User talk:Anuschka85/ Goanikontes Oasis

"The place where you remove your fur coat".

Goanikontes which is an oasis hidden between the mountains of the Moon Landscape was a place where people from different tribes took a rest. European and South African settlers called it "Baiwag" It was known as the ancient trail from Walvis Bay and Swakopmund to Windhoek which trailed through Goanikontes. Here the settlers fed their oxen and prepared them to be sold.The name Goanikontes, the name is of Nama origin and means "The place where you can remove your fur coat".

In 1750 the Herero people moved to this area from the town Otjibingwe. The travelling Nama folk also inhabited this area in the late 1750's. In 1849 the first white settlers known as the Dixon family inhabited the oasis.Peter Dixon and Thomas Morris was the founders of the company at Walvis Bay which traded the cattle from the Herero tribes and shipped them to St. Helena.

Goanikontes was the ideal place for cattle posts, because it had enough water and fertile soil. Vegetables and maize were the crops that were harvested here and it grew so well that the settlers had to use dogs to keep the Kudus and Lions away. In the early days Goanikontes was a residential settlement with units ranging from 7 to 160 hectares.

During 1903 and 1906 cattle and crop farmers inhabited the oasis region. In 1910 the farmers Hrabovsky and Wilhelm Brock harvested vegetables for the towns of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. Wilhelm Brock who was one of the managers of the well-known Woermann Brock Trading Company.

Today Goanikontes is rich with legends and stories which attract tourists from all over.Igloo like houses provide accommodation with a traditional flair, simple yet clean and tidy. Each igloo is equiped with an outside barbecue and picnic table where guests can relax and enjoy the stunning views over the valley. The new owners Winfred and Fabienne Metzger try to keep the old legends alive, by serving tea and cake on Sundays just like it was done in the early days. The restaurant was established in the historical farmhouse which was built by the Hrabovsky family in 1903.