Gibeon Accommodation

Gibeon

Heading away from Windhoek, 65 kilometres south of Mariental in the Hardap Region of southern Namibia you will find the small village of Gibeon. Gibeon is believed to be one of Namibia's oldest towns and also the birthplace of the Nama clan called the Witbooi's. The Nama leader Hendrik Witbooi, who rose in 1904 against the German colonial forces, had his residence here, and because of this history Gibeon was the scene of a number of bloody skirmishes between the then colonial rulers and the Nama people.

Small pieces of metal were collected by James Alexander in 1838 at a place about three days journey northeast of the mission at Bethany. He described the pieces as being up to two feet square, and sent some materials to the chemist John Herschel in London, who established their meteoritic origin. However, it is well known that the local Nama people had been using the meteorites for a long time to produce spear points and other weapons. Many little pieces of the meteorite were found, some of which are exhibited today in Windhoek. The Gibeon meteorite is said to have crashed over a 275 km long and 100 km wide area during prehistoric times. It is an iron meteorite which is made up of an iron-nickel alloy, but also contains cobalt and phosphorus. The crystalline structure of this meteorite is a classic example of fine octahedrite and the Widmanstatten pattern aesthetically appreciated both by collectors and jewel designers.

There are a number of sites in and around Gibeon that are known for their historical significance as well as those that are frequented by tourists. The historical sites include the Nama German War Graves, the Settlement of old Captain !Nanseb, the German War Graves and Common Wealth War Graves. The main tourist attraction in the area are the Fish River and the extinct volcano, Brukkaros.