Fish River Canyon Hike

Posted on December 18, 2017October 24, 2019 by admin

Getting there

When you have finished the Fish, I think you are entitled to some bragging rights. Even if you were not the most graceful hiker. This Fish River Canyon Hike is everything that you read about. Majestic. Beautiful. And a bit rough around the edges. It is also a lot of other things that you don’t read about.

I got my ‘Fish Badge’ at the end of May. It was a long drive there. I wanted to stop at the famous Canyon Roadhouse and look at the old cars, but the sun was setting, and I did not want to drive an unfamiliar gravel road in the dark. The gravel road was surprisingly good. Better than some tared roads back home. It was only the last few kilometres that I felt like popcorn. But that little bit of jumping around was worth it. The Canyon Village was beautiful. I arrived just in time to sit and watch the moon rise over the desert and catch up with the Brisleys.

Getting ready on the day of

It was with great excitement that we got going the next morning. First, we had to take the vehicles to Ai-Ais. Get the rest of the friends, and drive back to Hobas were we would meet up with the last of our group.

It was past lunch when we finally got our first view of the canyon from the viewpoint. It is difficult to imagine that one could feel any smaller. At the starting point of the hike, you realise that the very small you, would have to go down this very large canyon. I have to admit, that for the first hour I did not take in the scenery. I was afraid that if I looked away from where I should place my feet, that this story would not have a happy ending.

It took a good long while before we made it to the bottom. The sun was almost starting to set and the river looked very inviting. The guys even took a swim. There was enough water that swimming happened a few times. It was not as dry as I thought it would be. Anyway. After a bit of a rest, we picked up ourselves and our bags and went further downriver. We did not go far before we set up camp.

The guys were nice enough to carry wood all the way down and we had a nice fire going. It was a beautiful starry night next to the fire until the moon rose over the canyon wall. We watched the almost full moon rise and called it a night.

Boulder dashing

There is something beautiful about the canyon in the early morning. It seems so calm. The canyon itself and us. We were very chilled. We calmly had breakfast and packed up our stuff. The calm of the morning would however not last. It was not long before the sandy shore turned into rocky cliffs. And due to the scare factor, I swam downriver while my bag got ‘couriered’. How many people can say that they swam in the desert? 🏊‍♀️The water was cold and very deep, but the swimming was fun. The swimmers and the climbers reunited got dried off and got going again.

I think we should have thought about shade and started on the shaded side of the canyon to minimize the sun walking. We did not think about that starting out, and I looked with longing to the shadows on the other side a few times. But as the sun rises the shadowy parts get less. By midday, the sun had chased all the coolness away.

We had lunch on some big rocks next to the river. The after-lunch shift marked the start of the big rock boulder dashing. That was the toughest part for me. Climbing, sometimes falling, in the full strength of the sun for hours. By afternoon, the shade was setting in again and the guys helped me carry my tent and sleeping roll thingy. After their help, I was up to boulder dashing again. But only the little boulders.

We walked past sunset and ended up camping on nice ‘beach’ at the 10 km mark. For the second night, we had a campfire going. We admired the moon and the stars again and went to sleep determined to walk 20-30 km the next day.

Palm Springs for breakfast and Table Mountain for sun-downers

We got up early and in the light of day, we could admire the chocolaty streaks of the canyon wall. This morning’s hike was much easier going than the day before. The path was straight and the walking easy. No climbing or boulder dashing. We walked in the cool of dawn and made good distance.

It was on this morning that we walked past the escape route. We dubbed this the ‘escape to death route’. You really had to be in serious trouble to try and get out of the canyon that way. That for truly sure was not an easy way out. We actually did see people attempting to climb out there, but they were to high up for us to hear them or them us.

At Palm Springs we threw our stuff down and made breakfast. Some went swimming to find the hot spring water. I decided to take a rest. The day would still be a long one. The terrain differed a lot from the previous day which made for much easier going. We made good time and distance. It was not long after breakfast that we came to the 20 km marker. What an achievement! Unfortunately, we were hoping to be a little further on day 3. We walked for 45 minutes and rested for 15. Walk. Rest. Repeat. Somewhere on a sandy stretch, we found a tree! And that was where lunch had to be.

After lunch, we aimed for the view of ‘Table Mountain’ where our last 15-minute break for the day would be. From here we pushed on as far as we could before dark. In the twilight, we saw the famous desert horses on the other side of the river. That was impressive. And lucky. It seems that they are quite elusive.

We set up camp, like ‘eendjies in ‘n ry’. This was the night that I tried my self-made dried mince. I was not convinced that it would not kill me, so I just ate my pasta. The others also had dried their own mince, but theirs looked way more normal than mine.

Halfway there

After breakfast, we found that we were camped out just before the 40km mark. We were getting there but still too slowly. We had to put in 30 km or else we would not finish in time. The terrain was more variable today. Sandy patches. River rocks. A bit of up and down climbing. When we found a bend in the canyon wall which cast a shadow, we claimed it as our lunch spot. We ate and rested in the shade. Great stuff.

Late afternoon we came to a ‘fork in the road’. Here we had to decide whether we were going to walk the full route, or take the shortcut and walk away from the river. We voted for the shortcut. There was a little climbing involved, but all in all, it was not a tough shortcut. It was actually easier going that some parts next to the river. By the end of the day, we reached the German’s grave,
Lieutenant von Trotha. We set up camp a stones’ throw away from there. This was the first ‘dark’ night and we could see Vincent’s starry night.🌟🌟

Just around the last bend

The last morning was windy but we got going easily. By now most of my food was eaten and finally, it seemed that everything fit in the backpack. Not long after ‘go’ on this last morning, we came to a road and a building which might have been a shop at some point in time. This little bit of civilisation made us feel as if we were near the end. However, it is a bit deceptive as this little ruin and road were nowhere near the end. So, don’t get your hopes up at this point. There is still a way to go.

We walked on and on. Around many bends that we thought would be the last on each time. By late afternoon we took a break on a tree-covered dune. This little siesta was great but it was tough to get going from here. We walked on and on until the road got sandy again and reeds popped up everywhere. A friend told me that they got to this part, and set up camp on their second to last day. They were flabbergasted when they started out the next morning, only to find the end of the trail an hour later.

Finally, just as the sun set, we made it to Ai-Ais. We sat on chairs and drank anything ice cold. The guys unfortunately still had to drive out to Hobas to fetch 2 of the vehicles. While they were gone, we went for a dip in the water from the hot spring. That warm water did wonders for the sore muscles, and I was able to walk less like an old lady after getting out. The shower after the swim was even more luxurious. If Namibia was not always saving water, I would have stood in that shower for much longer. Another luxury was that we did not have to make our own food. We could order! The only thing I was craving was ‘slap tjips’ but no such luck. It was not on the menu!😱 But I did get to eat ‘real’ food.

Hitting the road again

Early mornings are beautiful, probably why the early bird and the worm meet up. There I was, sitting on the ‘stoep’ drinking coffee and eating oats. Thinking how beautiful this part of the world is. It is probably a point of view. A preference. I know not everyone thinks that a desert can be beautiful, but the quiet beauty of the desert gets me every time.

And that was that. I finished the hike. Lived to tell the tale and add my two cents worth to the topic of the Fish River Canyon Hike.

Click here to go see ‘Tips on the Hike‘ as well as how and where to book the hike.