42 |^ Caravan & Outdoor Life Magazine July 2019
KOlmanSKOP
It wasdiamondsthat
broughtadventurersto
Kolmanskop.
Zachariaslewala,an
Ovamboman,madethe
first discoverywhen
hefoundshinystones
whileworkingonkeeping
therailwaylinefrom
Seeheimclearofsand.
Showingthemtohis
Germanoverseerhis
bossrecognisedthemas
diamonds.thiswasback
in1908.thediamond
rushhadstarted.
By 1912 a town
hadsprungupat
Kolmanskopproducing
almost12%ofthe
world’sdiamonds.
It’shardtobelievethat
thesestatelybuildings
oncehadgardensand
evenlawns.Water
wasbroughtbyrailto
Kolmanskop.
there was a bowling
alley, a gymnasium
and a huge hall with
brilliant acoustics.
Now the encroaching
sand slowly buries them
under its waves, on its
relentless march down to
the fog-shrouded coast.ridge surrounding the hotel
it was obvious that the re-
build was at an advanced
stage a l ready.
After a good look around,
we were on our way to Aus
and then Klein-Aus Vista a
short distance away.
Our destination was the
aptly-named Desert Horse
Campsite. After all, we were
in the stomping ground of
these world-renowned feral
horses of the Namib.
After setting up camp,
we packed some snacks
and headed to the close-by
Garub lookout point. Thecovered shelter, close to the
camp, looks out over one
of the vast valleys of the
Namib to the mountains on
the far horizon.
On the way to Garub we
were lucky to see some of
the wild horses right next
to the road.
Apparently the chances
of these wild horses
surviving are extremely
slim. One of the top
attractions in Namibia, the
herd of some 300 is now
down to a mere 80.
Their dwindling numbers
are due to severe drought andpredation by a pack of spotted
hyenas, which moved into the
area in 2013.
The Namibia Wild Horse
Foundation has been doing
everything in its power to
solvethesituation.KOlmanSKOP
I’m not a big reader of
schedules, but Jannie is
a stickler for giving you
detailed pre-trip briefings,
pack lists, border post
etiquette, etc. All the things
this seasoned traveller and
4x4 adventure guide has
learnt over the years.