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Keetmanshoop is conveniently situated at junction of the B1 road to
South Africa and the B4 west to Luderitz and the coast. A good
location for an overnight stay and springboard for visiting
the Fish River Canyon, the local tourist attractions are often
overlooked by busy travellers. Nearby are the volcano like
Brukkaros, the
Giant's Playground, The
Mesosaurus Fossils, the
Naute
Dam and
Quiver-Tree Forest. The town has some interesting buildings from the German
period and a small museum housed in the Rhenish Church.
History:
The Nama tribe !kharo-Oan
led by Kaptein Hendrik Tsieb settled at the place they called
Swartmodder in 1866. Shortly following this the Rhenish Missionary Dr. Carl Hugo
Hahn sought the finances to establish a church and mission station at the
settlement. A German businessman from the town of Barmen, Johann Keetman donated the funds and the settlement was
named Keetman's Hope in recognition of his generosity and also hopes
that the project would succeed. Following the
1884 German occupation of
Namibia, Keetmanshoop was proclaimed a town on 14 April 1866 and granted
Municipality status on 1 November 1909.
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| Karas Region |
| 26º34'S -
18º08'E |
| Population 22,000 |
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Johan Keetman |
The old German (Kaiserliches Postamt) Post and
Telegraphic Office was built in 1909. It also had an accommodation
wing for the staff. The building was proclaimed a National Monument
on 2.02.1987. It stands at the corner of Hampie Plichta Ave. and 6th
Street and now serves as the Keetmanshoop tourist information office.
Following the wash-away of the original church in the
great flood of 28 October 1890 the Rhenish
Mission Church was rebuilt on higher ground and was consecrated on 8
May 1895. It is the oldest standing building in Keetmanshoop and now
serves as a museum. The church was proclaimed a National Monument on
17.06.1978. It stands on Sam Nujoma Ave
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Hampie Plichta Str |
Rhenish Church |
Church Museum |
German Post Office |
Kaiserkrone River |
The above left street was named after the late and much respected Hampie
Plichta, who devoted much of his life to public service, promoting tourism to
the south of Namibia, and served as the mayor of Keetmanshoop for many years.
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| Local Area Attractions |
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Brukarros:
This is strictly for the keen and well equipped hikers, and those
with an interest in geology and preferably done with a guided tour. The
local Nama community operate a camping area at a level that can be accessed by car. The upper
camping area is about 1km up the rock and can be accessed by foot or
4x4. It's a remote, accident prone place with no cell-phone coverage in the
event of an emergency, so be careful if going there. Time budget
4-6hr+
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Mesosuarus tenuidens Fossil Site:
Highly recommended. The Steenkamps own the farm and are passionate about
their work. They will show you many wondrous things. Not only some of the best trace fossils of Mesosaurus
tenuidens, but forests of Quiver Trees, Surrealistic Dolerite Rock
formations and even play you a tune on their musical rocks. This is possibly the
best value tour in Namibia. Time budget 2-3hrs
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The Naute Dam is the 2nd largest Dam in Namibia and
quite picturesque. There are camping areas with good views over the dam, but no electricity or
shower facilities. If you're equipped for 'camping out' this is a
good restful stopover place and reasonably priced. Time budget 1hr+
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The Quiver Tree Forest
is a National Heritage site and is located on the Farm Gariganus. Also
on this farm, but a few kilometers along the gravel road, is the strange
maze of rock-formations known as the Giants Playground.
Here you'll see massive dolerite boulders perched on top of each other.
The farm has self catering accommodation, pet cheetahs and warthogs etc.
Time budget 2-4hrs
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Namibia Towns: Aus |
Gobabis |
Grootfontein |
Grunau |
Henties-Bay |
Kamanjab |
Karibib |
Karasburg |
Katima Mulilo |
Keetmanshoop
Khorixas
| Luderitz |
Maltahohe |
Mariental |
Noordoewer |
Okahandja |
Omaruru |
Ondangwa |
Oshakati |
Otavi
Otjiwarongo |
Outjo |
Rehoboth |
Ruacana |
Rundu |
Solitaire |
Swakopmund |
Terrace-Bay |
Tsumeb |
Uis |
Usakos |
Walvis-Bay |
Windhoek
Of Interest: The Nama name for Keetmanshoop was #Nu#Goaes
(meaning Fountain of Black Mud). The Apollo 11 cave site about 100km south of
Bethanien is the oldest known rock art site in Africa, being an
estimated 35,000 old.
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