the little ghost town of kolmanskop

Our second stop in Namibia was Kolmanskop, a little deserted diamond mining town situated near the seaside town of Luderitz. Once upon a time, this area was absolutely booming, with diamonds so easy to find. People rushed into the Namib Desert here hoping to make an easy fortune and it only took two years for an entire town fit with a casino, school, hospital and houses to establish on the desert here. Over 1000 kgs of diamonds were found here! When the diamonds were gone, people moved on to other mining sites. These days, it is an abandoned town, dilapidated and in absolute ruin. The nearby coastal sand slowly but surely swallowing up what remains. What we have now, is an amazing ghost town, extremely popular with tourists and photographers coming here every day to explore and imagine just what it might have been like when this place was one bustling with people.

Here are some images I captured during our time exploring Kolmanskop..

The two images above are taken in the old hospital building. Probably the eeriest building I walked through simply because I knew it was a hospital.

One of the more popular captures of Kolmanskop - these open doors are postcard famous for the fact that they line up so beautifully.

One of my favourite buildings at Kolmanskop was the old school building. The above photo and the below few are all captured in this building. In the afternoon, an amazing golden glow comes through the windows making it a really magical place to be. Despite it's abandoness, it didn't actually feel all too spooky walking around by myself!

Wearing: Forever New jumper | Lululemon pants | Bared boots | Kanken backpack

Tip: Boots are the shoe of choice when it comes to trekking through sand. They keep the sand out of your shoes and also protect you for any potential encounters with snakes. We didn't see any but the receptionist at the hotel we stayed at did warn us that other tourists had reported seeing some.

At the back top end of Kolmanskop are the larger two storey buildings. These were the mansions of the time and were reserved for the doctor, mayor, bookkeeper and other important people. Whilst some of the buildings have been restored well for tours, others are completely breaking down with staircase like the above. I awkwardly scrambled up that staircase to get to the first storey.

Wearing: ASOS red dress

Every now and then, you'd come across the most picture perfect sand dune..

Doors, doors and more doors. Some of my favourite angles were found after climbing under tiny doorways or walking through a maze of rooms. I love the colourful paint on the walls too, it seemed like it was definitely a pretty place to live once upon a time!

Just another one of those perfect sand dunes.. I can't even imagine someone wanting to ruin these ripples by walking through that door

I hope you enjoyed my Kolmanskop photo diary! Our next stop.. Sossusvlei.

travel guides, travelConnie CaoNovember 2, 2017africa, canon australia, canon collective, ghost town, kolmanskop, namibia, travel, Travel Diary, travel guide12 Comments

the little ghost town of kolmanskop

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

© Connie and Luna 2020. All rights reserved.