Aug 24, 2010 the welwitshia plant is considered a living fossil with some plants being over 2000 years old. Experience namibias entirety from the worlds largest sand mass in the kalahari desert to the 2nd largest canyon on earth. Experience the best of both worlds in swakopmund and walvis bay the charming town of swakopmund with its german colonial architecture, long stretches of beach, as well as restaurants, galleries and museums, is a tourists delight and its become the life of namibia, coined the holiday capital of the country. Namibia travel guide this site contains almost all of the text of the 2nd 2004 edition of namibia. There is the namib in the west, the place where there is nothing, translated from the namaterm. Dolerite ridge on hill along welwitschia drive namib. The plant was named after friedrich in recognition of his successful botanical. It is at the foot of this mountain, willie giess a botanist who was mapping namibian plant communities back in. Ancient welwitschia plant welwitcshia mirabilis, namibnaukluft national park, namibia, southern africa welwitschia, namib desert, namibia. Most of them are based on our own sightings during the. The welwitschia plains a scenic drive namibnaukluft park the namib desert is a unique region of splendid and overwhelming beaut. Download our other namibia travel planning guides to learn what. The welwitschia can survive through harsh conditions for many years with the oldest specimens estimated to be between 1500 and 2000 years old. The position of the welwitschia in the hierarchy of the plant remains tenuous.
The first welwitschia plant was discovered by austrian botanist friedrich welwitsch 18061872 in 1860 in the namib desert in the southern part of angola. This is an example of a classic twoweek namibia selfdrive safari. After months of planning our namibia road trip itinerary we finally settled on a. In the northern corner of the namibnaukluft national park, the welwitschia drive is perhaps best treated as a short excursion from swakopmund. Nov 25, 2015 on this page you can read or download welwitschia university namibia in pdf format. Feb 22, 2008 32 days in namibia julyaugust 2006 57. It is here that the cold benguela current of the atlantic ocean meets the hot namib desert. The permit for the northern section of the namib naukluft park includes the welwitschia drive you get the permits from the met ministry of environment and tourism they have an office in swakop bismark street in the same building as nwr. Welwitschia namib desert stock photos download 230.
The moon landscape is truly one of namibia s natural wonders with it majestic views and the result of thousands of years erosion. We are planing to do self drive of welwitschia plain from swakopmun. Your visit should include a short drive to visit an incredible ecosystem, which includes the amazing welwitschia mirabilis, a conebearing dwarf tree related to conifers the water required for growth is thought to come from moist soil. It is at the foot of this mountain, willie giess a botanist who was mapping namibian plant communities back in the 1970s found the largest welwitschia plants ever recorded. If you are visiting namibia on a selfdrive holiday or just sitting at home planning your trip, then a good map of namibia is going to be essential. It has a low trunk and two leaves that sprawl on the namib gravel for the entire life of the plant, which can span many hundreds. Stretching through angola and namibia on the southwest coast of africa, the namib desert. Welwitschia self drive namibia namibia cardboard box. The welwitschia plants are about 50km outside of swakopmund. The welwitschia plains near swakopmund and the coastal fog belt of damaraland are the areas with most reported sightings of welwitchia mirabilis since its discovery in namibia. On this page you can read or download welwitschia university in namibia in pdf format. The plant welwitschia mirabilis gets my vote for the weirdest terrestrial organism. Welwitschia namib desert stock photos download 230 royalty. Named after friedrich welwitsch who discovered the plant in 1859, some of the specimen are estimated to be between and 1500 years old.
It is called kharos or khurub in nama, tweeblaarkanniedood in afrikaans, nyanka in damara, and onyanga in herero. Namibia itinerary and self drive route the whole world is a. Wonderland namibia selfdrive tour 17 days windhoek to windhoek live this. Get drawn back in time by visiting the ghost town of kolmanskuppe and.
