The first item on our agenda for Namibia was to go back to Fish River Canyon. We had cycled past it with the TDA; now we wanted to hike it. We drove on familiar roads; roads we had cycled on. A million great memories came flooding back. How lucky we are to have cycled here. Wow, how I miss my bike.
Fish River Canyon is the world’s second largest canyon. It’s 160km long, spans 27km wide at parts, and up to 550m deep. It’s a beautiful hike, which typically takes 4-6 days, covering about a 90km stretch of the canyon.
Here we are at the start. As you can see, you are not allowed into the park unless you wear beige pants and a black top. You can’t see Spiros or Pépé (Pépé is taking the photo) but I can assure you they are both wearing the exact same outfit.
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First, you descend into the canyon on a very steep trail. It takes roughly an hour and a half. Eventually you reach the water; that is the 0 km mark.
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For five days, we hiked along the river in scenery like this.
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And this.
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Not a bad lunch spot, wouldn’t you say?
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In total we crossed the river 36 times. At crossing 34, I slipped and fell into the raging river. I was flaying around in the water, trying to clamor to safety when Spiros pointed out that the water was only 2 inches deep. That may be true, but it was a ferocious 2 inches nevertheless.
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We camped on completely secluded beaches with 360 degree views, ate under the stars and talked for hours. In the morning, we would wake up and find fresh horse and baboon tracks.
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One night we made a fire. The perfect fire Spiros will have you know. Note the positioning of the rocks, the placement of wood, and height of the flames. It was a clean burn, a perfect burn. Please be sure and mention it to him next time you see him.
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We emerged from the Canyon 5 days after we started, with huge smiles and about a million pictures.
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July 8th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I hear scorn in your voice Maria - but frankly that does look like about a perfect fire. Note that the flames are approx equal in height to the diameter of the circle (nice touch that).
Further - one can see the artistic and functional stone circle that surrounds the fire pit itself… each rock looking like its facets help reflect the light and heat in an efficient manner.
This is the type of fire that started man on his journey towards technology - and should be appreciated, not mocked.
Great job Spiros!
July 8th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Hi James,
No scorn, no scorn! Just reporting on the events.
Spiros is quite pleased that you liked the fire, he says that the photo does not do it justice.