Fish river canyon
The Fish river flows through the South of Namibia. Through the eons, it carved a natural wonder out of bare rock. The largest canyon in Africa is in Namibia, with great accommodation nearby. Because there is so little light pollution in the desert, the nights are super-starry.
COVID-19 update
This blog of ours have taken a turn to reviewing nice locations in Namibia that shine. The covid-19 pandemic is still depressing the economy of Namibia. The coastal towns have reversed the infection rate, and only a handful of new cases are reported every day. Unfortunately our capital city of Windhoek is now buckling under a high infection rate and associated lock down.
The inoculations can’t come quick enough.
Review of the Fish river canyon
From the pictures below, taken on a family tour in 2010, the area is extremely photogenic. It’s also quite remote, and to get there is a bit of a drive. The natural beauty of the roads in the South of Namibia is without compare, and the kilometres just fade away as you stare at the surroundings.
Any destination in Namibia is available in to you with Awesome Chapter’s Longer tours. As is usual with the larger attractions in Namibia, there is some very luxurious accommodation available. Camping is also an option, as there are some really nice camping grounds in the surrounding area.
The plant life here is pretty unique, and as you can see from the picture above, the clear blue skies make a dramatic back-drop. Because of the arid climate, seeing clouds or rain here is pretty rare. The night skies are something to experience here. Bright and clear, you will feel like you can touch the stars.
People seem to have a built-in desire to stack rocks. Everywhere in Namibia, you will see little stacks of rocks, mostly made by tourists.
These little cairns serve as little markers to show that you have been there, and unfortunately a large part of Namibia is the feeling that you are some sort of explorer being the first to lay human eyes on a landscape. This stacking punctures this illusion a little bit, spoiling the effect for the next tourist.
The Euphorbia plants here are super-poisonous, guarding them from grazing animals and ensuring their survival. Funnily enough, Rhinoceros seems to be immune to the effects of the poison. Luckily for you, this area of Namibia has no Rhino. The poison from this bush was used by the San to tip their arrows and help knock out their prey.
While you _can_ hike the Fish river canyon, it’s not to be done on a whim. During the summertime the soaring temperatures make it an ordeal. Logistics is a little difficult with the lay of the land getting in the way, so you need to be quite fit to complete the 5 day hike without any help.
The area surrounding the Fish river is quite beautiful, with flat barren landscapes giving way to rock barren mountains and of course this canyon. As Namibia is such a large country, and the South being so very sparsely populated the distance between towns are quite large. In this part of Namibia the road surfaces are generally well maintained gravel roads.
