We left the Burnt Mountain and Organ Pipes area heading for Khoriaxis, our main purpose to find petrol. We were running on fumes, but there wasn't much we could do about it but carry on until we ran out. Along the way we passed a number of large Kopjes, places which looked worth wandering around if we had more time. Our map and guide book indicated there was a petrified forest along the way, so we kept an eye out and soon enough we saw a sign. It wasn't an official looking sign, but then this was Namibia. So we turned in and made our way down a rough road to a rough parking lot.
We were greeted by a young boy who collected the modest admission fee and served as our guide.
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| Kopje in the area of the Petrified Forest(s) |
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| Dead Skunk |
Our guide led us down a trail across the rocky ground, up a hill bordering a dry wash. There were chunks of petrified wood scattered on the ground which had been gathered up into small piles, and then a whole tree which had fallen over and turned to stone in place, root ball and all.
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| Petrified Forest |
There was also an interesting "garden" of welwitchia plants, with plants of differing ages so you could see how the plant changed over time. There was a young two year old plant with relatively normal, easily-distinguished leaves, starting to fray at the ends. Then there were three, five, and twenty year old plants, allowing one to see the transformation of this obviously two-leaved plant into a not-so-obvious collection of tattered looking parts which was still a two-leaved plant.
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| Welwitchia | |
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| Female Welwitchia Plant showing New Growth |
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| Dry Riverbed by Petrified Forest |
We found some weird mineral / rock bumps on the ground for which our guide had no explanation, which are still puzzling to think about.
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| Hmmm Xxx |
Dry as it was, with no obvious source of water any time soon, there was the ever present collection of desert-adapted critters scurrying around.
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| Petrified Forest Ground Agama | ||
We left the petrrified forest and continued on toward Khoriaxis, where we hoped to look at some gems and refuel. As we headed down the road we encountered more signs proclaiming "Petrified Forest" and it was clear the free enterprise system was alive and well. Five km or so further on we came to the official Petrified Forest National Park/Monument. Some other time we will revisit, but this time we were intent on finding fuel and were reluctant to stop again, as our fuel gauge seemed to take a big hit when we stopped and then started up again an hour later at our stop at the first petrified forest.
This page last updated on 2015-04-03.
