Namibia 2015
Outing 1: Karabib - Omaruru - Karibib
I did try taking pictures from the bus, but these were not too successful because of the tinting in the windows and the reflections from the windows on the other side of the bus.
A view of the Erongo Mountains from the bus on the way to Omaruru.
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop
Our first stop was the Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop just outside Omaruru. Here they carve unique African animals from the roots and trunks of African hardwood trees. The animals take their form from the gnarled nature of the wood.
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop
Tikoloshe Root Carving Workshop: even traditional carvers are now using modern technology!
From Tikoloshe, the tour moved on to Omaruru and stopped at a supermarket so that the group could buy odds and ends (such as 5l bottles of water).
Kristal Kellerei
We then moved on to Kristal Kellerei, north-east of Omaruru. In spite of the dry Namibian climate, this is a wine farm which produces a white and a red wine as well as several spirits, including brandy. As the vines must be irrigated, the wine output is limited and thus rather expensive. The stop included a guided tour of the vineyard, the cellar and the distillery. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during this tour as I was more interested in the birds in the garden. Pat did take a few pictures of the implements in the garden.
Kristal Kellerei
Photo courtesy Pat Carr
Kristal Kellerei
Photo courtesy Pat Carr
Kristal Kellerei: behind the pump, you can see one of the tables set up for lunch.
Photo courtesy Pat Carr
After the tour, we had lunch in the garden.
The Omaruru Koppie from Kristal Kellerei
Franke Tower
From Kristal Kellerei, the tour moved on to the Franke Tower for a quick photo shoot. Unfortunately, my camera's mode dial had shifted off aperture priority, so all my pics of the tower were totally overexposed.
The Franke Tower
Photo courtesy Ray Burger
Just before leaving Omaruru, we stopped at this old building for ice-cream. For the life of me, I couldn't remember what Kobus had said about it, but thought it should be pretty easy to find out as Omaruru is not a very large town. How wrong I was - it took me nearly five hours with many variations of keywords before Google started showing me results, which triggered some words which Kobus had mentioned. This is the Omaruru Souvenirs and Kaffeestube, also known as the Wronsky House. For those interested, the history of Wronsky can be found here, with a nice history of the town from a Swedish perspective here.
Our final stop in Omaruru: Wronsky House
Back in Karibib, our final stop was the Henckert Tourist Centre, a curio shop and information centre. As no photos were allowed to be taken in the Centre, I skipped this walked back to the train.
