The OranjemundOnline website has
got off to a roaring success, with a number of old friends reconnecting
with lost friends.
A number of our visitors/members
were either born here in the 50's, 60's and 70's or went to school
here in that era. An amazing number of stories regarding, people
and places have been retold over on the forum section, with a number
of historical photographs from that era being displayed. Names
of long forgotten teachers and co-workers being remembered.
After much thought and a number
of ex-residents expressing interest, I have decided to try and
hold an Oranjemund Reunion for the weekend of November
13-16th , 2008.
A couple of things need to be sorted
out first. The main points will be outlined here, with a section
being added to the Forum's to help facilitate further information
and idea's.
THE MECHANICS OF THE WEEKEND.

In all honesty, 3 day's ain't enough
time, there is way too much to see and do, so the following
is a guideline.I wanted to organise a pubcrawl, the pubs are
empty of patrons and have changed a lot since your time, but I
thought it would be rich to organise a bus one evening, organise
a barman at , the Yacht Club, Golf Club, Off Road Club, Riding
Club, Gun Club, to name a few and visit each one for old time sakes.
( As stated elsewhere, open to discussion on the forum). Nobody
say's that you have to stay for only three days, stay longer if
desired.
In a nutshell,
I would like to organise the following events on the following
days.
THURSDAY 14th November: Ex
Oranjemunders arrive in the afternoon, get settled into the accommodation.
In the evening, I will organise
a sundowner session either on the Sand dunes, beach or Swartkops
hill followed by a magic Namibian braai, to be held at a club in
town. (Idea's please) I did think of the Bowling Club, as they
have nice facilities and their walls are adorned with photo's of
a lot of the old timers. ( Still to be discussed)

FRIDAY 15th November: I
believe that the mine no longer conducts mine tours, but I have
it in good faith that a new company will be conducting mine tours.
No matter, either way will be having a mine tour in the morning.
For the afternoon, I thought it
would be nice to have lunch and a tour at the Jasper House Museum.

A nostalgic tour of Oranjemund Private
School in the late afternoon, followed by a sit down dinner of
sorts in the school Hall.- This is just an idea and a work in progress.
( Let's discuss this on the forum.)
No matter what happens it's gonna
be a late night.
SATURDAY 15th November: I
had a chat with The Off Road Club Captain, and They will schedule
their Dune Ride for November on the Reunion Weekend, so any of
you that are keen to go bush bashing, you will be able to. For
those of that are'nt interested, there are other activities that
can be organised with regard to Angling down at the River, Playing
a round of Golf, Birdwatching at the river, Bowls at the Bowling
Club, Horse riding at the Riding Club, to name a few. Once again
we can discuss this in depth on the forum and I can arrange with
a local member. It must be noted that nobody has to stick to the
schedule, you are free to go where you want.

I thought of a quick tour down to
the Freemason's, to see the historical photo's of past Oranjemunder's,
with a quick stop at the graveyard on the way back. I thought about
winding the day down in the late afternoon with a braai at the
Namib Shellhole, (must still talk to the powers that be). Also
one of the most historical buildings in the town. Get ready for
another really late night. (Thought about organising a person to
play live music!)
SUNDAY 17th November:
Some of you might be leaving, Some
of you might be staying....... I will still be available to arrange
something as I still fancies holding a potjie down at the river
by Hohenfels.....

