Oranjemund – Transformation of a desert legend

WHAT TO DO IN ORANJEMUND

OMD 2030 has its Hub in Seventh Road, across from Spar – which you can’t miss because it is the only grocery store in town. The Hub is where locals and visitors can get information on activities and tours, make use of WiFi and printing services, buy locally-made souvenirs in the gift shop, or rent the venue for conferences and events. The Hub also rents out e-bikes, providing an ideal opportunity to pack some snacks and explore the town and surroundings at your own pace.

Next door the Jasper House Heritage Centre – the oldest building in the town and residence of the first mine manager – is now a museum where artefacts and records of the Sperrgebiet and early exploration years are displayed. The Heritage Centre houses a coffee shop in its garden, along with old digging machinery used during the early mining years.

While a walk (or e-biking) through town is already an activity in its own, public facilities are available in the form of a well-maintained swimming pool, library and various private clubs where visitors are always welcome, plus activities like horse riding and badminton.

The Sands “Hotel” Complex is a must on any first-timer’s list: With more than 157 bars (10 of which are currently closed), all tightly packed into a maze of alleyways, it was established in the 1970s as an entertainment area for the mineworkers, and today still very much serves as the preferred spot to socialise after a hard day’s work.

If you’d rather relax playing golf than having a beer, the Oranjemund Golf Club is renowned for being one of the toughest in the country, with golfers frequently being tested by unforgiving winds and punishing roughs. This is desert golfing at its best.

A bit further westwards, along one of only two public access roads (the other one is the M118 to Rosh Pinah in the northeast), the lush Orange River delta spreads out to the ocean. A Ramsar Site, it is home to more than 4 000 birds of 40 different species that nest along its shores. Picnic and lookout spots, dotted along the river, invite you for a break to reflect on the incredible fauna and flora that inhabit these desert-adapted ecosystems. Met by the ocean with stubborn persistence, the Orange River Mouth changes in appearance from day to day, as sandbanks push and shift the flow of water. Along the beach – of which only about one kilometre is accessible to the public – a number of vibrantly painted braai areas, sheltered against the elements, provide space for lunch.

Known as the link between the Richtersveld in South Africa and the Namib Desert flora, the flat top of Swartkops Hill is a Nature Reserve. Often visited by brown hyena and black-backed jackal, it is a biodiversity hotspot with succulents found nowhere else on earth. Swartkops is located within easy reach of the town and a great location for enjoying the sunset with 360-degree panoramic views, 70 metres above the river and surrounding desert.

When you have a day, or rather a night to spare, Hohenfels is worth a visit (it’s open for campers). Rumour has it that the ruins of an old imperial German police and customs station now houses the ghost of the Nama mistress who died in distress, murdered by her German lover’s jealous daughter. While Hohenfels is a bit further out of town (roughly 20 km), it does offer spectacular vistas from high up on the “high rock” after which it was named, above the riverbank.