Ghost Tub
Dealing With Flat Tires In Namibia
While I'm sure not everyone's idea of a vacation is to go on a road trip through Africa, if you do decide to, make absolutely sure you know how to change a flat tire! If you can't, you're better off going on a guided tour with a dedicated driver. In my two weeks roaming the Namibian landscape, I ended up with 3 flat tires, and not all of them were in locations where a cellular network existed, which means unless you know how to change a tire, you're probably going to be waiting around for a while. A long while. It's not uncommon to drive for 20-30 miles and not encounter another car or human. That's about 30mins drive time on decent gravel roads without lots of turns.
I met a couple whose car broke down in the national park, where you're not supposed to even get out of your car, and they were stuck for 6 hours until someone came along. While you already know to try to change a tire on flat ground, the ground may sink...a bit. Be careful when jacking your car up - I ended up having to take three tries on my 3rd flat tire because the sandy ground kept shifting a bit. Lastly, it doesn't hurt to try to budget a little extra time in your daily itinerary to account for things like a potential flat tire or needing to jump out of your car to photograph some random giraffes chomping on some trees by the side of the road.
Today's Photo - Ghost Tub
My first visit to a ghost town of any kind! I was excited, especially after having seen some photos and time lapses, I tried to rearrange my trip to make sure I could spend some time in Kolmanskop. That's Kolmannskuppe for those of you that prefer the German name. It's fun to pronounce too.
After discovering a diamond in 1908, the town was constructed to support mining the area. Eventually the diamonds were depleted, and the town was abandoned in 1954 in favor of richer deposits elsewhere. The sands of time (no pun intended...or wait, maybe intended) took their toll on this ghost town. The desert has since been slowly reclaiming the buildings, which are no longer fully structurally sound. This is one big "Enter at your own risk" area.
Inside one of the abandoned buildings in Kolmanskop Ghost Town.
