Visitors to Windhoek, Namibia, often see this town as a starting place for their journey to other tourist attractions like the Sossusvlei Dunes, Swakopmund and elsewhere in the country. Windhoek is however, more than just a starting point to a vacation and offers the tourist a myriad of attractions to occupy the curious visitor for hours.
Situated in the Khomas Region and surrounded by the Eros, Otjihavera and Auas Mountains as well as the rolling hills of the Khomas Hochland, a German colonial administration settled here in 1890 when Major Curt von Francois established a military post in the town. According to Willie and Sandra Olivier in African Adventurer's Guide to Namibia (Struik Publishers, 2003), the name Wind Hoock (windy corner) originated from a letter written by Jonker Afrikaner in which he apparently corrupted the name Winterhoek, a mountain range in South Africa.
Post Street Mall in Windhoek, Namibia
The Post Street Mall hosts the clock tower at the upper end, a replica of the one erected on the Deutsche-Africa Bank in 1908. At the Post Street Mall, tourists can shop for ordinary items as well as a large display of curios from Namibia's Kavango region, Zimbabwe and even Kenya. Items on display close to the Gibeon Fountain include baskets, curios constructed of beads, porcupine quills and ostrich shells. The surrounding shops specialize in gemstones, jewelers, leather goods, pottery, textiles, painting, sculpture, prints and, of course, woodcarving. Tourists will also find the famous Kalahari carpets for sale in the shops around the mall.
The area around Post Street Mall is a pedestrian zone and no vehicular traffic is allowed. This makes for a pleasant shopping experience where tourists may dine at the variety of cafe's and diners while observing the local population going about their daily business.
Several apartments and other holiday accommodation surround the Post Street Mall and tourists may well wake up to the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the street vendors in the street below.
Gibeon Meteorite Fountain in Windhoek, Namibia
The Gibeon Fountain is a display of meteorites from the Gibeon shower said to have occurred around the small settlement of Gibeon in Namibia. This is supposedly the most extensive meteorite shower on earth and covers an area of 275 km by 100 km south of Mariental. According to Namibweb.com, the indigenous Nama people have been using the pieces of meteorite to produce spear points for a long time.
Consisting of 90-95% iron and 8% nickel, the pieces of meteorite recovered from the area have fascinated world scientists. Scientists further believe that the bubbly surface, melting seams and cavities resulted from atmospheric transformation at low temperatures after the main body of the meteorite broke up and entered the atmosphere. Several of these meteorites are on display as the Gibeon Fountain in the Post Street Mall, Windhoek and the display attracts thousands of tourists each year.
Other attractions in and around Windhoek include the Zoo Park, Kriegerdenmal, historical German buildings, museums and churches with unique architecture.
Yolande Pienaar - Yolande traveled extensively through Southern Africa and frequently visits places off the beaten track where she discovers gems to share ...
