Welcome to the Bushman's Rock Paintings !
The Bushman paintings at Gobabis are situated on the eastern face of Bushman Hill (also known as Gobabis).
From the GPS-point you have an awesome view over the Savuti Channel and the Savuti Marsh.
Geography and ecosystems:
The Savuti Marsh area, 10,878 km² large, constitutes the western stretch of the Chobe National Park (50 km north of Mababe Gate).
The Savuti Marsh is the relic of a large inland lake whose water supply was cut a long time ago by tectonic movements.
Nowadays the marsh is fed by the erratic Savuti Channel, which dries up for long periods then curiously flows again, a consequence of tectonic activity in the area.
It is currently flowing again and in January 2010 reached Savuti Marsh for the first time since 1982.
As a result of this variable flow, there are hundred of dead trees along the channel's bank.
The region is also covered with extensive savannahs and rolling grasslands, which makes wildlife particularly dynamic in this section of the park.
The Savuti Area in Botswana
The tectonic plate shift in this region sometimes changes the Savuti Channel to have water or not and floods or dries out the Savuti Marsh.
The Savuti Marsh is a very sandy area (like the Okavango Delta) and all the water will end up here and seep away.
Up on the hill, the paintings, not carbon dated, are thought to be between 3000 to 4000 years old.
They depict various animals of present and past Savuti vintage.
Eland, elephant, sable, giraffe, a puffadder and a hippo from wetter times feature on the same panel.
A mixture of plant juices, and animal fat colored with the rusty ironoxide from the rocks, was used to create this incredibly durable paint, but its exact composition is unknown.
Take this entrance point ( S 18 35.627 E 24 04.769 ) to get up to the Bushman Hill Paintings.
Have fun and enjoy this great place on our mother earth!
Safety advice
This is a wild animal region! Make sure that no dangerous animals are nearby!
You have to climb some rock stairs. Be aware that you are on your own risk.
Please wear good shoes so that you not harm yourself.
Log conditions:
To log the Cache you have to do the following:
1) Describe in your own words the type of rocks directly in front of the bushman painting
2) What part of the rocks (geological peculiarity) was used by the bushman to put into the color for these paintings?
3) Why is the Savuti Channel sometimes flowing or not?
A photo with you and/or your GPS in front of these paintings, so that I am sure you were really there, would be very welcome.
Please send me an e-mail over my geocaching.com profile with your answers. You can log immediately. I will contact you if something is completely wrong.
If you were there in former times before the publish and you made the right picture with you and the painting, you are allowed to log this cache after the FTF, STF and TTF by also sending me the right two answers.
Tusker-Team