Lüderitz & Sperrgebiet Photo Gallery by Brian McMorrow at pbase.com

Lüderitz & Sperrgebiet

Lüderitz is a harbor town from the German colonial era located on the southern coast of Namibia, surrounded by stark desert. Diamonds have been found in large quantities and all the surrounding area has been declared a Prohibited Area, or Sperrgebiet. Near Lüderitz, lies Kolmanskuppe, an abandoned diamond mining town from the early 1900's, which has been invaded by the sand and is now a ghost town.

Map showing the Sperrgebiet surrounding Lüderitz	The Namib Desert meets the Atlantic	The Lange Wand, or Long Wall	The Namib Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean
Rocky outcropping, St. Francis Bay (25 07S)	Coast of Francis Bay, Namibia	Coast of Francis Bay, Namibia	Easter Point, Namibia (25 17S)
A sea cave along the Oyster Cliffs, Namibia	Black Cliffs, Namibia	Sandy stretch of coast between St. Francis Bay and Spencer Bay	Inhospitable coastline
Namibian coast	Just north of Spencer Bay	Interesting dark area along the cliffs	Cliffs north of Spencer Bay, Namibia
Cliffs north of Spencer Bay, Namibia	Cliffs meeting the sandy desert at Spencer Bay	Mercurcy Island, Namibia (25 43S)	Mercurcy Island, one of Namibia's penguin islands
Wreck of the Otavi, 1945, surrounded now by a fur seal colony at Spencer Bay	Wreck of the Otavi surrounded by a Cape Fur Seal colony	The cove containing the wreck of the Otavi	The stern has broken off the Otavi
Dolphin Head, Namibia (25 44S)	Dolphin Head, Namibia, looking north towards Spencer Bay	Remote outpost in the Sperrgebiet around 55nm north of Lüderitz, perhaps Saddle Hill	Namib Desert at Hottentotbaai
Namib Desert at Hottentotbaai	Namib Desert at Hottentotbaai	Hottentotspunt and Hottentotsbaai, Namibia	Ruins at Hottentotspunt north of Lüderitz
Hottentotspunt, Namibia (26 08'S)	Ichaboe Island south of Hottentotspunt	Industrial buildings for the guano mine on Ichaboe Island	Bootsbaai
North end of Lüderitzbaai	Small wreck just north of Lüderitz	Civilization approaching Lüderitz from the north	Settlement on the northern edge of Lüderitz
Lüderitzbucht	Lüderitz, Namibia	Lüderitz	Lüderitz
Lüderitz	Lüderitz	Ships docked at Lüderitz	Lüderitz, Namibia
Nest Hotel, Lüderitz	Southern end of Lüderitzbucht	Lüderitz	Diaz Point, Namibia (Dias Point for the Portugugese)
Diaz Point lighthouse	Another pass over Lüderitz before landing	Lüderitz	Lüderitz International Airport (FYLZ)
Kolmanskuppe is near the Lüderitz Airport	Kolmanskuppe ghost town from the air	Kolmanskuppe	Overflying the ghost town of Kolmanskuppe on approach to Lüderitz Airport
V5-FIS tied down against the strong winds common at Lüderitz	Lüderitz International Airport (FYLZ)	Lüderitz can be reached from Windhoek by paved road	Passing Kolmanskuppe headed for town
We stayed at Gästehaus Zur Waterkant, belonging to Eckhart's aunt	Zur Waterkant Gästehaus, Lüderitz	Zur Waterkant	View of Lüderitz Harbor from the guesthouse
Sunset with a chuch tower, Lüderitz	Sunset through a cactus	Residential areas on the north side of Lüderitz	Breakfast at the guesthouse Zur Waterkant
100th anniversary of Luderitz celebrated in 1983	View of Lüderitz with the Felsenkirche	Lüderitz	They say it's named after a different Goering
Skool Zone, Lüderitz	Lesehalle (Library) Lüderitz	Lesehalle (Library) Lüderitz	Turnhalle (Gym) Lüderitz
Felsenkirche, Lüderitz	Schnitzstrasse, Lüderitz	Lüderitz	Tischlerei (Cabinetmaker) Lüderitz
Kaaps Hotel, Lüderitz	Diaz Coffee Shop, Lüderitz	Bismarckstrasse, Lüderitz	Hotel Diamond Reef, Lüderitz
German School, Lüderitz	Kapps Konzert und Ball-Saal	Barrels Pub, Lüderitz	Lüderitz
Haus Eberlanz, Lüderitz	Lüderitz	Apotheke, Bismarckstrasse, Lüderitz	Nedbank, Bismarckstrasse, Lüderitz
Biltong shop, Bismarckstrasse, Lüderitz	Lüderitz Tours and Safaris	Lüderitz Tours and Safaris shop	Lüderitz Railway Station
Lüderitz Railway Station	The railway was founded in German South West Africa in 1897	Lüderitz Railway Station	Lüderitz
NamPost Lüderitz	Felsenkirche, Lüderitz	Felsenkirche 1912	Goerke Haus, Diamantbergstrasse
Goerke Haus	Goerke Haus	Goerke Haus	Front hall, Goerke Haus
Goerke Haus, Lüderitz	Stairway, Goerke Haus	Original glass, Goerke Haus	Felsenkirche from the tower of the Goerke Haus
Felsenkirche	View of Lüderitz from the Goerke Haus	Today, the Goerke Haus functions as a guesthouse for Namdeb	Lüderitz from the Goerke Haus
The road to the airport, Kolmanskuppe and beyond	Goerke Haus	Goerke Haus	Weathervane, Goerke Haus
Goerke Haus, Lüderitz	Lüderitz	Cliffs behind the Felsenkirche	Old defences, Lüderitz
