A few steps away from Goerke Haus, the Felsenkirche dominates the skyline above Luderitz. Built in 1912, the Felsenkirche is grey and brooding from the outside, but it?s a stern outlook that is transformed the moment you step through the doors.

Stained-glass windows of Martin Luther (this is a Lutheran church after all) and passages from the Bible dominate the walls, casting a luminous yellow and red light across the pews. Look out behind the altar for the family crests of the German aristocracy who donated many of the windows.

The Felsenkirche is open for an hour each afternoon: this changes according to the season, so it?s best to check the church door for times. From the Felsenkirche, be sure to climb the eponymous ?rock? for the best view in town. A 360-degree vista falls away below you; windswept Second Lagoon to your left, the bustling fishing harbour dead ahead and the sweeping curve of Agate beach to your right. In the far distance, the towering dunes of the Namib are held at bay by the Atlantic.

Wild horses of the Namib

Being the wild, inhospitable places they are, deserts are good at keeping secrets, and one of the best Namibia has to offer is to be found where the Namib peters out to the east of town.

Nobody?s quite sure where the wild horses of the Namib came from, but after years of research the commonly accepted theory is that they are descendants of South African army horses that escaped during the First World War.

Decades later the horses have adapted to their harsh life in the desert, which often entails walking up to 70km a day to find grazing. To ensure the continued survival of the herds, a waterhole has been set up on the road from Luderitz to Aus, and this ?hide? makes it easy to get close to these magnificent creatures.

Head out to sea

From the desert to the deep blue sea, Luderitz is perched between the Namib and the icy Atlantic, and when the wind calms (Autumn and Spring are best) a trip onto the big blue is a must.

A popular option is one of the regular sailings on the heritage schooner ?Sedina?, which runs daily charters out past Diaz Point and on to Halifax Island, home to a colony of African penguins. If you?re travelling in a group, local tour guide Gunther Berens offers charters on his sailing yacht ?Sturmvogel?, and sunset cruises can also be arranged. Both boats leave from the revamped waterfront development, which has become a popular spot for shopping and dining.

Diaz Point

The seas off Luderitz have a rich maritime history, stretching back to the 1400s when the Portuguese stopped off here en route to India. Explorer Bartolomeu Dias erected a padr?o at Diaz Point on his homeward voyage to Portugal in 1488 after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and a replica of the cross can still be seen on the Point today. It?s a stormy, windswept place, but makes for a wonderful excursion from town. A well-marked self-drive route takes you out past Radford Bay — named after an English trader who lived here in the mid-1800s ? and on to Second Lagoon.

This is the first of a number of excellent birdwatching spots, and you?ll find Curly Sandpipers, Grey lapwings, flamingos and a myriad waders here at various times of the year. Thanks to its flat water and strong summer winds this is also a favoured spot for high-speed kite- and windsurfing!

On the exposed Atlantic coastline, Grossebucht (Big Bay) is a wild and woolly spot for walking, and the dunes just inland are home to a breeding colony of the endangered Damara Tern. Take your binoculars for a spot of birdwatching, but don?t drive off-road!

Where to stay After a windswept day you?ll want somewhere comfortable to find retreat. There are a number of hotels and family-run B&Bs in Luderitz, but far and away the best place to stay in town is The Nest Hotel. Perched right on the water?s edge all of the rooms are sea-facing, but the best bet are the ground floor rooms, which have sliding doors opening right onto the water with magnificent views across the lagoon.

Luderitz is home to a sizeable fishing fleet and you?ll find a variety of fresh seafood, including the famous Luderitz oysters and Rock Lobsters, in the hotel?s Penguin Restaurant. Other good options are the Protea Hotel Sea-View Zum Sperrgebiet or the low-key Bayview Hotel in the centre of town.

Contacts

• Namibia Tourism Board: www.namibiatourism.com.na