We had started making a bee line towards Fish River Canyon then Cape Town so our days driving were about to become longer, and longer. We were racing through our various books, having stocked up once and already dreaming of cable TV, internet, unlimited hot water and laundry as promised in Cape Town. We were a pretty dusty bunch. Ron felt like he was with a bunch of horses heading to the barn. Our car trance was shattered though as a couple of gemsbok bounded out from behind a knoll onto the road. The first one was not a close call at all, but the second one came really close to becoming our hood ornament. They are quite large though, so we are lucky we managed to swerve out of the way.
It seemed the crowds we had briefly experienced in Etosha had all but disappeared by the time we were in central and southern Namibia. We came here having been warned August is the highest of high seasons. No way. When camping in lodges, we generally had the pick of sites and often felt somewhat lonely for some activity around the pool or restaurants. But generally we were glad to have the flexibility to change plans and know we could find a spot in most places. As a family we were definitely getting into the groove of setting up and tearing down camp. The joy of being a turtle is always having what you need with you – the drag is, you can’t leave without everything with you. So even staying in one place two nights, we still had to tear down camp as the tents are attached to the car. Everyone had their jobs they were especially good at and upon arrival we all searched around for a great place to climb and watch the sun set.
From Sossusvlei we had a 370 km drive down to a place called Aus (like house, without the h) and had booked camping at a place called Klein Aus Vista. This was really just a pit stop with the added attraction of being able to see the wild horses hanging out in the pan just 20 km west of Aus. The whole area has lots of history other than the horses. Once WWII began, South Africa started heading into Namibia to take it from the Germans. Aus became an important front for this conflict and when the Germans did surrender (the final frontier was Windhoek), the South Africans set up a large POW camp just outside of Aus where the horses now roam. Sadly, influenza took many of the captors and captives so there is also a large grave area (we skipped this part). Once again, we were struck with wonder what people living there now do for a living. It is the smallest town I have ever come across with the largest tourist information office. Go figure.
We arrived at the pan to see the wild horses a bit late (3pm) as they tend to hang out there only during the heat of the day to drink from the spring. But we were treated to about an hour of watching them play, fight, drink and roll before they headed off into the horizon. About 6 of them stood right beside the shelter where we sat, rubbing their teeth on the wood and coming about as close to us as you could ever imagine a wild horse would come (Anna’s fingers grazed the muzzle of the most friendly one). As with any wild animal, we had to remain respectful, sit quietly and watch (yes, we were all able to do this and we are getting better at it all the time!) The best part was watching the stallion who was obviously in charge round them all up when it was time to head off. The body language, authority and obedience was so overwhelmingly quiet and obvious – it was incredible to watch.
Next stop, Fish River Canyon at the Canyon Roadhouse. The Roadhouse is famous for its press coffee and Amarulo (a South Africa treat like Baileys Irish Cream) cheese cake. A perfect indulgence for Janet’s birthday! It is somewhat under construction which kind of took away from the ambiance we had been expecting but still a great spot with incredible food. By now we were through our groceries from Swakop and unable to find a grocery store anywhere. What a great spot to be forced into eating out!
I think we had been expecting a bit more at Fish River but really, except for those who are going to hike the canyon, the main activity is to drive and hike to the various view points and gaze down. Day hikes are strictly prohibited into the canyon so unless you are willing and able to do the 85 km hike down and through the canyon (over 5 days), you are limited to just looking. Fish River Canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in the world, the first being Grand Canyon I believe. As you can imagine, it is stunning to look at…but really only entertained us for about an hour or so and about 3 view points. We did finally bump into a family who had just finished the hike with their teenage boy and 12 yr. old daughter. So it is apparently hard, but obviously doable. The heat is the main issue and you must be completely self sufficient. We decided rather than stay another night at the Roadhouse, we’d check out the Canon Lodge en route and Ai-Ais for the hot springs! Perhaps it was a mistake to take a look at the Canon Lodge – my advice to anyone visiting Namibia is to budget for and book a stay. The food is apparently incredible and the little bungalows are built right into the rocks so when you wander around your room, it is divided into cool little nooks by boulders and steps. We actually considered briefly a splurge but they were fully booked.
Ai-Ais was a great spot. Fed by a hot spring (65 degrees Celsius), they have built a spa, restaurant, indoor and outdoor pools nestled in the very end of the Fish River Canyon. This is also where the 85km hike ends. And they have camping. Whoo Hoo’s all around as we raced from one pool to the next. Sadie & Anna indulged in having a pedicure and we spent as much time as possible bobbing around in the various pools. You can hike up the canyon for a bit from this end but the canyon is no t nearly as spectacular there as it was further up where we stayed at the Canyon Roadhouse.
