Reviews: Sperrgebiet tour

"We did an amazing and very special tour through the 'Sperrgebiet' (forbidden area) with a skillful guide. It was the most expensive tour we have ever done (€300 per person) but it was worth every penny. They picked us up at The Nest Hotel at 07.45 hrs and we were back at 17.30 hrs. The group was quite large, 18 persons in total. Also people who drove their own vehicle. Important: at some points you will drive through loose sand. This does require some steering skills.

In this tour you enter this "Sperrgebiet' (after thorough registration and checks at the gate) and you drive through the desert while the guide explains the history of diamond mining. The abandoned ghost towns are strange and beautiful at the same time. We really enjoyed the lunch (all locally/home made) with 'vonkelwijn' (=sparkling wine), fresh fruit skewers, salads, chicken wings, etc. in the former school building. At points of interest you get out of the car and you have plenty of time to takes pictures. Important: no toilets during this tour!

The 'Bogenfels' (rock arch in sea) was very nice, but we liked the ghost towns better. From the Bogenfels you drive all the way back to the 2nd gate, where they might check you and the car, because it is not allowed to take stones with you.

We highly recommend this tour!" Read more about this whole safari

"Superb! It was only my wife and myself with driver/guide Heinz. Hence it was all in German. Heinz is quite a character, which added an entertaining extra touch. Otherwise it’s all about the vast emptiness of the Sperrgebiet (on the 270km covered we never passed or saw a single other vehicle!) and of course the atmospheric ghost towns.

Pamona was the main spot and we were left to explore and photograph on our own while Heinz set up lunch. This was enormous (could have fed two families) and came with the extra bonus of a bottle of sparkling wine! Unexpected luxury in the middle of a desert ghost town! Nice home-made pastries too.

Then we drove on to Bogenfels – a coastal rock arch that exceeded all expectations. It really is a truly impressive sight to behold. It was an expensive tour – for just us two clients, when the nominal minimum number of participants is four – but we found it was money well invested." Read more about this whole safari

"This was a great day, with the Guide, Eric, being brilliant. He was knowledgable, amusingly entertaining and full of life.

The 6 of us on the trip had a wonderful time, and the journey through the Sperrgebeit and its ghost towns was breathtaking.
An excellent lunch was provided in the quirky surrounds of the old schoolhouse at Pomona ghost town.

Can't recommend this tour enough - but ask for Eric!" Read more about this whole safari

"This tour is a photographer's dream. Using a 4x4 mini-bus you can be assured of a small-group experience (there were 5 of us) into a previously forbidden area south of Luderitz. I believe I'm right in saying that only one group is allowed in each day - we certainly saw nobody else, making the desolation and loneliness of the workers in these wind-blasted diamond fields all too easy to imagine.

We were able to stop 'on demand' which was very often as the abandoned workings and settlements were ridiculously photogenic. The Bongenfels Arch was worth seeing and the setting of the desert against the blue Atlantic was beautiful." Read more about this whole safari

"have already supplied our comments to Expert Africa on this. This was a disappointing trip." Read more about this whole safari

"We enjoyed this tour very much, our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and served us a good lunch under conditions which were not easy." Read more about this whole safari

"Charles van Zyl had done a lot of homework on this (and the whole trip) and so we got a lot out of the visit. The conditions the people lived under amaze wimps like me and I admire them enormously.

The site is well-maintained and their guide was good." Read more about this whole safari

"This was really fabulaous. From our first stop at the deserted mines; we really absorbed the atmosphere of the place. We have taken some amazing photos of the deserted buildings at Pomona and the guide was brilliant. Lunch at the old Schoolhouse was wonderful and gave us plenty of time to wander round. The cemetry was particularly poignant. We enjoyed the contrast in visting Bogenfells Rock Arch with the wild waves.

We later manager to buy the book ' the harsh and forbidden Sperrgebiet' book to learn more about this amazing place." Read more about this whole safari

"This is a trip you need to think about as it is all day in a small mini bus and one of the harshest environments Namibia has and it is brilliant. Pomona is a very emotional experience as the dry air has preserved the timber buildings, which the sand is detrmined to reclaim. I spent an hour here pretty much on my own (their was only myself and Paul and Iris on the trip) and you realise how tough really was. Lunch was pretty good - Iris rustled up a feast in one of the houses).

Then onto Bogenfels (on one rough road) which was stunning, the strong offshore winds created fantastic waves which crashed into the rugged coastline and the arch is a must see for any keen photographer or lover of nature.

Iris was a star." Read more about this whole safari