Omaruru

Omaruru sits on a dry riverbed in the Erongo region and has become the closest thing Namibia has to an arts town, with several galleries, working studios and craft outlets in a town of some fourteen thousand people. It also has a vineyard producing wine in the desert, which is unusual enough to draw visitors on its own. Colonial-era buildings include the Franke Tower, a small fort of 1908, and a mission church from the 1870s.

History

The name means "bitter milk" in Otjiherero, after a local bush that made the cattle's milk bitter. Omaruru was established in 1863 by Wilhelm Zeraua, first chief of the White Flag clan of the OvaHerero; in 1871 Anders Ohlsson and Axel Eriksson set up a brewery here, and the town grew around the mission Gottlieb Viehe built in 1872, now a museum (Wikipedia, Omaruru, Namibia).

Highlights

• The galleries - working studios and craft outlets through the town.
• The vineyard - wine grown and made in the dry riverbed country.
• The Franke Tower - a small 1908 fortification, now a monument.
• The mission church - one of the older mission buildings in the region.

When to go

March to October is the cooler window. The town's arts festival, usually late in the year, is when it is busiest. Summer heat is severe.

Things to know

Galleries keep irregular hours and several may be closed on any given day. The town is small and half a day covers it. Vineyard tours run to a limited schedule.

Nearby

The Erongo mountains are south, and the dinosaur footprints are northeast.

Key facts