Fish River Canyon west (12-8)

Tuesday I headed to my main destination on the canyon: Fish River Lodge, which is right on the canyon rim. When I first saw pictures of the view from the lodge, I knew I had to stay there; so I splurged and did it. The lodge is owned by Becky Rockefeller, along with her Namibian partners. 

Each room is a bungalow with a patio overlooking the canyon. They have an outdoor, as well as an indoor shower, so you can enjoy the view while showering. I tried it, but the wind made it a little too chilly for me.

From the tar road, it is a 2-hour drive to the lodge mostly on a good gravel road. But the last 19 km are on a narrow road that was described in the lodge information as covered with rocks. So I envisioned driving over rocks the whole way and was nervous about this portion of the drive. Thus the SUV that became a truck. However, the road isn’t nearly as bad as it sounded. Most of it is dirt with small stones embedded in the dirt. One small section has some bigger rocks. With my big truck, driving on the road was a breeze. I did see two sedans that made the trip, but I was glad to have my truck that made it much easier. I now understand why people like SUV driving on dirt roads so much. Since the road wasn’t busy, I could stop and take photos when I wanted to.

Tuesday afternoon I did the 3.5-hour rim walk out to a point and back. The rim walks were another reason I wanted to stay here, as hiking into the canyon is not allowed during the summer due to the high temperatures. The walk was pleasant with good views of the canyon. 

There are two main viewpoints. I realized that they would be stops on the Sundowner drive I was taking in the evening, but that was OK because the light would be different. 

On the way back the wind became very strong. Guests are given ear plugs for sleeping because the wind can be very strong and loud, but it didn’t bother me

In the evening I embarked on the Sundowner drive with the guide. I was the only person doing it that day. 

On the way to the viewpoints, we saw a klipspringer couple. They mate for life and are the only antelope that can run on the rocks. They can even go down and up the canyon. They are well camouflaged when on the rocks. 

At Sundowner Point, I had marula, the drink I chose because I’ve had marula in many forms and wanted to try it. It turned out to be a cream liqueur, which was nice but not what I expected. 

We watched the shadows grow across the canyon as the sun descended. 

Then we had a nice sunset in the other direction. It was very peaceful.

Sunrise from my room.

Wednesday I joined the all-day drive (7:00 to 1:30) into the canyon. It took two hours to get to the point of descent, as we stopped several times to learn about the vegetation and rocks. 

The many black rocks are black limestone. 

We learned that the water pump for the lodge is generated by solar panels, which is why it is not running during the night (11:00 PM to 5:00 AM).

The road to the river, our destination, went up and down and up and down for 1.5 hours. At one point we got out and walked down the road for about twenty minutes. This was nice, as it gave us an opportunity to really look at the canyon and take photos. 

At our destination, we were given a bagged lunch—sandwich, chips, hot dog, boiled egg, crackers, peanuts—and a drink. Then we walked down to a green pool. A few of the people went swimming, and the rest of us dangled our feet in the water and ate our lunch. It was a very peaceful and relaxing hour. 

Then we headed back. By the time we reached the lodge, my body was tired of bouncing in the jeep, and I needed to rest. But it was a great trip, and I was happy. I was also happy not to have any plans for the day other than to relax and enjoy the view from my room and then eat dinner, which was included in the room price.

After breakfast Thursday morning I walked the shorter—two hour— rim walk to have one last walk before leaving. It was lovely to have this quiet time alone with the canyon. 

When I was passing the bungalows on the way back, I noticed that two klipspringers were walking to the front of one bungalow; so I followed and watched them. One stayed in the yard 

while the other ate from a tree on the edge of the rim before looking out to enjoy the view. It was a great last view of the canyon and klipspringer.