"Vineta" departed for a tour of the eastern coast of South America, stopping in several Brazilian ports before reaching Rio de Janeiro by October. While there on the 5th, "Vineta" received orders to cross the Atlantic to German South West Africa, which was then embroiled in a Herero rebellion against German colonial rule. The situation in the region was tense, as the neighboring Portuguese colony of Angola was delivering arms to the Herero rebels, and at the same time, the Russian Second Pacific Squadron had stopped to coal at Lüderitz Bay in German South West Africa, en route to its ultimate destruction at the Battle of Tsushima of the Russo-Japanese War. "Vineta" was not directly involved in any action in the colony, instead only assisting the steamer in unloading soldiers, horses, and supplies, which had arrived on the night of 19–20 November. While she was in the area, "Vineta" was shadowed by the British cruiser and the Portuguese gunboat . "Vineta" steamed north to Duala in the German colony of Kamerun in January 1905, where she received orders to return home. She arrived in Wilhelmshaven on 14 March, and the East American Cruiser Division was disbanded the following day.