Damaraland - Rock Art, Brandberg, Namibia

Twyfelfountain -which means something like "unsure fountain" is the place of a giant "open air museum".

Here on the red Sandstone you can find more than 2500 rock carvings. (Petroglyphs).
Scientists are still quarreling about how old they are. They vary from several hundred to several thousand years.

Most of the carvings (and paintings) show animals. They are easy to recognize. But there are also signs that would show one how to find water here.

The Area is a National Monument and you have to have a guide to visit it. The guide you will find right at the parking space. Most of them do their job very good, so don´t forget to tip them.
Come early since most guides will be occupied in the afternoon, then you have to wait until one is free.

Bring good shoes, you will have to walk/climb to see the more interesting Plates.

p.s. can you see the elefant on wheels?
-actually they are not wheels but the footprints of the animal, thats how they portrayed it. It can also be seen on the famous lion.(not on this plate)

Damaraland has quite a lot of wild desert elefants.

They are special to normal elefants since they do need very less water and walk sometimes over 70 km a day to get it (normal elefants like in Etosha make only around 10km a day)
Also they do not destroy trees like normal elephants do. They will eat from them, but not too much, so they can come back later.

Not many people do see them. But you have a good chance, if you stay in the Aba Huab Rest Camp. (see tip Aba Huab Campsite ) They have a watering hole there, the elephants sometimes visit.

And they make an imposant view. Let me tell you this.

The prehistoric rock engravings at Twyfelfontein are in every guide-book, and are certainly worth a visit. You need to be able to scramble up and over the rocks - make sure you take some water, a hat and some sunscreen. Your guide will point out some of the best images and if you get a good one will tell you a bit about the history of the area and what the pictures tell us about the people who used to live there.

Damaraland is the apartheid name the region of south of Kaokoland to Swakopmund used to had, but is still used.
Brandberg, Twyfelfontein, Petrified Forest, desert elephants (I didn't saw any of them), but I did saw zebras, springbox, kudu in our way, beautiful free wild animals living in a free land.

Home of Herero people and origen of Damara people. Dama means "who walked here" in Nama language (the languages of Damara people)

"The Damaraland community consists of a unique group of people who have recognised the value of the wildlife on their land and formed a Community Wildlife Conservancy to protect it."

Damaraland is one of the most beautifuls regions. This is the favorite region of our Herero guide Uanee.

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In Damaraland, not far from Twyfelfontein, you can visit a Petrified Forest. This is an entire forest of massive tree trunks that have turned into stone. The tree trunks are scattered over a large area; some are pretty small but others are huge – up to 34 metres long and 6 metres in circumference. They are estimated to be about 260 million years old. Altogether about 50 individual trees can be seen, some half buried on the rock or soil, others lying on the surface. There are also many small stones which, on close inspection, turn out to be petrified wood too. This is also a good place to see the amazing welwitschia mirabilis plants.

There’s no admission charge, perhaps surprisingly, but hiring a guide is compulsory and of course you must tip them – they rely on these tips as their income. However, as we discovered, they can be quite creative in maximising that income:

Our guide told us about his life looking after elderly relatives on a farm a couple of miles away. He pointed out the farm and the rough walk he had to take to and from the house several times a day. As we walked and talked he carved a Malakani nut - you'll be offered these everywhere you go, but this one was very well done, with a number of animals and my name, so we agreed to buy it in addition to giving him a good tip. When we returned to the car park he took us aside to pay for the nut, away from the view of the official souvenir stall. And the spot he chose to complete the transaction was ...

... beside his very good car. So much for the long daily walks in the hot sun! But it made a good story, and as I said, it was a beautifully carved nut, which still hangs in my kitchen to remind me of Namibia.

The Brandberg massif is visible from afar. At a mere 2600m above sea level Brandberg is home to Namibia’s highest mountain and Africa’s third highest. It is formed from one large chunk of granite which emerges from the surrounding flat scrubland and reflects the sun’s light stupendously – especially in the evening, when it turns a deep red, giving it its name which translates as “burning mountain”.

It was in this vicinity that we encountered the rare desert elephant, the scary black mamba and the amazing San rock paintings.

With some wonderful ancient rock engravings demonstrating that this area must ahve been full of wildlife at some stage, this is a lovely place to visit. Desert elephants can be seen on the plains below, and the rocks are teeming with lizards and other small desert creatures. A bit of a scramble to see the 6000-year old carvings, but worth it.

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Damaraland is part of the Kaokoveld, the most sparsely populated area of Namibia - and this in a country that is already one of the countries with the least inhabitants compared to size; just 2 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Southern Damaraland has many attractions, and the landscape is totally different from the rest of Namibia, with interesting geological formations. The main attractions in this area are the Brandberg Mountain, the highest one in Namibia, the Twyfelfontein rock art, and geological formations such as the Organ Pipes%, Burnt Mountain%, Vingerclip.

While the whole of the Kaokoveld is an area that could be devoted several days of exploration, if you are short of time (like we were), it is an interesting way to get from the Swakopmund Region to Etosha ... provided you stop for at least 1 night.