Aus, Namibia Travel Guide: Wild Horses of the Namib Desert

Aus is one of those places that barely registers as a dot on the map and yet lodges permanently in the memory of anyone who stops there. A tiny settlement in the ÇKaras Region of southern Namibia, it sits at roughly 1,400 metres on the great escarpment where the highlands break away and fall towards the Namib Desert and the Atlantic. The B4 road runs through it, linking Keetmanshoop about 230 kilometres to the east with the old German port of Lüderitz some 125 kilometres to the west. In every direction the land opens out into pale grass, granite koppies, quiver trees and a horizon so clean it looks drawn with a ruler.

Its history is out of all proportion to its size. When South African forces occupied German South West Africa in 1915, Aus became the site of a large prisoner-of-war camp, and around 1,500 German internees spent the remainder of the First World War here, building brick huts to escape the tents that froze at night and baked by day. The narrow-gauge railway that once served the camp still threads west towards Lüderitz, and it is that same rail corridor that brings luxury train travellers through today. Aus is also the settlement that gave the Namib its most improbable residents: a herd of feral horses that has survived on the open desert plain for more than a century. Elevation gives Aus another oddity for a desert town, too – it is one of the very few places in Namibia where snow has ever been recorded.

What to see in Aus

• The wild horses of the Namib at Garub – About 20 kilometres west of Aus, a small herd of feral horses roams the gravel plains. Their origin is debated – wartime cavalry mounts, a bolted stud herd, or both – but they are now among the only desert-dwelling free-roaming horses on earth.
• The Garub waterhole hide – A simple shelter beside a pumped waterhole lets you sit quietly while horses, oryx and springbok come in to drink. Early morning and late afternoon are the productive hours; midday light here is blinding.
• The Aus prisoner-of-war camp memorial – A short walk from the village, interpretive boards and a reconstructed brick hut mark where the internment camp stood. Foundations and a small cemetery are still visible in the veld.
• Klein-Aus Vista and the Aus Mountains – The granite hills immediately south of the village are laced with marked walking and hiking trails, from an hour’s stroll to multi-day routes, with views that run all the way to the dune sea.
• Quiver tree stands – The aloe locally called the kokerboom grows across the surrounding slopes, its branched silhouette one of the defining images of southern Namibia. San hunters once hollowed the soft limbs to make quivers, hence the name.
• Kolmanskop ghost town – Roughly 115 kilometres west near Lüderitz, this abandoned diamond-boom settlement is being reclaimed by the dunes. Sand pours through doorways of houses that once had a ballroom, an ice factory and the first X-ray machine in the southern hemisphere.
• Lüderitz – A wind-scoured Atlantic port of German colonial architecture, art nouveau facades and a cold-current coastline. Boat trips out to Halifax Island bring you close to African penguins, seals and dolphins.
• Fish River Canyon – A long but rewarding detour to the south-east, this immense gorge is frequently described as the largest canyon in Africa, with viewpoints along the eastern rim that reduce everything human to a speck.

What to eat in Aus

Southern Namibian cooking is game country cooking. Expect oryx (gemsbok), kudu and springbok on almost every menu, generally served as a simple grilled fillet or slow-braised in a three-legged cast-iron pot as potjiekos. Biltong – air-dried, spiced strips of game or beef – is the standard road snack and turns up in everything from soup to salad. Farm lamb from the Karas district is exceptional, raised on aromatic desert scrub, and boerewors coils show up at every braai. Vetkoek, a fried dough bun eaten with mince or apricot jam, is the breakfast of the long road.

Namibia’s German century left its own edible archive: bratwurst and eisbein on lodge menus, apple strudel and Black Forest cake at coffee time, and beer brewed to the Reinheitsgebot purity standard, with Windhoek Lager and Tafel poured everywhere. On the coast at Lüderitz the cold Benguela current delivers superb oysters and rock lobster, often eaten straight from the harbour. Finish with rooibos tea or a glass of Amarula, the cream liqueur made from the fruit of the marula tree.

Shopping & crafts

This is not a shopping destination in any conventional sense, and that is part of its appeal. What you will find is honest and local: Nama and Herero handwork, ostrich eggshell beads strung into necklaces, wire-and-bead animals, and small carvings in hardwood. Karakul wool rugs and wall hangings, woven in southern Namibia and often depicting desert wildlife, are the region’s signature craft and pack flat for travel. Semi-precious stones from Namibian mines – tourmaline, agate, rose quartz, sodalite – are sold at roadside tables, and the curio shops of Lüderitz and Keetmanshoop carry the widest choice.

Best time to visit

The dry winter months of May to September are the sweet spot. Days settle into the low twenties Celsius with faultless blue skies, dust is minimal, and the horses concentrate around the Garub waterhole because there is nowhere else to drink – which makes sightings close to reliable. Nights, however, drop sharply, sometimes to freezing, so a proper jacket is not optional. October and April are pleasant shoulder months with fewer visitors. Midsummer, from December to February, can push past 35°C on the plains, though rare rain in that window occasionally paints the desert green and brings a brief flush of wildflowers.

Good to know

• Fuel and supplies – Aus is small and distances between towns are large. Fill the tank whenever you pass a pump and carry drinking water for every leg.
• Kolmanskop needs a permit – Entry to the ghost town is by permit, sold in Lüderitz and at the gate, and access is tied to set visiting hours. The surrounding Sperrgebiet diamond area remains strictly off-limits.
• Do not approach or feed the horses – They are genuinely wild and unmanaged. Watch from the hide or from your vehicle and keep a respectful distance.
• Dress for both extremes – The altitude means hot afternoons and cold nights, often in the same day. Layers, a windproof outer, sunglasses and high-factor sunblock all earn their place.
• Roads and signal – Gravel surfaces demand slower speeds than they appear to invite, and mobile coverage is patchy once you leave the settlements. Tell someone your route before you set off.

Seeing Aus by luxury train

The most comfortable way to reach this corner of the Namib is on rails. The historic line between Aus and Lüderitz carries private luxury train journeys deep into the desert, so the landscape arrives at your window while you are at dinner or watching from an open observation car, and the awkward logistics of a remote region simply dissolve. Palace Tours arranges these journeys end to end, pairing the rail legs with guided excursions to the horses, the ghost town and the coast.

To plan a trip through Aus and southern Namibia, speak with our specialists: US and Canada 1-800-724-5120, WhatsApp +1-786-408-0610, or international +1-609-580-1372.