TransNamib: Dimensions of a Desert. Gabi Christa

Once the plant dies, the wax remains. Ramon lights it for us. This natural candle not only sheds light but a nice fragrance also bewitches my senses.

      Two houses in Pomona have been scantily refurbished by Namdeb. These serve VIPs, researchers and Namdeb executives. By the end of this day the wind will have erased my footsteps and nothing will ever show that I have been here. This was Pomona, but the desert fairy tale should go on.

      Märchental Valley and Bogenfels Arc

      Stauch and Scheibe went prospecting with a worker. The worker was sent to collect firewood and Stauch told him rather jokingly to look out for diamonds as well. The worker did as he was told and returned with his hands full of diamonds. Stauch had a look at the site – lit by the full moon – and when his experienced eyes became aware of the immense treasure, he could only stutter the words “A fairy tale, a fairy tale”. Hence, this valley is named Märchental Valley (Fairy Vale) or Ida Valley, after his wife, Ida Stauch. I remember a photograph showing Ida in a white ruffled dress, standing in front of a soup plate full of diamonds. 1.8 million carats were hand-picked from the ground, a further 6.8 million carats were dug in this valley. Stone heaps, each about half a metre to a metre high, are placed side by side like soldiers, debris from the miners who dug the surface sand by hand and sifted it through sieves and roller baskets. A layer of one to one and a half metres deep was sifted through, at many sites, where the outcome was good, down to the rock. Huge mine dumps line the six kilometres of the Märchental Valley. Signposts indicate Sonneberg Mine, which has acquired the claims from Namdeb for another cycle of digging through this area.