February 15, 2016
We were en route to Swakopmund and small self-sustained villages started to appear along the coastline.
It was a three-day rest stop for the crew that accommodated us on our journey and a break from camping for us. The break gave us an opportunity to explore the town and its surrounding.
Swakopmund has a German history and its location 280km west of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia and it is on the edge of the Namib dessert. It is at the mouth of the Swakopriver, and it is a beach resort with German colonial architecture.
It was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for the Imperial German colony and one of the few sources of fresh water in the area.
Most very town has a war memorial, and this one is known as Marine Denkmal, a Marine Memorial. This dramatic sculpture depicts the defeat of the Hereros at Otjimbingwe by a troop of German Marines.
The German death toll at the time was only one, followed by later skirmish and losing another. With street names changing from Kaiser Wilhelm Strasse to Sam Nujoma Avenue and Schlosser Strasse to Mandume Ya Ndemufayo Street, it is only a matter of time before erecting a statue honouring the Hereros who have perished.
The still operational lighthouse’s beacon can be seen as far 35 nautical miles from the sea. The lighthouse is a major landmark of the Swakopmund skyline. The old lighthouse keepers accommodation is now a Restaurant and Pub.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie decided to have their baby in Namibia, which is not readily available to the hordes of paparazzi. Their daughter Shiloh Jolie-Pitt was born on May 27, 2006, at a small hospital near Swakopmund.
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