Welwitschia Drive
| Welwitschia Drive | |
|---|---|
| Length: | about 50 km |
| Country: |
 Namibia
|
| Region: | Erongo |
| Course direction: | Southwest – Northeast |
| Start: | C28 / D1991 |
| Course: | D1991 |
The Welwitschia Drive (also Welwitschia Route ) is a 50 kilometer long landscape route southeast of the Namibian coastal town of Swakopmund . It runs through parts of the western Namib and got its name because of the density of Welwitschia plants.
On the "Welwitschia Plains " ( English Welwitschia Plains ) is probably the oldest Welwitschia in the world, whose age is estimated to be around 1500 years.
route
The route leads east from the main road C28 into the Namib. Along the piste, even before the actual Welwitschia Trail begins, there are 13 trail markers that indicate special features. At a crossroads, head north through the Swakop - Rivier valley , past a rest area, to the Welwitschia area.
- 1 and 5 : Lichen fields . The lichens of the species Xanthomaculina convoluta are blown by the wind and collect in hollows on the sand. They look like dead plant remains. All other types of lichen, such as B. Teloschistes capensis , grow on rocks. The lichens get moisture from the fog that blows from the coast into the Namib at night. If you sprinkle them with a little water, they should change their shape and color. The lichens survive -70 ° C as well as +80 ° C and years of drought.
- 2 : Talerbush and pencil bush . The up to 1 m high talerbush Zygophyllum stapfii has circular, thick leaves. The pencil bush Arthraerua leubnitziae has thin, pencil-like branches and looks dry. Both live from the moisture of dew.
- 3 : The tracks of ox carts that drove inland on the former Baaiweg are many decades old. However, due to the slow growth of the lichens, they can still be seen. This shows how sensitive the vegetation of this world's largest lichen field is. The lichens hold the soil and slow down the erosion during the rare rainfall.
- 4 and 6 : Viewpoint over the lunar landscape , the valley of the Swakop Rivier .
- 7 : Old military camp . Rusted remains of South African troops that passed here in 1915, during the First World War . The largest object is part of the chain of a tracked vehicle .
- 8 : Dolerite bands on the crests of the mountains at the T-junction of the path.
- 9 : Hoodia , Hoodia currori in the Swakop Valley .
- 10 : Flora of the Swakop Rivier . Camel thorn acacias and tamarisks can thrive here thanks to the groundwater in Swakop .
- 11 : Welwitschia area
- 12 : Riesenwelwitschia , the oldest Welwitschia in the world
- 13 : From Stryk Mine , hand mining of iron ore in the 1950s
gallery
Husabberge with dolerite ribbons
Remnants of a tracked vehicle
End of the Welwitschia Trail
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Web links
- Brochure (around 1990) on the route (English)