Keetmanshoop

In 1860 the Rhenish Mission Society founded a mission at Keetmanshoop to spread their faith to the local Namas. They found that even though some Africans converted to Christianity, deserting their tribal beliefs was another matter.

Luckily the Namas of the southern region managed to retain their traditions of storytelling, poetry and prose, and their language is still spoken, although it is on UNESCO's list of "Languages in Danger of Disappearing".

Keetmanshoop is regarded as the capital of the south, and it is one of the few main road junctions in Namibia, with a tarred road leading north to Windhoek and west to the Atlantic coastal town of Luderitz. It is not as large as it might sound - nowhere in Namibia is - but you can get everything you need here and it is attractive with a well-kept central garden and an excellent tourist information centre.

The museum is also worth a visit, and keep an eye open for the attractive colonial German buildings. Sunshine is generous here as all over Namibia, and summer temperatures can exceed 40°C. You might think that sheep would not like the heat, but they thrive here - Keetmanshoop is the hub of the Karakul wool industry.

One place of interest that must surely be unlike anything you have seen before, is the quiver tree (kokerboom) forest 23 km north east of Keetmanshoop. On private land, these weird trees form an eerie, sparse forest amongst giant boulders and are best viewed just before sunset. The kokerboom is a member of the aloe family, and the trees have a dry and cracked yellow bark and sparse leaves on the end of a few forked branches. They grow only in the driest of areas and are called quiver trees because the bushmen used the hollowed-out branches to hold their arrows.

Nearby is the Giant's Playground where boulders perch precariously on top of each other in the oddest of formations, as if a giant had been throwing around toy stones.

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