" 'The land God made in Anger' because of its stark surreal landscapes, untamed wilderness, and harsh environment. Be prepared for sand dunes that roar, rumble, and wander; shipwreck-littered, barren coastlines; some of the most desolate and spectacular scenery in the world; vast deserts; and many unique plants and animals." This was the description written about Walvis Bay, Nambia in our Passages. I could not write anything better or more descriptive then this. We were not ready, not aware, and had no knowledge of a place called Nambia before our arrival here. Having visited for an overnight, it is a place we will never forget. Nambia is famous for its diamonds , deserts (some of the highest dunes in the world) and shipwrecks around the desolate Skeleton Coast.
Our first tour took us into the Namib Desert said to be the world's oldest living desert. It is, give or take a few years, about 55 million years old we were told. This desert is everything you could imagine a desert to be and for fun it throws some additional highlights like painting itself with numerous colors from your paint box or hiding within it some very rare and unusual plants and landscapes Our little tour of the desert turned into an eye opening experience for both of us. Our guide fascinated us as he turned our little group into a science class. He showed us life in the desert with a lichen field as our first stop. It wasn't just stone and gravel beneath our feet. If you look carefully at the ground you see these teeny tiny ‘plants’ on the rocks. "This is the result of a symbiotic relationship ( a mutually beneficial relationship between two organisms, each depending on the other for its survival) between an alga, producing food by photosynthesis, and a fungus, providing a physical structure." With a bottle of water he turned desert lichens into green bushy leaves and flowers. On what looked like worn withered twigs, I saw leaves suddenly pop up, unfold, and turn green. Amazing, I said to myself. I was off photographing all the rubble and rocks in site with pure glee. Having never listened in science class back-in-the-day, it was a WOW factor for me. He explained survival of plant life in a desert. These plants survive on fog here as there is only 1/2"- 3" of rain in this area per year. Taking water from fog ... amazing. We ooohed and ahhhed . .. . . while cameras clicked madly. We saw so many kinds and colors of lichen. Some are thought to be hundreds of years old, and all are exceedingly fragile and vulnerable. They say if you walk on them you kill them yet they have survived for millions of years, imagine.
On our next stop he had us close our eyes and when he said 'OPEN" we were smack dab on the moon surface as if we just landed ... no longer earth bound. From sand filled shoes to the cold desolate feel of cold stone and granite. We continued to travel all over, around and through a variety of desert landscapes until we came to yet another little 'learning experience' quietly and unassumingly standing before us in all its desert glory. Here we found a 1,000 year old plant. The Welwitschia mirabilis is the rarest plant in the world. There were about 7 of these plants thriving in this gravel and sand flat. Just walking near it could compact the land to the extent that it would die. It is delicate, impossible to grow unless in perfect circumstances, is so fragile yet has survived since the beginning of time, go figure. This hardy little guy has learned to survive. Our guide said some thought it was the missing link between a plant and a tree. These plants are found only in the Namib Desert, and at just a few locations which suit their highly adapted biology. Can you even IMAGINE 1,000 years ago? Jurassic period? These plants grow one foot every 100 years. I was all over these plants with my camera then came home and read all about them on the Internet.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at1315.html
He then showed us how medicine and/or water is squeezed from desert shrubs. We saw dolerite rocks. When banged together, it sounds like a pots clanging against each other. We stopped for a snack and bathroom break. Fresh oysters, cheese and crackers, olives and Champaign. Again I asked a stellar question: "Where is the restroom?" The answer was something I will never forget: "They are coming!" . . . and they were. They arrived shortly after, fully flush toilets, porta-potties, on the back of a truck. Can it get any better then this?
http://plant-species.suite101.com/article.cfm/unique_desert_plants_of_Africa
http://scienceray.com/biology/botany/a-tree-that-cuts-its-own-branches-and-other-bizarre-namib-desert-plants/
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