Chris Rea sang of "the road to hell"…
Could this be IT ?
Easy to drive, it's not that.
I'm imagining what guts it must've taken to load up a donkey & step forward into this ancient desert…
Perhaps it was desperation.
"Aus was formally a German concentration camp…
Ironically, it was a worker laying the railroad from Luderitz to the prison camp that rolled over the first diamond that started it all".
Well, that's the story tour guides at the "ghost-town" of Kolmans are touting.
Haibo !!… These unlungus were bloody clever Man.
You've got to admire their indefatigable spirit, their energy & their ingenuity.
Clever, hard Men… Driven.
None of this would exist, without them having come here first.
Deep in the desert, they produced their own electricity, water, ice & telephones, built European style houses, engineered to maintain reasonablely civilised temperatures…Big buggers too…
Out here, in this utter desolation.
Everybody, (who worked for De Beers, of course) got free ice, water & food.
They were paid in the hardest currency of all…
Diamonds.
Luderitz's only 10km away…
Imagine…
Diamonds & dealers, hookers & whores, sailors & soldiers…
It must've been a non-stop, free for all…
Passionate & politically very incorrect.
Diamond driven.
Utopia.
Eish.
Oh YES, the "Seychelles effect" seems to be operating in full force…
Nyati's only done one slow pass through the town, stopping to grab a bag of grapefruit at the Spar, but I'm completely enchanted already.
Luderitz's historic, old fashioned, quaint even.
New developments here too, a modern waterfront in the harbour bristling with restaurants all boasting Wi-Fi…
No diamonds or whores yet, but happy, welcoming smiles.
Shark Island's one of the local "hang-outs".
Surrounded by the Atlantic, only a kilometre from the town centre, a "first come first served", camping, picnic & local leasure attraction…
Cool, windy &… Empty.
Sweet tasting water, really good, clean ablutions, & plenty of them, power too.
I hunted down Johnny, Shark Islands manager… "It's safe here Man, we know everyone in Luderitz, no-one's stealing here, we know".
"Mmmmm", I said.
"Sounds too good", I thought.
Then, the clincher…
"How much, Johnny" ?
"N$137.00 a day"
But, was that a slight shift of balance, a shuffle of the feet ?
"Jesus, Johnny… I'm a pensioner", I cried, pulling out a few grey chest hairs & throwing him a grin…
That always raises a smile… (A tear too)
"How much if I stay a week or two" ?
"Mmmmm"… Shuffle shuffle.
"Okay… N$102.00 a day".
Hey hey… I really connect with this place.
It felt good as we drove in, provided security's as it seems, Nyati's found a great "bolt-hole"…
I feel like settling here 'till after New Year, then a slow drive up towards Windhoek, arriving in February.
The worst of the heat's over then, maybe we'll be blessed with rain too.
We'll see.
PLENTY of laughter from here!!! Love being able to use the OAP angle – works every time……
Thanks Alan,
Ja, I've been told about the new regulations… Bummer.
Nyati's other name begins with a K, I think.
I missed Christmas there too… Hope those little buggers didn't wear you out.
All the best to you for the new year.