We left Port Nolloth with a fond farewell to Maggie who had
spoiled us with a full English breakfast for 3 mornings and set out for Oranje
Mund.
The Border crossing is just outside Alexander bay but as we
did not get to see the town or bay area on our earlier reccie, we decided to
visit the town on our way out.
Although there is a boom gate guarding entrance to the town
area it is not real hard to get into town.
We asked the guard to go and see the town, River mouth and dredges. He seemed unsure of the procedure, scratched
through 3 different books, could not find a pen and at last just waved us
through. The town is very dreary.
Absurdly, EVERY BUILDING in town in the same colour. It’s a sad, yellow, “sand-ish” colour – just depressing.
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| Every building is the same yellow colour |
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| Only Shopping centre in town - again yellow |
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| The entrance to the town - all dusty and neglected |
From some books Neville read and conversations with some of
the locals it is clear that 30% plus of the rough diamonds recovered go missing
before reaching the plant. Elaborate
schemes i.e. homing pigeons carrying satchel filled with diamonds, shooting cross-bow
across the fence, the arrow shaft filled with diamonds etc. Additionally, one of the contractors told us
that some of the rarer colour diamonds they dive out (yellow, orange and even
maroon) is handed in, but they are never paid for them and no record is kept to
trace the diamonds further on.
We were able to get closer to the river mouth; the river is
more brown/green closer to the ocean.
You can see much of the Alexkor mine from here, it is old and broken
down buildings litter the beach.
The Oranje Mund Border crossing was a pleasant
experience. On the SA side you do not
need to complete any paperwork at immigration, the staff is friendly and very helpful. They checked our vehicle, almost seemed
embarrassed that they had to and we had to sign a police register. On the Namibia side, as you are not only
entering the country but also the “Sper-gebied” you also need permits from
NamDeb. You can arrange the permits with
the owner of the guest-house you book – in our case, Fanie at “Op My Stoep”
obtained the permits, it costs N$ 40.
After immigration you go to the NamDeb office, they take your photo,
give you a access card and off you go.
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| Entrance to town - NamDeb owns almost everything in town |
We stopped at the only museum in town, the Jasper
House. It is very well kept, has many
photo’s of the town and it’s development as well as fossils from the area,
mining tools etc. We had a genteel cup
of tea and cake and the garden and then drove through the suburbs.
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| Cofee shop next to the museum |
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| Having a cuppa - check the pinky! |
And then – Heart stop!
In the middle of town, in the desert, on the lush green lawn of the
park, amongst the swings and children playground – a gemsbok. Not only one, a whole herd. They meander through town, having a snack of
grass wherever it seems softest and are not bothered at all by people walking
through the park or down the street.
Like the tourists we are, we gawked and
took a string of photo’s .
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| Gemsbok wandering through the suburbs |
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| Gemsbok in the park |
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| And more Gemsbok |
We stopped on the beach on our way to the Oranje river mouth
on the Namibia side. The water is icy
cold with a very strong current, we were told – as if we intended to swim!
Could not get to the river mouth as it’s mostly sand and you
need a 4x4 to go any further but did see the flamingo’s playing in the water
and in the distance the river emptying into the sea.
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| The Flamingo's on the riverbank |
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| Orange river on it's way to the Atlantic |
At 18:00 we walked up to the pub/restaurant area and were
met by the owner, Fanie, born in Argentinia.
This turned out to be quite an evening.
Lot’s of laughter, to many Jagermeisters, fantastic food and great
conversation. Fanie is quite the character
and a astute businessman. He visited
South Africa from with he’s mother when he was 16, quickly moved on he’s own to
Mozambique, did some odd jobs, moved between Mozambique, South Africa and ended
up in Oranje Mund.
The remainder of the evening was spend at the pub. Fanie
sharing with us many funny and interesting stories about the town’s history and
development, the diamond industry and all he’s other ventures.
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| The Holder used by Mine Formen to collect diamonds picked-up by workers - it's got a one-way valve. |
If every you are in Oranje Mund – you have to visit Fanie at
Op My Stoep. It will be an unforgettable
experience, he is a superb host.