We specialize in the sale, rental and property management of houses, townhouses, flats, apartments, commercial property, smallholdings, farms, erven, land, in. This map features fascinating experiences plus recommended accommodation. Science fiction has never come up with any martian to rival this plant. Pdf potential impacts of climate change on welwitschia mirabilis. We specialize in the sale, rental and property management of houses, townhouses, flats, apartments, commercial property, smallholdings, farms, erven, land, in fact all types of property and real estate. The first edition of this guidebook was published in 1998 and has been amended several times since. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Since the establishment of the company, welwitschia travels main objective has always been to deliver service levels of a high standard, this.
Welwitschia estates property sales swakopmund, namibia. Where to find wild welwitschia mirabilis in namibia independent. The moon landscape is truly one of namibias natural wonders with it majestic views and the result of thousands of years erosion. Go early in the morning to avoid the heat and scorching sun. You can download tracks to your computer if you take one with you, otherwise set the recording method to wrap when full. Welwitschia mirabilis a botanical wonder namibia safari. If you dont see any interesting for you, use our search form on bottom v. Check map and driving directions from welwitschia to walvis bay helping you find the destination easier.
Welwitschia plains swakopmund 2020 all you need to. Welwitschia shuttle is your number one choice for travel between swakopmund and windhoek. Amid vast desert plains, 250 km north the welwitschia drive, there is a granite massif with namibias highest peak, the brandberg mountain 2,573m. Large welwitschia create their won microhabitat, harbouring many occupants in the shade beneath their leaves, including a variety of bugs and bees. Experience the best of both worlds in swakopmund and walvis bay the charming town of swakopmund with its german colonial architecture, long stretches of beach, as well as restaurants, galleries and museums, is a tourists delight and its become the life of namibia, coined the holiday capital of. It is available from gondwana free of charge, or as pdf download. A longstanding favourite excursion from swakopmund is along welwitschia drive, a marked interpretive route across the desert that starts a few kilometres from town, and can be done either as a 4wd self drive 34hr or a halfday tour. In the east there is the kalahari, this semidesert of sand and veld and all other parts of the country barely get some rain. Welwitschia estates is your premiere real estate agent, and property consultant in swakopmund namibia. The namib desert is one of the world oldest deserts with extreme arid conditions stretches in the western part of namibia along the coast up to the southwestern part of angola.
The plant is commonly known simply as welwitschia in english, but the name tree tumbo is also used. Welwitschia travel has been in operation since 1994, the company has developed a reputation for being an efficient and effective travel service provider, within the namibian travel and tourism sector. The coastline of namibia is remarkable for its extreme conditions. Southern africa welwitschia mirabilis desert plant, namibia. We can proudly confirm that we are a truly namibian company, easily accessible through our 11 offices, having the widest broker branch network in namibia. Dolerite ridge on hill along welwitschia drive namib desert. The route traverses gravel plains, where you can stop and peer at lichen fields and droughtresistant plants such as the dollar bush, with its waxy coin. This was the response of the regius keeper of the royal botanic gardens, kew, in 1863 when presented with a plant of welwitschia mirabilis. Welwitschia namib desert namibia plant stock photos. Your visit should include a short drive to visit an incredible ecosystem, which includes the amazing welwitschia mirabilis, a conebearing dwarf tree related to conifers. You can also find the flight distance or distance to fly from welwitschia to walvis bay. Namibia is a dry country in which the deserts dominate in the landscape.
Find the perfect welwitschia namib desert namibia plant stock photo. Welwitschia nammic insurance brokers conducts shortterm insurance brokering business in namibia since 1984. I know there is a special welwitschia drive, but wondering if i want to see 1 sample is it possible to see 1 easily. You can easily drive yourself to the park to see the welwitschia plants outside of swakopmund if you have access to a car. Welwitschia is a monotypic gymnosperm genus, comprising solely the distinctive welwitschia mirabilis, endemic to the namib desert within namibia and angola. Namibia swakopmund welwitschia plant welwitschia stock photos. A longstanding favourite excursion from swakopmund is along welwitschia drive, a marked interpretive route across the desert that starts a few kilometres from town, and can be done either as a 4wd selfdrive 34hr or a halfday tour. May 05, 2019 amid vast desert plains, 250 km north the welwitschia drive, there is a granite massif with namibias highest peak, the brandberg mountain 2,573m.
