The Zuiderdam arrived in Lüderitz today for the first of two ports in Namibia.  We didn’t have any excursions planned and decided to relax in the morning and then go ashore in the afternoon and explore the small town on foot.  This will be our first time in Lüderitz.

All passengers were required to meet with Namibian Officials face-to-face in the Main Dining room.  The guests on Deck 1 were first, then each Deck was called in turn.  We waited until the final call, which was around 9:15 am.  The entire process took 8 minutes from the time we left our room until we returned.

The Zuiderdam was anchored about 1 mile offshore.  We headed down to the tender platform around noon and immediately boarded a waiting tender – which left in a couple of minutes.  Fifteen minutes later, we arrived alongside a narrow tender pier.  The gangway to the pier was steep, and people with mobility issues required assistance.

As we left the pier, we came across a local tour tent that was offering $20 tours to the nearby ghost town:  Kolmanskop.  HAL was offering the identical two-hour tour for $139.95.  We decided to forgo our planned town walk and take this tour to Lüderitz’s major tourist attraction.

After waiting 15 minutes for others to arrive on the next tender, we all climbed into a van and drove 5 miles to Kolmanskop, arriving in 15 minutes.

Kolmanskop is a fascinating ghost town located in the Namib Desert of Namibia.  It was once a thriving diamond mining town, but it was abandoned in the mid-20th century when diamond deposits were depleted.

The houses and buildings were in various stages of decay, with sand slowly reclaiming them.  Many buildings had broken windows, and the roofs had caved in.

After we arrived in Kolmanskop, we headed into the large main building, which has a small museum, gift shop, and snack bar.  Here is where we met our guide, Janie.

Janie led our group on a thirty minute tour through a few of the major buildings and explained what life was like here when the diamond mines were operational.

After our tour, we had about 1 hour to explore the other buildings on our own.   With the exception of the main buildings on our tour route, the other buildings were empty and open to the elements, with sand drifting in the rooms and the walls cracked with fading paint.

Our group met our van around 3:30 pm, and we headed back to Lüderitz.

After we arrived, we walked over to the nearby grocery store to see what was available, and we bought a few diet cokes to take back to the ship.

Today was St Patrick’s Day, and we joined in for the Pub Crawl, which started in the Gallery Bar before moving on to the Casino Bar, Crow’s Nest, and finally, the Lido Pool Bar.

Comedian Martin Beaumont was on the World Stage this evening.  We have seen him many times, and he always puts on a great show.