Luderitz \u00a0has enough going on to keep a busy adventurer happy for a good few days, from spectacular photographic opportunities, water activities, colourful festivals, quaint architecture to the richness of this southern Namibian port’s history.<\/p>\n
![\"goerkehaus\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/goerkehaus.jpg\")
The town also has several historical sites, which are worth visiting. There is a wealth of information on the town\u2019s history and you can find this information at any tourist centre or hotel in Luderitz. A number of memorials can be found including one dedicated to the first pioneer, Heinrich Vogelsang; one to the founder of Luderitz, Adolph Luderitz and one to\u00a0Captain Cornelius Fredericks, a Bethanie Nama leader.<\/p>\n
Colourful buildings built during the time of German occupation line the streets, and businesses more than a hundred years old can be found on some of the streets. Some of these buildings are of historical importance including the Goerke Haus<\/strong>, and the Woerman Linie building.<\/p>\n The sheer scale of Goerke Haus (a national monument) and the way it blends into the rockface is very impressive. Originally the home of Lieutenant Hans Goerke, and designed by architect Otto Ertl and constructed in 1910 on Diamond Hill, it was one of the town\u2019s most extravagant properties. The house has undergone an admirable renovation job and is certainly worth a look.\u00a0This museum contains information on the town\u2019s history, including displays on natural history, local indigenous groups and the diamond-mining industry. Phone to arrange a visit outside standard opening hours.<\/p>\n The brilliant stained-glass panel situated over the altar was donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II, while the Bible was a gift from his wife. An ideal vantage point for photographers for the views over the bay\u00a0and the town.<\/p>\n Tourists can now visit this spot and enjoy the delicious cake and coffee on sale at the small caf\u00e9 run nearby the site.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the discovery of diamonds in this area in 1908\u00a0German miners began a settlement, and soon after the German government declared a large area as a “Sperrgebiet”.\u00a0Driven by the enormous wealth of the first diamond miners, the residents built the village 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 and the first x-ray-station in the southern hemisphere, as well as the first tram in Africa. It had a railway link to L\u00fcderitz.<\/p>\n Due to its location within the restricted area (Sperrgebiet) of the Namib desert, tourists need a permit to enter the town. Permits can be bought at the gate into the town and tours run daily at 9:30am and 11am local time(GMT+2), 10am on a Sunday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The annual colourful L\u00fcderitz Crayfish Festival takes place around Easter and attracts thousands of visitors to L\u00fcderitz. The festival is a community led project and is a joyous celebration of the fabulous rich local marine life, especially the delicious local rock lobster, aka Crayfish or Kreef (Afrikaans). At the 2015 event, two new world windsurf records were set; Antoine Albeau (FRA) with 53.27kts\/98.55kph & Karin Jaggi (SUI) with 46.31kts\/85.67kph. The event has been featured on leading international television stations as well as on YouTube and Facebook. The L\u00fcderitz Speed Challenge is the only sporting event in Namibia which appears in various GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS BOOKS. The 6 week event normally takes place between October and November; www.luderitz-speed.com The coastline in the area is recognised by Bird Life and other global conservation groups as one of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) for important coastal seabird breeding.<\/p>\n Mercury Island, Ichaboe Island, Halifax Island and the Possession Islands support the entire Namibian breeding population of Cape gannets (Morus capensis<\/em>), 96% of the Namibian population of the endangered African penguin (Spheniscus demersus<\/em>), and nearly one quarter of the global breeding population of crowned cormorants (Phalacrocorax coronatus<\/em>).\u00a0Approximately 80% of the global population of the endangered Bank cormorant (Phalacrocorax neglectus<\/em>) breeds on Mercury Island and in the Ichaboe Islands.<\/p>\n Several species of cetaceans, most notably Haviside’s dolphins, can be seen close to the shore while larger whales such as southern right, humpback, minke, fin, pygmy right, are less common but gradually increasing in numbers.\u00a0A number of tour operators offer dolphin excursions.<\/p>\n Luderitz \u00a0has enough going on to keep a busy adventurer happy for a good few days, from spectacular photographic opportunities, water activities, colourful festivals, quaint architecture to the richness of this southern Namibian port’s history. Historical sites The town also has several historical sites, which are worth visiting. There is a wealth of information on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":25,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":624,"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions\/624"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"felsen\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/felsen.jpg\")
The prominent Felsen Kirche,<\/strong> a\u00a0Evangelical Lutheran church dominates L\u00fcderitz from high on Diamond Hill. It was designed by Albert Bause, who implemented the Victorian influences he\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n![\"Diascross\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Diascross.jpg\")
A short drive outside of town and one can find Dias Cross<\/strong>, which is a must see if you are in Luderitz. The site marks the location of where Bartholomew Dias landed in Namibia.<\/p>\nKohlmanskop<\/h3>\n
![\"kolman1\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/kolman1.jpg\")
Kolmanskop (Afrikaans for Coleman’s hill, German: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib desert, 10km inland from the port town of L\u00fcderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during a sand storm, abandoned his ox wagon on a small incline opposite the settlement. Once a small but very rich mining village, it is now a popular tourist destination.<\/p>\n![\"kolman2\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/kolman2.jpg\")
The town declined after World War I when the diamond-field slowly exhausted and was ultimately abandoned in 1954. 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.<\/p>\nFestivals<\/h3>\n
![\"crayfish20140025\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/crayfish20140025.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAn important objective of the festival is to boost local enterprise and to attract valuable inward investment. The festival hosts international and local exhibitors with their offerings of innovative products and services, hand-made crafts and wares. To add to the party atmosphere, a smorgasbord of entertainment, activities and delicious seafood makes the festival an event not to be missed. Early accommodation bookings is always advisable to avoid disappointment.
\n![\"speedweek\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/speedweek.jpg\")
Since 2007, the L\u00fcderitz Second Lagoon (7.5 kms from town) and en-route to Diaz Point, has become the world\u2019s top speed sailing spot. The L\u00fcderitz Speed Challenge is a six week-long event and attracts the world\u2019s leading kite and windsurfing champions. To date, this thrilling and extreme speed sailing event has produced 95 national and 14 World Records.<\/p>\n
\nIn 1984, adventurer, explorer and sailor Amyr Klink, successfully rowed to Brazil from L\u00fcderitz \u2013 this massive physical and mental undertaking took him 101 days.<\/p>\nCoastal Areas<\/h3>\n
![\"halifax\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/halifax.jpg\")
The beaches near Luderitz are also quite spectacular. White sands and shallow waters make these beaches perfect for picnicking and sunbathing. The fact that there are so few people in this part of the world only helps you appreciate the isolated beauty of the locations around Luderitz.<\/p>\nWild Horses of the Namib<\/h3>\n
![\"namibwild\"](\"http:\/\/www.luderitz-tc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/namibwild.jpg\")
The Wild Horses of the Namib hold a powerful fascination for visitors who are often surprised to find horses roaming the arid\u00a0desert areas on their way to Luderitz.\u00a0Their forebears, once in the service of mankind, gained their freedom a century ago to live their lives in the vastness of the Namib Desert away from human civilisation. \u00a0Decades of intensive research has resulted in a detailed understanding of the horses and their environment. The research conclusively substantiated that the horses are a harmonious part of the desert ecosystem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"