I was in two minds which route to take to South Africa - the quick 250 kilometer route straight south along the B1 towards Springbok, or the much longer journey to Lüderitz, back to Aus, down to Rosh Pinah along the C13, exciting Namibia at the border crossing in Oranjemund. The latter was certainly a lot more enticing, with it’s ghost town Kolmanskop not far from Lüderitz and Oranjemund, a small diamond town that had been closed to the world until a year ago. As I was still ahead of schedule it was an easy choice!

The 350 kilometer journey from Keetmanshoop to Lüderitz was no match for me and the X-Country, despite the fact that the wind had picked up considerably so that I had to ride at a sharp angle to the wind coming from the side. And of course sand everywhere, with “drifts” being created in many places along the road. If I had a choice of driving through strong buffeting winds or rain, I would choose rain any day!

I knew that I might have a chance to see the wild horses of the Namib on this particular stretch of road. Just after Aus, where I stopped for fuel and also enjoyed a delicious sandwich at the Bahnhof Hotel Aus, I spotted a small group of horses about a hundred meters from the road. Another car had already stopped. It turned out to be the Namib Desert horse, the only feral horse in Africa, with anywhere from 90 - 150 horses in existence. They roam the sparsely vegetated plains of the Namib desert, and have conquered the desert as their habitat. The only thing provided for them is water, from a trough placed at Garub, about 20 kilometers west of Aus. I was delighted to have seen these rare horses.

Early afternoon I arrived in Lüderitz, and started searching for a place to stay. I had searched the web the day before, and a place called ”KratzPlatz” came up. I soon found the place, and after a bit of “negotiation” I could check into my room. Lüderitz was hosting a leg of the KiteSpeed World Championship, and some of the competitors were staying at the KratzPlatz, which was great. Lüderitz is literally 300 kilometers from anywhere, isolated at the cold Atlantic coast, so an event like this is great for promoting the town. The effect of the cold Atlantic Ocean on the climate along the Namibian coast is considerable. Within a few kilometers the temperature can easily drop by 10-15 degrees. Leaving Keetmanshoop the temperature had been around 30, but about 20 kilometers before Lüderitz the temperature dropped sharply, and I was suddenly freezing in my Goretex driving suit.

It was going to be another long day on the road, from Lüderitz to Oranjemund, so I left KratzPlatz immediately after breakfast. About 10 kilometers east of Lüderitz I stopped at the diamond ghost town of Kolmanskop. A permit is needed to visit the town, and it was too early in the day for a tour. In 1908 a worker found a suspicious looking stone in the area, which - on closer examination - turned out to be a diamond. People flocked to the area, and Kolmanskop became a reality. At it’s peak the town had 1.300 inhabitants. From 1908 until the outbreak of WW1, 6 years later, more than 1.000 kilograms of diamonds were mined. Kolmanskop, however, got a short lifespan - 40 years - during which it lived, flourished and died. In 1956 the last 3 families left town, and it was left to deteriorate in the harsh climate. The mines at Kolmanskop had been depleted, and new and richer deposits found at Oranjemund. It was time for me to leave this ghost town, and head for Oranjemund.

It was still blowing a gale force from the southeast, which blasted me on the bike for about 120 kilometers until I reached Aus and turned sharply south into a headwind. Still not pleasant, but a lot easier to handle. I again filled up at the service station in Aus, where a guy in a 4x4 asked me whether I didn’t find it difficult coping with the strong winds! I continued to Rosh Pinah where I put fuel in the tank again, and spent a bit of time with a nice Dutch couple in a 4x4, who told me that they were spending 6 months of the year in South Africa and the remaining 6 in Holland. That way we always have two summers, they said with a smile.

My plan was to drive the remaining 100 kilometers from Rosh Pinah to Oranjemund on the new road that had been built a year earlier, and spend the night there. Oranjemund has a very interesting history. It was established in 1936 by mining giant DeBeers with the sole purpose of housing the people working in the diamond mines. It could only be reached from Alexander Bay on the South African side, and your vehicle had to be parked there. Everyone had to pass security gates and be screened for stolen diamonds, on entering and leaving. The town was closed to the general public, and not part of the national local government, but run by the Namibian diamond mining company, Namdeb. There are 4.000 inhabitants in Oranjemund, who do not pay for water and electricity and local phone calls. There is one school, one supermarket, one hospital and 6 churches in town! All that changed in October 2017 when the town became accessible from Rosh Pinah via the new road. Permits were no longer required to visit Oranjemund, and it became a “normal” municipality.

The wind was unrelenting, and it was a relief to enter Oranjemund and get some protection from the sandstorm. Driving through the town is like being in a time capsule. All the houses look alike, built in 1940/50’s style. No informal housing to be seen anywhere. There are more public parks, playgrounds and green areas than in other Namibian towns, with water available from the perennial Orange River. Oryx can be seen in the parks, and also frequently on the roads in town. Having been open to the public for only a year, there is very little in terms of tourist facilities, restaurants and so on. I spent about two hours in Oranjemund, after which I decided to head for the South African border, only about 10 kilometers drive from Oranjemund. The Namibian customs weren’t very familiar with the Carnet de Passages for the motorcycle, and I had to explain to them what was required. They stamped my Carnet and passport, and I could cross the Orange River via the single lane Oppenheimer Bridge to the South African side, my last border crossing of the trip.