Adventures in Luderitz! Morgan Martin

Greetings from Luderitz!

We’ve been making our way around the tiny town of Luderitz this week getting to know the locals and their way of life. I keep hearing the term ‘Buchter’ being used to describe the locals here. I looked it up and found a very fitting description:

“Deep, deep in the south of Namibia, there lies a town nestled amongst the windswept boulders of the rugged coastline. The town and people are known by many names. Some call it Olindiri, some call it Okakoverua, some simply call it Lüderitz, but the name the inhabitants of that town affectionately use is the Bucht. Themselves, they call Buchters. I want to explain exactly what we mean when we say we are Bucthers and why we Buchters are proud to be called Buchters: “A Lüderitzbuchter or Buchter” is not just someone born in Lüderitz. The name Buchter defines a very special group of people who enjoy life to the fullest. There is an expression for Lüderitz and its people, “The Bucht tires you!” because we can never get enough of talking, of laughing and of having a good time.”

So needless to say, we’ve been doing our best to fit in as Buchters and keep a low prolife as the newbies around town. Can’t say that it’s working…it seems like we are approached everyday by new people wanting to know why we are here and what’s with the kayak strapped to the roof of the Jeep. In Luderitz, your car is your calling card. Everyone knows you by what you drive, so we have been adequately titled ‘the people with the kayak’.

We are staying in an igloo made of wood on top of a large rock overlooking the harbor. We are renting from Mr. Heiko Metzger and his lovely wife, Diane. They have three dogs that enjoy paying visits to our flat. The newest addition to the family is Dex, a Malamut/Husky mix. Dex doesn’t know how big he really is and enjoys a good cuddle just like most of us.

This week we were fortunate to be given a tour of the harbor and local bays where I will be collecting data. Heiko owns a catamaran tour boat and brought us out for a morning trip to see the local Heaviside’s dolphins and an African penguin colony. The water is a beautiful green-blue color out here, teaming with life in every direction. I have truly landed in a rather unstudied marine biology mecca. I can’t wait to start collecting data on the dolphins out here! We were also fortunate to have been given a tour of the local Heaviside’s dolphins hotspots in the bays surrounding town. Jean-Paul Roux is our scientist contact in Luderitz. He works for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in town and has been a native Buchter for 30 years. He drives the 25-minute commute to the bays each morning to go observe the dolphins and sea birds. A truly dedicated scientist and one of the more brilliant I’ve met. I am looking forward to collaborating with him over the next few weeks.

Keep in touch!

Morgan