MALTAHÖHE NAMIBIA. gateway to Sossusvlei and Service Centre for the vast
farming / ranch District of Maltahohe in central west Namibia.
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Maltahöhe Namibia
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Main Street |
Maltahöhe is a small town
standing about mid-point on the long C14 North - South gravel road
and is 110km west of Mariental along
a good tarred road. Standard Bank have a branch in the town. There is a fuel
filling station having a relatively well stocked general dealer store and take
away and a bank Windhoek ATM. Tyre sales and service are available. |
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There is not much to see in
Maltahohe. However, it
is a popular over night destination with travellers using the C14 and
visiting Sossusvlei.
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During the early German times this vast central
area of Namibia was administered from the tiny settlement at Gibeon.
The District Commissioner was Schutztruppe Captain Hennig Von
Burgsdorf who, in 1899, was of the opinion that for strategic
reasons there should be an outpost further to the west of the
district. He looked for a suitable location and was accompanied by
his wife on that particular journey. They discovered a good water
spring on a hilly outcrop and decided this was 'the place' and
pitched camp. Soon A small Schutztruppe outpost was established there and the
captain named it Maltahohe after
his wife's name,
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Karas Region |
| 24º50'S
16º59'E |
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Population 2,500 |
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Map of Namibia |
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Map
of Maltahohe |
Martha, Beathe, Louise. At a later occasion when he was questioned by a
Government official as to where the name came from. His reply was short and
to the point, "My wife and I discovered the place and it will stand fast."
There is no record of any objection to this announcement and so the little
town was born.
Maltahohe is a popular stay
over place and springboard for tourists visiting
Duwisib Castle and
or Sesriem /
Sossusvlei.
The Maltahohe Hotel is the oldest surviving hotel
in the country, opening in 1909, and the owners have wisely kept the old
world facade and entrance. The modern accommodation block being at
the rear of the hotel. The original bar is still there, and it is to this
water-hole that in the early years of the last century
Hansheinrich Von Wolf, the master of
Duwisib Castle
would ride to sate his thirst and need for some manly company.
Legend has it that there were occasions when being deep in the booze
and in high spirits he would draw his 10,5mm Reichs-Revolver and
shoot at the bottles on the display shelves behind the bar. A
gentleman to the end, he would pay the evenings bar accounts of his
drinking companions and make good any costs of the merrymaking to
the Inn-keeper.
Offizierhaus 1909 |
Maltahohe Hotel 1914 |
Hotel entrance today |
Heike and Arno |
My mate at the bar |
The Maltahohe Hotel is still a good waterhole, and
the last one for miles around. The owners are Arno and Heike Rahn
and they'll make you most welcome, but guns are neither welcome nor
allowed in the bar. You can see my little mate sitting at the bar enjoying his
ice-cream. He enjoyed the story about Von Wolf and the gun. He asked lots of
questions, such as,
"Did he sit here?" and, "Is a Reichsrevolver bigger than my dads?"
"It's most likely that he did, because this is a good place to sit. Yes. It
was bigger than your dad's. But, I think if he were here today he might just
have a problem getting that 10,5mm ammo for his 'side iron'." I answered.
"Why?" Oh dear, here we go again!
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About Those Lillies
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Elephant Nosed Beetle |
Hans picking lilies |
Pink... |
...and White |
The 'Big-South' is one of the dryer parts of Namibia. Some areas hardly
receive any rain for years, and weather out here is a strange thing. There
are years when it rains so much that people are isolated for days, and when
it rains like this there are the Lilies. "What's the story about the Lilies
down at Maltahohe?" I'm asked. OK. Here goes. About 35km north of the town,
there is a farm, and on this farm there is a large shallow pan that covers
an area of about 800 hectares. (For those who use imperial measuring units,
that equals the size of about 800 football fields. When it rains heavily on
the farm, the pan, or vlei, as it's called down here, floods to a depth of
about 40cm. Within a few short days the Lilies, that could have laid dormant
for many years push their way quickly through the shallow water and bloom.
It's a wondrous site that has to be seen quickly, because within a week,
they have all withered away, or been munched by a multitude of elephant
nosed beetles, as seen above left. Where these guys come from, I'll have to
investigate, for as beetles go, they're quite a handsome site.
Road Distances from Maltahohe
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Aus |
Duwisib Castle |
Goageb |
Luderitz |
Marientall |
Sesriem |
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249 / 155 |
85 / 53 |
286 / 178 |
374 / 232 |
111 / 69 |
185 / 115 |
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