When you travel you usually do not care about the road, but only think about the destination.
When I come to the Halukim Junction I am excited, it means we are on our way to a new trip, a new adventure into the desert.
Last time we passed, just before turning right to continue south, I looked up to the right into a small wadi, quite green after the rain and I saw what looked to me like newly made terraces, very green with a few trees, the terraces are similar to what it must have looked like in the ancient times of the Nabateans, the ruins of which we see everywhere in the dry wadies of the area.
I looked up to the right just before turning south on Road 40
Along Road 40 we have the Limanim (ports), a kind of natural / man-made construction in the landscape, that will catch rain water so it will not disappear, but is trapped and allow desert trees to grow, creating shadow for a picnic; an environment for animals and birds, to prevent erosion of soil and prevent further desertification.
Liman an island of green along Road 40
Liman full of water that is trapped allowing desert trees to grow
About 420 limans are spread all over the Negev, many near Road 40.
But the terraces before the Halukim Junction were different; although I assume it is meant as a different kind of limanim.
Living in the Ramat Negev Road 40 is our life-line, perhaps it is not so interesting to know stuff about your road, knowing that it will bring me safely from here to there. But when I looked for information about the Halukim Junction I found some interesting things, but not about these terraces.
The part of Road 40 from Beer Sheva to Kibbutz Mashabei Sade was paved by the Turkish in 1915 when they laid out their railroad to Egypt in an attempt to fight the British. During the 2nd world war, the British improved the road, but only until The Negev Junction. After the State of Israel was established Road 40 went through Yerucham to the south (1954) to Sade Boker and Eilat. This meant the kibbutzim in the Ramat Negev Council were located far from each other. Ben Gurion living in Sade Boker and Gold Meir who often visited Revivim, where her daughter lived, they were not happy about this, so in 1970 Ben Gurion managed to persuade KKL to create a new road, the one we have today between Mashabei Sade and the Halukim Junction (17.1 km) where it meets todays road 204 from Yerucham. It was difficult to pave, it needed 108 ton of explosives and 630,000 cubes of soil to fill in the road. The new road was inaugurated 6/2/1973 under the nick name “The Golda-Ben Gurion Road’.
Sign at the entrance or exit from Kibbutz Mashabei Sade
It shortened the distance between the three kibbutzim by 20 km; but it has allowed for better co-operation between the different communities of the Ramat Negev Council, including having the children from Sade Boker study at the regional school in Mashabei Sade.
Personally, I find this part of Road 40 beautiful, very Negev, although the Light house is a perpetual eyesore.
Before coming to the Halukim Junction on the left side of the road there is a parking lot, often with an ice cream booth, so you may have ice-cream. On the opposite side of the road there, you can visit the Hagay Outlook, with a wonderful 180’ view of the area with Kibbutz Sade Boker, Nahal Zin and Midreshet Sade Boker.
When I was there the hill of the outlook was colorful with flowers, as is common in spring time.
The view over the area towards the east Kibbutz Sade Boker in thr front, midreshet Sade Boker to the right in the back
Spring is colorful
If you destination is to continue further south, you pass Kibbutz Sade Boker with Ben Gurion’s Desert Hut, well worth a visit.
At Midreshet Sade Boker, a neighborhood and campus of learning, in particular desert studies, there is the most breath taken view over Nahal Zin next to the tombs of Ben Gurion and his wife.
Breath-taking view over Nahal Zin
Tombs of Ben Gurion and his wife
If at the Halukim Junction you turn left on road 204 in north going direction, you shortly come to the entrance to Nahal Nokdim on the left, with what is estimated to be the oldest Acacia Tree in the Negev.
Estimated to be the oldest shita in the Negev
There is a discussion among the learned botanists what kind of Acacia it is: a Negev acacia or a spiraled acacia? As the tree does not bear fruit, the discussion is undecided.
For me it is just a beautiful Shita (Hebrew for acacia), tall, proud, a most wonderful tree, typical of the Negev, it gives wonderful shade for a picnic before hiking back to the car.
When you drive home in northward direction on Road 40 after the parking lot, look up again to the right and you will see a few more wadies with newly made terraces in ancient Nabatean style; at the moment they are green after the rain with a few trees, but not as many trees as seen in a regular liman.
Looking up driving north from the Halukim Junction on Road 40
Of course, if you are the driver keep you eyes on the road! look up only after you stop the car; I did and I think it was worth my while! You could actually spend a whole day exploring the area around the Halukim Junction!
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