Gessert's Guesthouse

Relax in a quiet family atmosphere at this cosy guest house in the heart of Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Gessert's Guesthouse offers seven comfortably furnished en-suite bedrooms.

All the bedrooms are spacious with remote controlled air-conditioning and TVs. They are lovingly decorated and all lead to the beautiful, shady garden with its sparkling swimming pool as the centre. The hosts, Elma and Hendrik Knouwds, are proud to offer guests their comprehensive and stylish breakfasts.

There are good restaurants close by as well as a museum in the old church where the illustrated history of Keetmanshoop is on display. Worth a visit is the old Kaiserliche Postamt built in the year 1910, which now houses the Tourist Information. About 13 km northeast of Keetmanshoop, lies the spectacular and much photographed Kokerboom or Quiver Tree Forest on the farm Gariganus. The site has been declared a National Monument.

The Quiver Tree or Kokerboom is indigenous to the hot and dry southern part of Namibia. The plants are succulents and can reach a height of up to 9 m. They have adapted to the extreme environmental conditions by storing water in their trunks. The tree only blossoms for the first time after 20 to 30 years and can reach 300 years of age. The wood is very light and spongy inside, and because the trunk and branches can be easily hollowed out, they were used as quivers by the bushmen who formerly inhabited this area.