Things to do
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Agate Beach
A long stretch of sand north of the town, named for the stones washed up along it, and the closest thing here to a swimming beach if the cold is tolerable. Flamingos work the shallows at the northern end. The wind usually gets up by the middle of the day and sends the sand along the ground.
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Bogenfels
A natural arch of rock stands fifty five metres above the sea deep inside the restricted diamond area, with the swell running through the gap beneath it. Reaching it takes a full day on a permitted tour out of the town, across gravel plains and past abandoned workings. Numbers are limited and booking ahead is required.
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Diaz Point
Bartolomeu Dias raised a stone cross on this headland in 1488 on his way around the continent, and a replica stands in its place today. A lighthouse and a wooden walkway sit beside it above the swell. Seals and occasional whales pass below, and the wind here is almost never absent.
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Felsenkirche
The rock church sits on Diamond Hill above the town, its stained glass given by the German emperor, and it is reached on a short climb from the streets below. Opening is limited to a window in the late afternoon. The terrace outside it gives the clearest overview of the bay and the rooftops.
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Goerke Haus
A diamond company manager built this house below the church in the years of the boom, with a flamingo window on the stairs and imported fittings throughout. It later served as a residence for state visitors. Restored and open to visit, it shows what the money bought before the field ran out.
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Halifax Island
African penguins breed on this low granite island in the bay, one of a handful of colonies left on the Namibian coast after guano scraping and egg collecting reduced them. Landing is not allowed. Catamarans run out from the waterfront in the morning and usually find dolphins on the way.
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Kolmanskop
Diamonds found beside the railway in 1908 produced a town with a ballroom, a hospital and the first X-ray machine in southern Africa, abandoned once the richer fields opened further south. Sand now stands waist deep through the doorways. Permits are issued in town and the morning light is what photographers come for.
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Nest Hotel
Built out onto the rocks at the southern edge of the town, with the Atlantic breaking directly below the rooms and a private stretch of shoreline attached. Seals and seabirds pass close in. It is the most comfortable base in Lüderitz and the one with the shortest walk to the old quarter.
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Shark Island
The German colonial administration ran a concentration camp on this peninsula between 1905 and 1907, during the genocide of the Herero and Nama, and thousands of prisoners died here. A campsite occupies the site today, which remains contested. A memorial stands near the point, and the ground is worth walking with that history known.