Lüderitz	Historical marker	Lüderitz	Lüderitz
Lesehalle and Turnhalle later in the day	Ringstrasse, Lüderitz	Lesehalle, Lüderitz	Namibian coat of arms
Lüderitz	Hotel Zum Sperrgebiet, Lüderitz	AIDS awareness, Lüderitz	Lüderitz
Lüderitz	Lüderitz waterfront	Lüderitz waterfront	Namibian Office of the Ombudsman
Colonial architecture from 1906, Lüderitz	lud 415.JPG	Lüderitz	Click here for the text of the article
Woermann-Linie building, Lüderitz	Deutsche Afrika-Linien (Woermann-Linie)	Reinhold was the first to make it up the Felsen for sunset at Lüderitz	Sunset, Lüderitz
Ralph filming sunset on the cliffs at Lüderitz with the moon rising	Sunset in Lüderitz	Felsenkirche	Window in the Felsenkirche donanted by Kaiser Wilhelm II, Luderitz, Namibia
Kaiser Wilhelm's window, Luderitz, Namibia	Felsenkirche	Felsenkirche, Lüderitz	Lüderitz
Sundowner on the cliffs by the Felsenkirche	Felsenkirche	The lights coming on in Lüderitz	Felsenkirche at night
Felsenkirche at night	Eckhart's regular evening pose	Another long day for Eckhart	Please don't steal the diamonds
Lüderitz is pretty much a company town for Namdeb, the Namibian diamond company	Namdeb's mission	Kolmanskuppe, a turn of the century diamond mining town 14km inland from Lüderitz	The Sperrgebiet is the restricted diamond area that covers a huge area
Kolmanskuppe	Recreation Hall, Kolmanskuppe	Recreation Hall, Kolmanskuppe	Museum at Kolmanskuppe
Huge rough diamonds, Kolmanskuppe	Theatrical stenciling in the Recreation Hall, Kolmanskuppe	Gym, Kolmanskuppe	Stove, Kolmanskuppe
DSC_2594.JPG	Kegelbahn, Kolmanskuppe	Kegelbahn, Kolmanskuppe	Old electrical equipment
Don't pee in the ruins	Butcher	Meat hooks	Kolmanskuppe
Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe
Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe	The sand has really taken over some houses	Sand nearly to the ceiling
Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe
Kolmanskuppe	Sandy hallway	Stenciling, Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe
Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe	Hospital, Kolmanskuppe
Hospital, Kolmanskuppe	Hospital, Kolmanskuppe Ghost Town	Call the plumber!	Kolmanskuppe
Kolmanskuppe	DSC_2678.JPG	DSC_2679.JPG	DSC_2682.JPG
DSC_2683.JPG	DSC_2684.JPG	Reinhold in a tub	DSC_2689.JPG
DSC_2690.JPG	Recreation Hall, Kolmanskuppe	Architect's House, Kolmanskuppe	Kolmanskuppe
Inge's tired of the blowing sand	Architect's House, Kolmanskuppe	Reinhold, Inge, Ralph, Christian	Architect's House
Electrical outlet and switch	Architect's House, Kolmanskuppe	Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe	Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe Ghost Town
Architect's House	Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe	Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe	Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe
Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe	Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe	Mine Manager's House, Kolmanskuppe	After Kolmanskuppe, we took a brief excursion to Diaz Point and Grosse Bucht
Low-flying seagull	Diaz Point (Dias for the Portuguese)	Diaz Point Lighthouse, Namibia	Diaz Point Lighthouse
Diaz Point Lighthouse	Waves crashing against the shore at Diaz Point	The wind today is pushing 30 knots	Diaz Point foghorn
Diaz Point	Diaz Point Lighthouse	Diaz Point	Landing point of Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias in 1488
The current cross at Diaz Point is a replica	View from the Diaz Point cross to the fog horn	Grosse Bucht, south of Diaz Point	Grosse Bucht
Wreck of a small ship at Grosse Bucht	Wreck at Grosse Bucht	Tanking up for the flight south along the coast to Bogenfels, then inland over Fish River Canyon, on to Keetmanshoop	Residential area near Lüderitz
Lüderitz	Lüderitz	Felsenkirche, Lüderitz	Lüderitz
Rounding Diaz Point	Diaz Point (Lüderitz)	Grosse Bucht, Namibia	Wreck of a fishing boat, Sperrgebiet
Diamond mine in the Sperrgebiet, Namibia	Diamond Mine, Sperrgebiet	Elizabeth Point, Sperrgebiet	Elizabeth Point mine, Sperrgebiet
Elizabeth Point, Sperrgebiet	V5-JOG overflying the southern end of Possession Island, Namibia	Sperrgebiet	Coast of the Sperrgebiet
Buildings on a rocky point, Sperrgebiet	Bogenfels, a major landmark in the Sperrgebiet south of Lüderitz	Bogenfels, Namibia	Heading inland across the southern Sperrgebiet towards Fish River Canyon
Sperrgebiet, Namibia	Sperrgebiet, Namibia	Sperrgebiet, Namibia	Sperrgebiet, Namibia
Scorpion Mine on the edge of the Sperrgebiet

