Duwisib Castle and Kolmanskop Diamond Mining Ghost Town

After Windhoek we drove south and west through the desert. It had rained several times over the last few weeks and the desert was turning green in places and there were even puddles of water.

But the rainfall is fickle and some areas were still parched.

And then around a hill we came to Duwisib Castle in the middle of the desert. The front of the castle.

A side view of the castle.

Hansheinrich von Wolf served in the Royal Saxon Artillery for the King of Saxony at Konigsbruck until 1904 when he was voluntarily transferred to the Schutztruppe in what was then German South West Africa, todays Namibia. He married an American millionairess and resigned his commission to bred horses in Namibia. He built the castle in 1909.

During 1914 he was travelling to England to buy more stallions for his farm but war broke out and his German flagged ship diverted to Rio de Janeiro where he was interred. He was later released and caught a neutral ship back to Germany to join the war effort. He was back in Germany for just two weeks before being killed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Today the estate is owned by the government and operates as a hotel. The reception area.

                                           

A detail of the fireplace in the hall.

The dining rooms.

Von Wolf's private rooms.

Another view of his private rooms.

 The bathroom which is still used by the guests once the museum is shut to day visitors.

 A reception area attached to one of the bedrooms.

 Some of the bedrooms for guests.

 The internal courtyard.

 I would have happily stayed for a night and it wasn't expensive considering the surroundings but we had to move on and cross more desert.

 A few photos of oryx at the side of the road.

And then it was through Aus and on to Kolmanskop. Diamonds were discovered here in 1908 and a mining town was built. However more diamonds were found further south and the mine moved and so did the people and the original town was abandoned. The entrance to the town which is now a tourist destination.

Another use for a pair of boots.

 One of the many abandoned houses.

 And more house which the sand is slowly covering.

 A view from one house to another.

 Some of the buildings have suffered more than others such as this one which is nearly completely covered in sand.

 So much sand has blown in that the sand covers the bottom half of the room.

 Sand that has blown through the open door.

 A long corridor opposite the door above in one of the buildings although there was a lot of sand in the rooms off to the right.

Meow sand blown in by the wind.

Sand on the stairs.

But if the doors are left shut, there is no sand such as the refrigeration plant.

And one of the houses has been refurbished to look as it would have done. A bedroom.

Another bedroom.

The dining room.

The kitchen.

It wasn't a big town but had plenty of luxuries such as this tram which shuttled from the married families houses to the shop.