OUTJO
OUTJO
The town museum opens 10.00-12.00 and 14.00-16.00, and has displays of
local history and a variety of animal horns, skins and bones, minerals
and gemstones. A unique sheep-sheering machine that works
with a bicycle chain is another interesting attraction. It is well worth a visit. Entrance fee is N$5 per
person.
The museum is also home to an interesting Craft Shop that teaches local woman the art of fabric
painting and other skills
In 1901 the town Water Tower was completed, and is still to be seen today.
Near the post office you still find the Naulila monument, commemorating the Assault of Naulila;. In October 1914 - the First World War had already broken out and the German Schutztruppe was under threat by the South African and British troups in the south - a German delegation under Dr. Schultze-Jena, Outjo's Bezirksmann, went across the Angolan border to the Portuguese Fort Naulila to negotiate a non-aggression treaty and supply chain agreement. However, the men were shot and consequently, the 4th field company under the command of Viktor Franke went on a punitive expedition. Fort Naulila was conquered. The majority of the troups retreated to the south again, while smaller campaigns against the Portuguese lasted until 1915. The monument erected in 1933 honuors the 12 Schutztruppe that died.
There are a few stalagmites and stalagtites and an underground lake. People can swim in if they want, and has to climb down into the cave by means of a porthole and fixed ladder and then ropes and ladders which are attached to the rock face. In the roof of the chamber air bubbles can be seen from when the cave held magma. There is fossilised millepede and bat's skull. The cave continues underwater and exploring is still continuing.
Travelling westwards en route to Khorixas, is the Ugab Vingerklip (finger of rock) situated amongst the rugged Ugab
Terraces. If you stay on the tarred road you will miss this. About 35 m high, this distinctive monolith has been moulded into its
curious shape by erosion.
The high land has been cut down by the Ugab River, until the Canyons became only some stone pillars, comparable
with the Monument Valley in America. The best known is the Vingerklip.
Vinger=Finger, because it is so thin and high.
The hills of the Ugab Terrace, near the town, deserve special mention
for their unusual shapes. A particularly interesting section can be
found on the Setenghi property, where some of the formations have been
likened to castles from the middle ages. These are made of conglomerate,
and stand on the edge of a plateau that stretches for more than 80km and
eventually forms the northern boundary of the Ugab River Valley.
This is one of Southern Africa's finest and most important Game Reserves. Etosha Game park was declared a National Park in 1907 and
covering an area of 22 270 square km, it is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species and,
surprisingly, one species of fish. The Etosha Park is one of the first places on any itinerary designed for a holiday in Namibia.
Etosha, meaning "Great White Place", is dominated by a massive mineral pan. The pan is part of the Kalahari Basin, the floor of which
was formed around 1000 million years ago. The Etosha Pan covers around 25% of the National Park. The pan was originally a lake fed by the
Kunene River. However the course of the river changed thousands of years ago and the lake dried up. The pan now is a large dusty depression of
salt and dusty clay which fills only if the rains are heavy and even then only holds water for a short time. This temporary water in the
Etosha Pan attracts thousands of wading birds including impressive flocks of flamingos. The perennial springs along the edges of the Etosha
Pan draw large concentrations of wildlife and birds.
The game viewing in Etosha National Park is excellent, the best time
being from May to September - the cooler months in Namibia. Visitors to
Etosha Game Reserve can expect to see many buck species, elephant,
giraffe, rhino, lions, leopard and cheetah. There is a network of roads
linking the three campsites and subsidiary roads lead to various
waterholes.
Tourists in Etosha can stay in three rest camps - Namutoni, Halali
and Okaukuejo - that are operated by Namibia Wildlife Resorts.
Non-resident visitors to Etosha, i.e. those residing at one of the many
private lodges and hotels around Etosha, can stop off at these camps for
rest, recreation, and refuelling.
Because the quality of accommodation and service is higher at the
private establishments, which can be found outside the Etosha Park,
visitors often choose to stay in them rather than within the camps.
