Some of the Oldest Things Around...

Before getting to our next camp at Mowani and visiting Twyfelfontein, we checked out one of the petrified forest sites in the area near Hais Ra where we camped. The owner arranged a guide for us, and he led us through the rocks to see the now petrified trees that had washed down from Angola some 280 million years ago. Some of the trunks deposited are still whole and measure over 45 meters long. We also saw some more Welwitschia plants, most of which are well over 1,000 years old and still living.

Welwitschia

We got to Mowani and had another lovely campsite nestled among boulders. We made a day of it and saw the rock carvings at Twyfelfontein (more rock climbing), and then we checked out the Organ Pipes and Burnt Mountain, both famous rock formations in the southern Kunene/Damaraland region of Namibia. The pipes and mountain were kind of a disappointment, since they only took us 10 minutes to see. Geology-wise, though, both are fascinating. Burnt Mountain was formed by a stream of lava that flowed over 80 million years ago and the Organ Pipes were formed about 150 million years ago by lava exuding into basalt rock. The Cretaceous and Jurassic periods? Amazing to think about that.

Organ Pipes in the dry river bed

Burnt Mountain at the front

The rock carvings at Twyfelfontein were fascinating. There are over 2,500 carvings, some dating back 6,000 years, made by hunter-gatherers in the area and later by the Khoikhoi people. I loved seeing these carvings in person. The images are so clear and well preserved. It's hard to imagine how long ago they were done. One of the carvings was a map that identified watering holes and locations of animals. We saw the Lion Man carving, which is the best known from the site. The carvings were wonderfully skillful in the realistic depiction of different animals--rhinos, giraffes, oryx, ostrich, lions-- and most had a carved image of the artist's footprints as a signature.

The famous Lion Man

Now we're off to Swakopmund!