Who would assume one will read here about fishing and rivers and water will be disappointed. About the complete river in view was dry, all the fish was since long moved somewhere more downstream, but luckily the canyon was still there. And a roadhouse which was the perfect base of roadtrippin'...
On Sunday we arrived at Mariental. A small town with not much to see or do but it was a necessary stop on our way to the biggest canyon of Africa. We had a relaxed day driving and writing for the website. On Monday we headed south with a first stop at the local supermarket: Spar. Sounds familiar? We got our breakfast & lunch for the next 2 days and ingredients for our first braai at the campsite. On the way we saw some nice views of the plateau leading the way to the canyon. After a 2 hours of very smooth driving we found ourselves on the first, of what will be many, gravel roads. The bumpy ride has begun!
After another hour we entered what is clearly one of Namibia’s most desolate, remote and inaccessible landscapes. Sweeping views over faraway plateaus and mountains were sufficient for Véro to be quiet in the car, finally.
We knew in advance that our next sleeping location would be something out of the ordinary and it sure did not let us down. When you enter the gate of Canyon Roadhouse you immediately see that something is off. Old & abandoned cars are the scene for our next few days. The first nights in Namibia we slept in warm fluffy beds, now it’s the opposite! We are camping!
At the reception we got our campsite number and directions to get there. The road is marked by signs that have the pleasant picture of an ostrich and the text: caution, no fences. We drove further to our site that has a lovely tree and grill waiting for us. Véro showed off her tent setting skills while Jens did, euh, something. Because we didn’t really had lunch, we decided to have an early dinner and so we made our first braai:
4 beef kebabs
8 mushrooms filled with tomato and topped with cheddar
Side salad: tomato, cucumber and avocado
4 garlic bread
8 mushrooms filled with tomato and topped with cheddar
Side salad: tomato, cucumber and avocado
4 garlic bread
As you will already have figured out, it was way too much but since we sat at our dinner table for a couple of hours most of it made its way to our tummies. The rest went into Jens’ tummy…
After what was for me a surprisingly good night’s rest – besides the 2 quick toilet-rushes after drinking those beers earlier – we got up waaaaaay too early to be able to see the sunrise at the Fish River Canyon’s main viewpoint. Turns out that the sun isn’t actually rising up over the canyon, but rather opposite to it. Bit of a bummer there, but hey, it was still freezing cold, so we decided to try to warm up a bit and walk up to Hiker’s Point, a viewpoint some half hour, 30 minutes north of the main viewpoint. By then the sun was fully up, but the sweeping wind kept it rather chilly to our, or rather Jens’, balls…
Due to our early booked itinerary in the assumption Jens would be guiding a Joker group, we were unfortunately not able to foresee nor book what is probably one of the best multi-day hikes in Africa: the 5 days, 4 nights Fish River Canyon hike from Hobas to Al-Aisk hot springs. Although the first part, getting down into the canyon, is quite steep and a bit challenging, the rest of the hike is supposed to be quite easy with a rewarding arrival at the hot springs, where a hot – du-uh – shower and warm meal awaits…
Contemplating what was not to be now but could still be in the (near) future would not bring us any further, so after a revitalizing breakfast of fresh fruits and granola, we set course with our Nissan to the other viewpoints over the canyon. Which is, by the way, more than 800 km long… We only spent a small amount of time on a small part of it, but it even that was worth it!
It was still too early to drive back to our camp site, so we turned off the main gravel road towards Canyon Village Lodge, where our colleagues of Joker / Karavaan had suggested a 3 or 6 km hike on the privately owned land behind what was a stunning hotel location. As we thought 6 km would take us too long, we set out for the shorter one. Halfway we took a delicious lunch of salami, locally grown avocados, sandwiches and crackers out of our backpack. And at the end of the trail, just when you’d think you’re at the end of the world, we saw what clearly was a rearrangement of stones by one of the presiding groups having passed by…
With full bellies and much quicker than anticipated, we went back to our campsite for a toe dip in the swimming pool and some relaxing apero-time.
