Lüderitz is a harbour town in southwest Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa, and developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town was founded in 1883, when Angra Pequena and some of the surrounding land was purchased on behalf of Adolf Lüderitz, a Hanseat from Bremen in Germany, from a local Nama chief. When Lüderitz didn't return from an expedition to the Orange River in 1886, Angra Pequena was named Lüderitzbucht in his honour. The harbour has a very shallow rock bottom, making it unusable for modern ships.
Built in 1915 (station established 1903) on a one story hexagonal stone base, Dias Point Lighthouse has 28m height and is painted with red and white horizontal bands. A fog horn is located at 450m north, and a fog signal tower also survives. Nearby is a stone cross commemorating the landing here, in 1487, of the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias, who gave the name of the lighthouse. From the point, there’s a view of a nearby seal colony and can be seen cormorants, flamingoes, wading birds and even the occasional pot of dolphins.
About the stamp
The stamp, is part of the series Namib Sand Sea, about which I wrote here.
References
Lüderitz - Wikipedia
Lighthouses of Namibia - The University of North Carolina official website
Sender: Ester
Sent from Windhoek (Khomas / Namibia), on 21.04.2015
Photo: Gerald Hoberman
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