We were not sure where to make our stop once we crossed the border from Namibia into South Africa. Our border crossing was uneventful but the area was not enticing enough to stop for long. There is apparently a lot to discover around the Orange River but as I mentioned, we had time restraints getting to Cape Town. The diversion would have been too long if we had tried to do it right. We landed in a town call Springbok, famous as the gateway for Namakwa Region’s incredible spring flower displays. We had heard this from Sally (remember the birdwatcher with broken arms?) and a few other fellow campers along the way. Now, you may wonder what the heck we were thinking..since when did Janet and Ron (let alone Sadie & Anna) become interested in finding displays of flowers. Well? It was along the route and so emphatically described, we figured it was a no brainer. We were wrong. Springbok’s best Caravan Park was hilarious. We were camped under a transformer box and sandwiched amongst a SEA of avid
flower and bird watchers. Conversation was lively in the communal kitchen (it was so windy we couldn’t use our gas stove outside) and the bathrooms. We talked, listened and picked our route…just a short diversion off the main highway (back on to the gravel roads) to see fields of brilliant coloured daisies, aloes, lilies & mesembryanthemums (Heb?). Yikes. The short detour turned out to be over 60 km and an hour long taking us on the gravel track into beautiful farm country BUT, the winds were too strong, it was too early in the day and may even have been an area already spent. Needless to say, save for a couple of shots of colour it was very underwhelming. Having already mentioned our desire to get to Cape Town and our glee at finally driving on paved roads, you can imagine the mood in the car as we bumped along looking at the green fields. We eventually found humor in the whole diversion, able to laugh at ourselves and our brief insanity thinking this had been a good idea. The down side of the day was the 370 km in gale force side winds on the highway. Ron took the helm and was exhausted when we stopped.
Our last night on the road was in a place called Citrusdal at a camping spot called The Baths. Another hot spring area, The Baths is a lodge/spa/camping destination and a large orange farm. As luck would have it, the camp ground was full but the owner showed us up the valley to his own private camping spot, right beside an orchard and best of all, completely on our own. If I was to give advice, depending on your preference, I would either phone ahead to book at the Baths or arrive and ask specifically for the owner’s special spot. It was a great last night with a full moon, awesome chicken dinner over the fire and wine. The climate was so different already. It no longer felt like our skin was going to crack off and we woke to find everything soaked from the dew. Feeling relaxed and ready, we drove the final 175 km easily into Cape Town with incredible views and lush fields all around.
It seemed the crowds we had briefly experienced in Etosha had all but disappeared by the time we were in central and southern Namibia. We came here having been warned August is the highest of high seasons. No way. When camping in lodges, we generally had the pick of sites and often felt somewhat lonely for some activity around the pool or restaurants. But generally we were glad to have the flexibility to change plans and know we could find a spot in most places. As a family we were definitely getting into the groove of setting up and tearing down camp. The joy of being a turtle is always having what you need with you – the drag is, you can’t leave without everything with you. So even staying in one place two nights, we still had to tear down camp as the tents are attached to the car. Everyone had their jobs they were especially good at and upon arrival we all searched around for a great place to climb and watch the sun set.
From Sossusvlei we had a 370 km drive down to a place called Aus (like house, without the h) and had booked camping at a place called Klein Aus Vista. This was really just a pit stop with the added attraction of being able to see the wild horses hanging out in the pan just 20 km west of Aus. The whole area has lots of history other than the horses. Once WWII began, South Africa started heading into Namibia to take it from the Germans. Aus became an important front for this conflict and when the Germans did surrender (the final frontier was Windhoek), the South Africans set up a large POW camp just outside of Aus where the horses now roam. Sadly, influenza took many of the captors and captives so there is also a large grave area (we skipped this part). Once again, we were struck with wonder what people living there now do for a living. It is the smallest town I have ever come across with the largest tourist information office. Go figure.
We arrived at the pan to see the wild horses a bit late (3pm) as they tend to hang out there only during the heat of the day to drink from the spring. But we were treated to about an hour of watching them play, fight, drink and roll before they headed off into the horizon. About 6 of them stood right beside the shelter where we sat, rubbing their teeth on the wood and coming about as close to us as you could ever imagine a wild horse would come (Anna’s fingers grazed the muzzle of the most friendly one). As with any wild animal, we had to remain respectful, sit quietly and watch (yes, we were all able to do this and we are getting better at it all the time!) The best part was watching the stallion who was obviously in charge round them all up when it was time to head off. The body language, authority and obedience was so overwhelmingly quiet and obvious – it was incredible to watch.Next stop, Fish River Canyon at the Canyon Roadhouse. The Roadhouse is famous for its press coffee and Amarulo (a South Africa treat like Baileys Irish Cream) cheese cake. A perfect indulgence for Janet’s birthday! It is somewhat under construction which kind of took away from the ambiance we had been expecting but still a great spot with incredible food. By now we were through our groceries from Swakop and unable to find a grocery store anywhere. What a great spot to be forced into eating out!
