Bay Pad

The first Ox wagon road between Windhoek and Walfishbay went over Heusis, Kuriaub, South of the Swakop, Tsaobis, Witwater, Tinkas, Onanis, Rooibank along the Kuiseb to Walfishbay and was constructed by Jonker Afrikaner in 1843.

From December 1845 till 1847 Missionary Rath reconstructed and shortened the road. Now you could do the journey in twelve days instead of four weeks. The road passed Otjimbingwe, Tsaobis, Wilsonfontein, Dieptal, Salem, Langer Heinrich to Walfishbay.

Carl Hugo Hahn took this new road in November 1847 as written in his dairies. On this journey he encountered lots of rhino and lions.

In February 1895, after variuos battles, captain Estorffs men started a loose life. The idle time in Windhoek was not good for them, so Estorff took his first regiment, consisting out of sixty men and a cannon to Salem on the Swakop. There they had to do road construction and drill. To make the work more pleasant for his men, he told them, that the old Romans gained everlasting fame, because they build roads and bridges, which are still nowadays in use. Do to this fact he got the nickname "The Old Roman" and the Bay Pad came in good shape.

Lieutenant Held and his men again rebuild the Bay Pad between Tsaobis and Salem in 1896.

The following year in September railroad construction started from Swakopmund and reached Karibib in October 1899. The railroad was build because the "Rinderpest" often brought the transport by ox wagon to a stop. For over 50 years the Bay Pad was a main connecting road between Walfishbay and the Inland. All goods and people were transported via this road. From now on all goods where transported by train and police station like Tsaobis and Otjimgbingwe along the Bay Pad closed down.

In April 1915 General Botha came with his man along the Bay Pad to attack the German troops. In a few days without water and sleep they reached Tsaobis.

Today you have the change to drive 30 km along this Bay Pad on the Farm Wilsonfontein, or you can do the road by foot, still finding cartridges, bottles and tins. Next to the road is an old Moringa tree with a inscription: "EvB 1889"

In the late thirties when my grandfather came to the farm he used the Bay Pad as farm road since it was a well-constructed road. Thanks to the "Old Roman", Estorff.