Full day canyon drive at Fish River Lodge

 

Fish River Canyon, full day canyon drive
from Fish River Lodge

We leave Fish River Lodge at 7 a.m. for the "full day canyon drive". Over the next seven hours, we will follow what should be the “only access route by vehicle” into Fish River Canyon descending approx. 500 m to the riverbed in a Toyota Land Cruiser. 

For obvious reasons, this trip cannot be recommended if you are scared of hights. Most of the seven hours, we drive right along the edge of the gorge with free fall on one side! Thus, we are sneaking in low gear with diff lock on. On this route, you want the engine to hold the car back - not the brakes, which would overheat fast!

Full day canyon drive, Fish River Lodge

Occasionally, we pass steep obstacles where we cannot see what is just on the other side of the top. It is an advantage that our driver and guide "Action" (!) has driven this route before.

Full day canyon drive, interesting track

As we journey into the depths of the canyon, we witness first-hand the millions of years of geological upheaval when the earth’s continents separated, and tectonic movement resulted in the formation of the canyon. Petrified rippled mud and glacial deposits, dramatic fault lines, rough limestone, and shiny quartzite are some of the features we see along the way. 

Fish River Canyon, geology

Nearby, we are lucky to see Hartmann's mountain zebras (Equus zebra hartmannae) and a Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) along with other animals and birds.

Underway, we take small breaks at beautiful viewpoints!

Break, full day canyon drive

The drive down ends at a permanent rock pool, where we swim and have lunch for one hour, before we head the same long way back to the Lodge! 

Permanent rock pool,
Fish River Canyon

Swim, Fish River Canyon

Fish! Fish River Canyon

When we come back to the lodge after a long day, we swap from rock pool at the bottom of Fich River Canyon to the infinity pool at the top of Fish River Canyon!

Fish River Lodge, rim pool

Resting by pool, 
Fish River Lodge

We liked this activity very much, not the least because of the safe and careful driving by our guide Action, who also had to change a tire after only 10 mins drive!

Fish River Lodge

If you think Africa equals primitive accommodation and facilities, think over again

You can get exactly what you want (and the wallet allows)

Many connect Africa with primitive accommodation and very simple facilities. It is certainly not our experience. Especially traveling in the southern and central part of Africa; you can get exactly what you want (and the wallet allows) in terms of luxury.

Cheep or expensive does not equal bad or good!

The cheap way to travel in Namibia and Botswana is to bring your own tent and equipment and camp in the middel of the amazing nature. This way of traveling has given us some of our greatest experiences. Perhaps you can get an idea from some of our pictures from previous camp sites:

Our camp "Little Hunters Rest" at Namtib Biosphere Reserve
Tiras Mountains, Namibia 2009

View from tent

The opposite extreme are the luxury lodges. You are welcomed by a waiter with a heated white cloth enabling you to dry the dust off hands and face when you get out of the Land Rover. Then, the next waiter hands you the welcome drink and escort you to a spectacular cottages built of natural materials. From your bed (and often toilet!) you have direct views to plains, desert and/or mountains. In the afternoon, you can cool your body in the infinity pool and watch the parade of elephants and other animals on the plains below. At night, you are served four course menus on thick white tablecloths along with good wines from South Africa. These kind of luxurious places (believe it or not) get boring and impersonal in the long run, but they are very nice to combine with camping and budget places if you can afford it. We always aim for "relaxed luxury", with highly highly qualified nature guides and strong local community involvement, when we stay at such places. Here you can see some of the more luxurious places we have tried:

Etambura Lodge, Kaokoland, Namibia, 2012.
View from bedroom

Dolomite Camp, Etosha, Namibia 2012

Kubu Queen Houseboat, Okavango Delta, Botswana 2012

We clearly prefer a combination of camping, med-range and occasional touch of luxury. We have had some of the greatest experiences sleeping in tents in the nature at ""primitive"" campsites. There is nothing better than camping in beautiful and peaceful surroundings in the middle of Gods own nature. Nothing better than lighting a fire at night and watching the amazing night sky with your family. To listen to all the unfamiliar sounds at night. Perhaps, hear the big "cats" (not too close, I will share some of our experiences in that regard later).

Okavango Delta , Botswana 2012
Look forward to visit again :-)