Khorixas To Springbok Campsite,Skelton Coast - Thursday 25th Feb

Breekie was included in the room price so we were on the road at 7.30 after a nice cool sleep in the AC villas for the drive to the camping spot just before the beginning of the Sprinkbok Skelton Park via the Petrified  Wood Forest and the rock carvings at Twyfelfontein Cultural site

 The area is known as Damaraland after the people who make up the population which is between the Skelton coast and Namibian central plateau . It's wide open spaces are home to many desert adapted species line elephants ,giraffes,zebras and lions.

Pulled into the covered parking shelters of the petrified old forest to pay our entrance fees and arrange a local park guide

And then proceeded to the park walk where he explained the origins of the trees and the different ones that had been naturally unearthered 

This tree was estimated to be about 25mtrs long 

And the bark showing on this one

There was also the national flower called Welwitschitia which is named after the Slovenian botanist and doctor Friedrich Welwitish who discovered the plant in 1859 in present day Angola . It is also known as terr gumbo or living fossil as some plants are between 1000 and 2000 years old. This female with its seed cones is  about 200 years old,  I thought cycads were slow growers 

A male with pollen cones about the same age.

Here are also about 2000 euphorbia's and this one is only endemic to this area and is poisonous which the local hunters used to use on the tips of their arrows when hunting to help kill their prey.

 Back in Steph for the 40kms drive to the rock craving site past a number of local craft stalls along the way

Here's the Hilton craft shop with car parks 

Not sure how many people stop here but it did provide a laugh along the dirt track. Pulled into the cultural site with under covering parking as well

 

 To then pay the entrance fee and get allocated a guide, Biancia  who explained the history of the site and the various rock carvings that date back between 2000 and 6000 year. Twyfelfontein, or Doubtful Spring at the head of Aba Huab Valley is one of the most extensive rock-art galleries on the Africian continent with more than 2500 engravings dating back between 2000 and 6000 years. It is a declared world heritage site and the  carvings were the work of ancient San hunters , made by cutting through the hard patina covering the sandstone.

The lion that you can see here is the emblem of the park and is commonly  seen in brochures and history  books and is called Lion Man

Now only a short 60kms drive with  the combination of space and landscape which is one of the greatest road trips of the region down the Skelton coast area.This area is defined by the barren and desolate landscapes of the Namid desert where Namibia draws its name from.

Pulled into our campground just by the gates of Springbok Skelton Coast park entrance to a nice little hot and dusty campground for lunch

Then an afternoon rest escaping the heat, wind and dust at the side of the ammenities block whilst trying to catch up on what's happening in the world with very slow network coverage- would never  happen in Australia with our fabulous network when your in the middle of nowhere 

A beautiful sunset about 7.30 over the Skelton coast desert with Jan being the offical spotter of the best time to take a photo

Settled down to a nice stir fry chicken dish for dinner with a  crispy white wine aptly called Splattered Toad

It cooled down really nicely at night so Joey did the stretcher and I slept on the stoney ground that was better than I had imagined when I set up the tent after dark.