Fifty kilometres north of Karibib on the C33, lies the small town of Omaruru on the Omaruru River. Although the river is usually dry, apart from a few puddles here and there, Omaruru appears quite lush and green due to an abundant groundwater supply.
The history of Omaruru is closely linked to the history of the Western Herero, who arrived mid-18th century with their herds of cattle from the Kaokoveld down south to settle. The missionary Gottlieb Viehe, came in 1872 from Otjimbingwe - the mission centre of the Rhenish Church 100 kilometres south - and built the mission house. Viehe translated the Bible into the Herero language and succeeded in converting many Herero in the Omaruru region to Christianity, even their chief Wilhelm Zeraua.