I think we had been expecting a bit more at Fish River but really, except for those who are going to hike the canyon, the main activity is to drive and hike to the various view points and gaze down. Day hikes are strictly prohibited into the canyon so unless you are willing and able to do the 85 km hike down and through the canyon (over 5 days), you are limited to just looking. Fish River Canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in the world, the first being Grand Canyon I believe. As you can imagine, it is stunning to look at…but really only entertained us for about an hour or so and about 3 view points. We did finally bump into a family who had just finished the hike with their teenage boy and 12 yr. old daughter. So it is apparently hard, but obviously doable. The heat is the main issue and you must be completely self sufficient. We decided rather than stay another night at the Roadhouse, we’d check out the Canon Lodge en route and Ai-Ais for the hot springs! Perhaps it was a mistake to take a look at the Canon Lodge – my advice to anyone visiting Namibia is to budget for and book a stay. The food is apparently incredible and the little bungalows are built right into the rocks so when you wander around your room, it is divided into cool little nooks by boulders and steps. We actually considered briefly a splurge but they were fully booked.
Ai-Ais was a great spot. Fed by a hot spring (65 degrees Celsius), they have built a spa, restaurant, indoor and outdoor pools nestled in the very end of the Fish River Canyon. This is also where the 85km hike ends. And they have camping. Whoo Hoo’s all around as we raced from one pool to the next. Sadie & Anna indulged in having a pedicure and we spent as much time as possible bobbing around in the various pools. You can hike up the canyon for a bit from this end but the canyon is no t nearly as spectacular there as it was further up where we stayed at the Canyon Roadhouse.
We were not sure where to make our stop once we crossed the border from Namibia into South Africa. Our border crossing was uneventful but the area was not enticing enough to stop for long. There is apparently a lot to discover around the Orange River but as I mentioned, we had time restraints getting to Cape Town. The diversion would have been too long if we had tried to do it right. We landed in a town call Springbok, famous as the gateway for Namakwa Region’s incredible spring flower displays. We had heard this from Sally (remember the birdwatcher with broken arms?) and a few other fellow campers along the way. Now, you may wonder what the heck we were thinking..since when did Janet and Ron (let alone Sadie & Anna) become interested in finding displays of flowers. Well? It was along the route and so emphatically described, we figured it was a no brainer. We were wrong. Springbok’s best Caravan Park was hilarious. We were camped under a transformer box and sandwiched amongst a SEA of avid
flower and bird watchers. Conversation was lively in the communal kitchen (it was so windy we couldn’t use our gas stove outside) and the bathrooms. We talked, listened and picked our route…just a short diversion off the main highway (back on to the gravel roads) to see fields of brilliant coloured daisies, aloes, lilies & mesembryanthemums (Heb?). Yikes. The short detour turned out to be over 60 km and an hour long taking us on the gravel track into beautiful farm country BUT, the winds were too strong, it was too early in the day and may even have been an area already spent. Needless to say, save for a couple of shots of colour it was very underwhelming. Having already mentioned our desire to get to Cape Town and our glee at finally driving on paved roads, you can imagine the mood in the car as we bumped along looking at the green fields. We eventually found humor in the whole diversion, able to laugh at ourselves and our brief insanity thinking this had been a good idea. The down side of the day was the 370 km in gale force side winds on the highway. Ron took the helm and was exhausted when we stopped.
Our last night on the road was in a place called Citrusdal at a camping spot called The Baths. Another hot spring area, The Baths is a lodge/spa/camping destination and a large orange farm. As luck would have it, the camp ground was full but the owner showed us up the valley to his own private camping spot, right beside an orchard and best of all, completely on our own. If I was to give advice, depending on your preference, I would either phone ahead to book at the Baths or arrive and ask specifically for the owner’s special spot. It was a great last night with a full moon, awesome chicken dinner over the fire and wine. The climate was so different already. It no longer felt like our skin was going to crack off and we woke to find everything soaked from the dew. Feeling relaxed and ready, we drove the final 175 km easily into Cape Town with incredible views and lush fields all around.
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