own.
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Werth Lookout
There is a broad view over the city centre from the Werth Lookout. Just below, near the end of upper Bahnhof St, are Villa Migliarina and Villa Lanvers (Werth St). These private homes, which are closed to the public, were designed in 1907 by Otto Busch. A cylindrical tower on the Lanvers house lends it a castlelike appearance. Both homes are surrounded by lovely gardens, which are visible from the street but closed to the public.
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