i-Namibia.com

An article by the dpa, the German press agency, about Germans in Namibia, which appeared in almost every German newspaper (for example, check the identical versions on n-tv.de or Spiegel.de), was now translated by “The Local“. 

A Kudu antelope strolls into the bar – no, this isn’t the start to a lame joke, it’s merely a normal day on the Elisenheim guest farm in Namibia.

Elsewhere, a small springbok is playing with dogs and children. Korn schnapps, beer and burgers are going down well in the Bacchus Tavern between the desert dunes and the Atlantic coast. On the lonely savanna and desert tracks, the speed limit is 100 kmh. Gleaming snowy peaks turn out to be mountains of salt.

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The former German colony of Namibia has become an attractive destination for German tourists and expats looking for a new home offering a touch of Teutonic Gemütlichkeit – or hospitality.

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Namibia offers many surprises to visitors and, because of its past as the colony German Southwest Africa, it to this days still bears several Germanic hallmarks. 

The country has become a worthwhile destination for tourists looking for an African adventure without the stress and mass safaris of its neighbours. But it’s also a popular choice for immigrants from Germany looking to integrate with the local German community.

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Many Germans have made Namibia their new home in recent years. They are following in the footsteps of their fellow countrymen, who a century ago and more settled in the region when it was still a colony of the Kaiser. The territory later came under the administration of neighbouring South Africa until Namibia became independent in 1990.

Holidaying on a ranch for tourists or a hunting farm in the country is becoming more and more popular. The mix of relaxation, solitude without hardship and adventure outside of national parks and luxury camps has special appeal. Almost all livestock farmers in Namibia have now discovered tourism as a second source of income. Guests laze by swimming pools between palms and flowering hibiscus. Activities include horse riding, hikes to caves, animal tracking, meeting local peoples and desert safaris.

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“Namibia is ideal for travelers new to Africa”, explains Ernst Sauber, a neighbour of the Schulze-Neuhoffs. “The country is stable and relatively safe. Roads, hotels and lodges are good by African standards, and the landscape and the wildlife are diverse and appealing.” The head of the neighbouring BüllsPort farm 40 kilometres away is a third-generation settler: his grandfather came from Schleswig-Holstein. 

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Those who want to meet witnesses of German-African history and experience real German Gemütlichkeit for a couple of days are well catered for in nearby Swakopmund. The town currently has 40,000 inhabitants and was formerly an important port for immigrants from Germany and for the colonial administration. 

The sea is raw; the wind whips up waves and spray. Clean streets and neat houses, many of them in the colonial style, characterise the town centre. The desert begins at the town’s edge.

Bratwurst, smoked port and sauerkraut are savoured by locals and tourists alike in the Swakopmund Butchery, run by German-Namibian couple Katja and Gero Düvel. The two master butchers speak Afrikaans, English and German with their customers. Katja, from Meerane in Saxony, met Gero in Bavaria.

Gero has German roots, grew up on his parents’ farm near Windhoek and has also worked in Düsseldorf. Their store is in a good neighbourhood in the historic centre of the town. Nearby are the Eagle Pharmacy, Ankerplatz Supermarket and the Town Hall, in smartly renovated buildings, as well as the German doctor Rüdiger Moisel’s practice.

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Seeing and being seen is important at Nice in Mozart Street, where the country’s elite sip prosecco and red wine or enjoy an oryx steak. The modern restaurant and bar also has a specalised school for fine cuisine, where young Namibians are trained.

“The country needs more of its own people in senior positions,” says Stephan Brückner, whose grandparents emigrated from Germany. The 43-year-old manager, who also studied in Berlin, points to the full bar and says: “More and more of the population has money. That’s very encouraging for the future of Namibia.”