A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.

We are a family of explorers; we travel often.


When I was about eight or nine, my mom and dad returned from a trip to Namibia. Of course, being South African/Namibian meant our family travelled in Africa often.


After this road trip safari to the desert, my mom showed me four A4 framed photographs of Kolmanskop, an abandoned mining village, outside Lüderitz in Namibia. These images significantly impacted my young mind, and these visual treasures inspired a lifetime of travel and photography.


Since I first encountered those images, I have always wanted to head to Kolmanskop and document these abandoned buildings myself; I finally made that trip with my family and my German husband in 2019. I created a small body for work, Kolmanskop, a Ghost Town of Namib. 


My passion for photography took me full circle.

A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.

Kolmanskop is a ghost town in the Namib desert, in a region known as “the forbidden zone.”


This deserted mining village lies 850 km south-west from Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, and 10 km from the seaside town, Lüderitz.


Kolmanskop or Kolmannskuppe, the deserted sand-filled diamond mining town, attracts thousands of tourists each year. 


The Namib Desert’s arid conditions preserve the beautiful architecture and wall decorations in the early-20th-century town. Nature is slowly reclaiming this space, and the red and orange dunes of the Namib could soon swallow what remains of the history this old German mining town.

A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
A photo of an abandoned building. An old mining village. Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Africa’s Namib Desert, in the middle of a region known as “the forbidden zone.” This deserted mining village is in Kolmanskop, Karas. Namibia. Namib desert.
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