Brukkaros from 30,000ft (photo by David Tyler UK) |
Brukkaros from the Plains of Berseba |
Often referred to as Great Brukkaros and rising some 600 meters above the plains of Berseba it makes an
impressive sight, and in places when driving the B1 road can be
seen from distances of over
100km. Rugged and remote it gains little mentioned in most guide
books and therefore tends to be overlooked by Namibians and
tourists alike. It was thought until the mid-nineteen-eighties that
the 'familiar' shaped mountain had been what most of us would call a
volcano, but that is not quite so. There
is an impressive caldera about 1km across and the outer edge of the 'volcano' slope is over 10km, so Brukkaros whether viewed from ground
level or from the air makes an impressive sight.
During the period of the
German colony a heliograph station was situated on the east side of
Brukkaros, and in the early nineteen-thirties the Smithsonian
Institute erected a scientific station there
to observe the solar activity on the surface of the Sun.
Brukkaros
Campsite
Some members of the local community are trying to promote 'their' showpiece and
attract visitors. There is a gate and a small reception office. However, it is
rarely manned. 8 camping areas have been built in total. 4 are at the end of the good standard gravel road to the
mountain offering shelter and dry toilets. Please note there is no
water at any of the camping sites, so you will have to take a
sufficient supply of water with you for drinking or washing.
Price: N$35 per person per
night
|
Karas Region
25º60'S -
17º46'E
|
Poor road |
The upper camp view looking into the caldera |
The upper camp view looking south |
The second path leads part the way up the mountain
and is not well developed. It is not suitable for saloon cars. If you do have a
sturdy pick-up or 4x4 you should have some experience at negotiating rugged
and rocky terrain and you might need a 'spotter' in some areas where the
path in poor condition.
If you
are not driving a pick-up truck or 4 x 4 you would be wise to hike the
last kilometre to the upper camping area where there are four camp
sites with dry toilets. The upper camping areas have an impressive
view south over the plains and also overlook the entrance to the
crater via the gap in the south wall. The inconvenience of having to carry your
own water is by far compensated by the views and the remoteness. It's
a quiet and peaceful place.
Brukkaros - how it was formed:
Following the final stages of the break up of
Gondwana there were
many places in Southern Africa where molten rock continued forcing its way up through the
earth's crust. It was about 80 million years ago, at the location of Brukkaros,
that one particular up-welling of magma found its way to the surface
blocked by one of the oldest rock formations in Africa, that of the Namaqualand
Metamorphic Complex. The enormous pressures being exerted resulted in
the earth's surface to bulge upwards causing a dome like mountain to be formed,
but the magma still did not break through. The upheaval the rocks were
subjected to would have resulted in extensive crack systems into
which the ground water would have seeped. The water in the deeper
fissures would have been under considerable pressure and would have
required to have been heated to a far higher temperature than 100°Celsius
before flashing off to form steam. The temperature of the
rock near to the magma would have been several hundred degrees and
at this depth would have caused the 'ground-water' to flash off as
superheated steam.
The Brukkaros Caldera measures about 2km across, a
considerable surface area, and it was in this vicinity that the rock
structure already being subjected to the up-welling pressures from
the magma that
were causing it to fracture would also have suffered the further aggravation of
the enormous series of energy forces from both hydrostatic shock
waves and ongoing expansion of pockets of superheated-steam. When
these pressures found release, massive amounts of overlaying rock
would have been blown into the atmosphere. having a similar effect
to that of a volcanic explosion, but without the issue of pumice or
lava-rock. Following this activity, the eventual collapse of the
dome resulted in the formation of a caldera, similar in appearance
to that of a "true volcano".
Hiking into the Brukkaros Caldera:
You
must carry enough water. Time - about 3-4 hours.
You need to be reasonably fit and have strong ankles
and knees as there is quite an amount of rock hopping involved. The
trail is not well developed and certainly should be avoided during
rains or following a downpour as the rock surfaces can become very
slippery. The wearing of a good pair of Hiking or Trail boots is recommended,
and preferably leather. A sprained ankle or fall would mean a long wait
and cause a considerable amount of problems for
the rescue team, and be expensive. There is no mobile phone reception
in this area.
The best part of the path |
A Hobbit would wear boots |
The rock type |
The view into the caldera |
On a positive note. The route along
the path leads you through the hole in the south wall. It is very
spectacular and will lead you past some huge rock formations. There
are places where the rocks shine a deep blue in colour, and down
below you can see the 'rock waterfall'. The above right is the view from the
path looking through the South Wall Gap into the caldera.
Acknowledgements and further reading: G1, G2, P1
Brukkaros part 2 - into the
Caldera
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