All prospective students must apply for admission to the university of. The welwitshia plant is considered a living fossil with some plants being over 2000 years old. At the same time it is an ordinary road map with all the essential information of the official namibia road map by prof. You can download and bring along the official the welwitschia plains scenic drive brochure, which includes a map and descriptions of all. Is it easy to see a specimen of this plant on the road near swakopmund or walvis bay or sandwich harbor. Namibia swakopmund welwitschia plant welwitschia stock. Download 230 welwitschia namib desert stock photos for free or amazingly low rates. Welwitschia travel make travel arrangements for private and business travellers. Featuring all the highlights, map, and detailed daytoday planning of. The welwitschza drive, which falls within the namibnauklutpark, offers one the exciting opportunity of personally discovering various eatures of this fascinating desert p in. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Welwitschia mirabilis centuries old desert plant info namibia. I went to namibia as part of an escorted tour group and as there were no restaurants at the hotel where we were staying in swakopmund, i booked a table here for dinner in.
Na is an online business and product networking platform for namibians. Take the round trip from swakopmund to the welwitschia plans were an incredible. Namibia selfdrive planning guide namibia tourism board. Below is an abbreviated map and detailed descriptions of 5 specific locations in namibia, where you can find larger populations of welwitschia plants in the wild. Welwitschia namib desert namibia plant stock photos and images 592 page 1 of 6. Wonderland namibia selfdrive tour 17 days windhoek to. All you need is a reliable vehicle, an international drivers license, a good map and a. Find premium, highresolution stock photography at getty images. The welwitschia drive is a four hour drive through the naukluft park with points of interest to stop and view along the way.
The leaves themselves are eaten by rhino, zebra and even horses if they cannot find an alternative fodder. Hi, does someone know if the permit for welwitschia drive is this the same as the permit for the norther area of the namib naukluft part. The welwitschia is endemic to namibia and one of the rarest plants in the world. Welwitschia plant welwitschia drive namibnaukluft national park swakopmund erongo region namibia africa travel nature desert welwitschia mirabilis plant in namibnaukluft national park, namibia. Can we start at 12pm and back to swakopmund by 6pm. Moon land vally and welwitschia plains namib desert. Check the flow of these rivers on the t4a map and be on the lookout for rain clouds. This plant is a mustsee and features in namibia s coat of arms. Getting to dorob national park and the welwitschia plants outside of swakopmund.
The welwitschia mirabilis is a plant which is endemic to the namib desert in namibia and southern angola. If a plant makes it to the national coat of arms of namibia it must be a very important and a very. On this page you can read or download welwitschia university namibia in pdf format. Welwitschia welwitschia mirabilis introduction it is out of the question the most wonderful plant ever brought to this country, and one of the ugliest.
East from swakopmund we finds one of the oldest plant species in the world. The welwitschia mirabilis which can grew to be thousands of years old. Our recommended namibia self drive route is best suited to a three or four. How far is welwitschia from walvis bay,35 km distance from walvis bay to welwitschia,32 km flight distance between walvis bay and welwitschia. The welwitschia self drive which falls within the namibnaukluft park, offers one the exiting opportunity of personally. Welwitschia plant swakopmund message board tripadvisor. Welwitschia mirabilis plants live 1 000 years or more. In the east there is the kalahari, this semidesert of sand and veld and. Visitors to swakopmund can take a drive out to the welwitschia plains where an interactive drive. Find the perfect namibia swakopmund welwitschia plant welwitschia stock photo. Bizarre living fossil only grows in a small chunk of the namib desert. View topquality stock photos of dolerite ridge on hill along welwitschia drive namib desert namibnaukluft national park namibia africa. Tracks4africa namibia self drive guide by sa media services issuu. My day trip experience seeing the welwitschia mirabilis.
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