Khorixas

The strange place names found in Namibia normally have quite obvious meanings if you speak the local language. Khorixas is a derivation of the Damara word 'Gorigas' - a type of water bush which flourishes in the area.

The town of Khorixas is the administrative centre of Damaraland, and the surrounding landscape is full of surprises. 70km to the east in the rugged, sparsely vegetated Ugab Terraces, is a distinctive pale sandstone monolith dominating the skyline. The Ugab Vingerklip (finger of rock) is about 35m high and stands quite alone apart from a scattering of thatched cottages which make up the Vingerklip Lodge.

Beyond Khorixas is the petrified forest whose fossilised trunks are estimated to be 200 million years old. A short drive south- west of here is Twyfelfontein, with an overwhelming abundance of rock engravings, set in a U-shaped valley of unusual reddish sandstone formations.

Another geological curiosity nearby are the perpendicular slabs of basalt which have been coined 'the organ pipes'.

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