comment |

Kory Darnall		11-Oct-2009 03:40
You guys did a great job of photography. I just returned from Lüderitz and it was great to see the pics.

Dudy Tuchfeld		09-May-2008 21:33
wonderful gallery v

binard		11-Oct-2007 12:22
wonderful pictures that help to prepare our trip to Namibia on the 25th of this month. We hope overflying the desert and the Skeleton coast with our Canon EOS 350 and 5D. Or perhaps with a balloon? to catch the most namibian lights. Brigitte and Charles Binard, belgian keen travellers.

Steve		04-Feb-2007 07:22
Thanks for making our day with this beautiful photos. The last time I saw Lüderitz was in 1984 when we visited my mother in-law who had some businesses, but closed them in 1991.My wife was born and married in Lüderitz in 1981.

Brian McMorrow		27-Jan-2007 19:49
Thanks José. I did note that I spelt the navigator's name correctly as Bartolomeu Dias when referring to the man, but in referring to Namibian signage http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/45172855) the place is now called "Diaz Point" with the Spanish spelling.

José Campos		27-Jan-2007 19:31
Nice, lekker pictures! My congratulations to you. However, allow me a repair: WHY is it that you spell the name of the greatest "caravelista" (caravel navigator) of all times, the spanish way? He was Portuguese and the correct way is DIAS and not "Diaz" with a z in the end...would you please have it corrected? Thanks, Obrigado, Dankie! José Campos, Commander, Order of Prince Henry (the Navigator,)since 1984. Cacem, Portugal

Cheryl		08-Sep-2006 11:37
Your pictures of Luderitz are very nice but I am dissappointed that you do not have a picture of the Bay View Hotel is Diaz street. The hotel arcitecture is typical Cape Dutch with gables and is rather unusual in Namibia and unique in Luderitz.

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