Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
Waterberg Plateau Park is only accessible by private car - motorcycles are not permitted
anywhere within the park boundaries. From Otjiwarongo it's about 90km to the park gate
via the B1, C22 and the gravel D512. While this route is passable for 2WD vehicles, go
slow in the final stretches as the road can be in bad shape after the rainy season. An altern-
ative route is the D2512, which runs between Waterberg and Grootfontein - this route is
OK during winter but can be terrible during summer, the rainy season, when it requires a
high-clearance 4WD.
GROOTFONTEIN
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With a pronounced colonial feel, Grootfontein (Afrikaans for Big Spring) has an air of up-
rightness and respectability, with local limestone constructions and avenues of jacaranda
trees that bloom in the autumn. The springboard for excursions out to Khaudum National
Park and the San villages in Otjozondjupa, Grootfontein is the last town of any real signi-
ficance that you see before heading out into the deep, deep bush.
History
It was the town's eponymous spring that managed to attract Grootfontein's earliest travel-
lers, and in 1885 the Dorsland (Afrikaans for Thirst Land) trekkers set up the short-lived
Republic of Upingtonia. By 1887 the settlement was gone, but six years later Grootfontein
became the headquarters for the German South-West Africa Company, thanks to the area's
abundant mineral wealth. In 1896 the German Schutztruppe constructed a fort using local
labour, and Grootfontein became a heavily fortified garrison town. The fort and nearby
colonial cemetery are still local landmarks.
Sights
German Fort & Museum
(adult/child N$25/15; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri)
Historical settler history is depicted
here through some fascinating black-and-white photos. The Himba, Kavango and Mban-
deru collections of artefacts and photographs are also interesting, as is the history of re-
search into the area's rock paintings. It's a huge museum; put a couple of hours aside at
least.
FORT, MUSEUM