The main entrance to the park is called the Andersson Gate, situated
near Okaukuejo in the south on the C38 from Outjo. The eastern entrance is
called the Von Lindequist Gate and is near Namutoni to be reached from
Tsumeb. The new "Nehale lya Mpingana Gate" (King Nehale Gate) was
opened at the beginning of 2003 in the north-east.
Visitors should note that the park is only open from sunrise to
sunset. Outside of these hours, visitors either have to be in one of the
camps, or completely outside the park.
The turn off to the site of Petrified Forest is signposted (the sign is in the Afrikaans language
and read "Versteende Woud") 42 kilometers west from Khorixas on the C39
road. The site was declared a national monument in 1950. It is now
strictly prohibited to remove or damage even small pieces of petrified
wood after it suffered damaging attacks of souvenir hunters.
The trees are about 250 million years old and were deposited in the area
by the flood which came down from areas further north, suggested by the
fact that trunks do not have any branches or roots.
The trunks were deposited in silica rich environment and were excluded
from contact with oxygen which prevented decay. During the course of
time molecules of silica penetrated the wood and replaced wood
molecules. At present around 50 trunks can be seen on the site with the
longest being more that 30 meters long.
The area is very rich in young Welwitchia trees.
The Khorab Memorial, dates back to the First World War and marks the spot where the cease-fire was signed at Khorab on July 9, 1915.
A unique museum had its origins in 1915 when, during the South West
Africa Campaign, retreating German forces dumped their military
equipment into Lake Otjikoto, close to Tsumeb. Some was retrieved and
are displayed in the Tsumeb Museum and the Alte Feste Museum in
Windhoek.
Covering an area of 25 m by 5 m, qualified divers can view armaments
and weaponry dating back to the First World War at a depth of 55 m.
A favourite myth is that Otjikoto and its sister lake Guinas are
bottomless. This misconception was given durability because the body of
a former postmaster of Tsumeb, Johannes Cook, who drowned in Otjikoto in
1927, was never found. In fact, the depth of the lake varies from 33 to
90 m. Shaped something like an upside down mushroom, Otjikoto was
formed when the roof of a huge dolomite cave collapsed. Stalactite
samples taken from an underwater cave have been estimated to be about 80
000 years old.
A rare, mouthbreeding species of fish is found in the lake's depths,
as well as in Lake aquinas, which lies to the north-west of Otjikoto.
The 130 m-deep Lake Guinas is noted for its beautiful setting and the
ink-blue colour of its water. Visitors to Namibia who are qualified
divers, are welcome to join members on a journey of underwater
exploration at Lake Otjikoto.
Twyfelfontein lies 90 kilometres west of Khorixas with one of
the highest density of rock engravings in the world. The pictures
were done by cutting through the external surface layer of sandstone.
More than 2000 petroglyphes have been counted here. Twyfelfontein was
proclaimed a National Monument in 1952 and a World Heritage site in 2007.
The rock engravings are
found on a number of smooth rock surfaces and most of them depict
animals and their tracks. Scientists have estimated their ages to vary
between 1000 and 10000 years: The majority agrees on an age of about
6000 years.
A few kilometres away from Twyfelfontein, there are more attractions
to be found: the basalt column called "Organ Pipes".
Some 150 kilometres south of Khorixas lies Namibia's highest
mountain; the Brandberg massif, with the 2573m high Königstein as its
highest peak.
The largest known meteorite in the world, the Hoba Meteorite, lies in a
shallow depression on the farm Hoba-West about 20 km west of
Grootfontein. The 50 ton mass of nickel and iron, which is between 100
million and 300 million years old, crashed to earth some 30 000 to 80
000 years ago.
Discovered by Jacobus Hermanus Brits in the 1920s, it was
periodically subjected to vandalism. Measures to protect the meteorite were taken in the 1980s in a joint
venture between Rossing Uranium Limited and the National Monuments
Council. A stone amphitheatre was built around it to allow for
convenient viewing, while a "museum wall" giving information on the
meteorite was built at the entrance. There are barbecue facilities at
the site.
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