This is just a brief outline of
some of the things we can do, a lot of you would like to drift
off by yourselfs to go and see your old home and haunts. Please
use the forum to give your input.
NECCESSARY DOCUMENTS
As most of you are fully aware,
certain documentation will be required to organise your permit
into Oranjemund. Namdeb no longer does this process by themselves
and it has been taken over by the Protected Resources Unit (PRU)
of the Namibian Police. They charge an Admin fee of N$20.00. I
have no problem paying this fee in advance for you. You can reimburse
me when you arrive. The document that needs to be filled in can
be downloaded at the bottom of this page. There are two of them
, namely, The Mines and Energy Permit, and the Indemnity Form.
These forms are both A4 in size. Please fill them out and email
them to michael@oranjemundonline.com or fax to
00264 63 232156.Closing Date for the applications will be the 20th
August 2008.If you need help filling them out, request help on
the forum, so that others may be helped also.
The third download is a Namibian
Border entry form. This does not have to filled out now, as they
are available on arrival at the Namibian Border.They are 150mmx210mm
in size.Once again, if you need help, request in the forum.
No matter if you come in via Air
or road, you will need these papers

Click to download the Diamond
Area Application Forms(pdf)
Namibian Border Papers (Winace
zip file)
GETTING HERE
I was originaly thinking of trying
to get everyone together at one point in Cape Town , hiring a charter
bus and driving everyone up. However, this would be difficult to
organise, due to a variety of factors. Some people are planning
to make an extended holiday, with the Oranjemund 2008 Reunion as
a "part" of their holiday and thus will be driving their own transport.
Some people want to just "shoot" up and back down for a long weekend.
It is also very difficult to guage numbers in order to make the
bus a viable option.Maybe even one or two of you are sitting in
the "pound" seats that are planning to fly up from Cape Town, Be
warned, the plane prices up here are a rip off.
For this reason, there will be board
on the forum, where you can (i) Request a lift. (ii) Offer a lift.
There is a fairly new Transport
company called Silverline Transport that also drives to Cape Town
to Oranjemund on a regular basis. I can vouch for these guys, as
my mother in law uses their effecient service. We can also discuss
this option on the forum.
*****************

WHERE TO STAY
Here we have a number of options.
Some of you might still have friends or family living here, so
you will be sorted. Some of us still living here have a spare room,
wendy house or piece of lawn to pitch a tent on, if you're the
camping type. You might also wnat to setup your tent at the beach
if you are into camping. This is very popular over December. There
will be a request and offer board on the forum.
There are also a number of private
estabishments that also offer rooms. They are :
1) Tom's Cabin. - Upmarket accommodation
situated just on the west side of town. Contact Tom Parkhill on
Namibian Cell: 081 2628982 , or email him on tep@mweb.com.na
There are some pics of Tom's Cabin
over on the forum.
2) OpMy Stoep - This is situated
out of town at the Old Riding Club Clubhouse and is owned by Fanie
Smit. Nice new rooms with a restaurant and bar area. Fanie's email
is mmm@mweb.com.na or you can phone him on 00264 63 23 4223.
Be prepared for to get caught in
the bar here.
3) Sheperds Lodge - Chalets that
have been erected over the hill at Sheperds Neck, with a restaurant
and bar area. More for the younger outdoor crowd. There is also
camping spots available here. Contact Gert or Nita on 00264
63 232996 ( fax and phone) or email them at sheperds@mweb.com.na
4) Namdeb Guest house situated in
town. More for mine visitors. Contact Marlene Brand on 00264 (63)
235201 or email at
marlene.brand@namdeb.com
*********************
REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING
In order to avoid disappointment,
I think it's important for those of you wanting to return for the
reunion to recongnise the following points:
1) Things are not the same here
as they were in your time.
2) People you remembered no longer
live here.
3) The standards you remember are
no longer the same as they were.
4) Oranjemund is a town in Africa,
thus there are no expats living here, only Africans.
5) Yes, Somethings, Like wandering
Gemsboks and certain buildings are here, so are your memories.
6) Expect only 5 people to make
it to the reunion. Why? Well in similar events, people like to
claim they will be there, when the day arrives, there is always
an excuse.... You only need two people, a braai and a tour to make
a good reunion.
7) This is not a profit making business
venture that I am doing here, it's a labour of love, I cannot
be held responsible for anything that does not meet your expectations.
Click here to link to the Discussions
on the Forum Section:
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