Zorena Jantze
THE small town of Omaruru is a happy hug of quaint houses, lined by the rich silt of the wide Omaruru River.
Omaruru in English means sour. The name had been conferred to the town by the Ovaherero people as their cattle’s milk would turn sour after they grazed on a certain plant in the area. The Namibia Tourism Board (NTB) in a bid to increase local tourism showcased the quiet town and its rich history and beautiful lodges in its periphery.
The tour included a stop at the oldest cemetery in town, which held the earthly remains of German soldiers who died around the early 1900’s as well as locals and Chiefs.
Along the quiet, and sandy street banks of the small town one is also greeted by the Curt von François tower, a fortress with a cannon rifle pointing ominously into the dark cloudy sky.
The tour guide Gottfried Ekandjo explained that the tower was built when Commissioner Curt von Francios went down south to quell the nama uprising in 1904, but however upon returning to Omaruru found most of his men dead. The tower was then built in honour of the fallen soldiers.
The town was started in 1866 by the Zeraeua family. Each year the Herero community come to Omaruru to pay homage to their ancestors lost to war and genocide.
The guide on the trip explained that the town also included settlers, namely Anders Ohlsson and Axel Eriksson who arrived in 1871 who came to the town and started a brewery and trading post. In 1878 the brewery and trading post employed around the largest settler numbers in the country, around 40 people.
In 1904 the Ovaherero/Nama and German war broke out, and in 2007, a 100 years later, the family of Lothar von Trotha family came to the small town of Omaruru and made an apology to the Ovaherero people for genocide.
After s visit of the town, the tour culminated at Omaruru Game Lodge, a serene oasis where wildlife such as Rhinos, Giraffes and other antelopes graze about near the lodges restaurant. The guest bungalows are situated around the game lodge’s waterhole and are nestled in the shadows of majestic palm and sycamore trees.#Palmwag2024
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