July (^2019) caravansa.co.za| 37
travel
fiShRiveRcanyOn
It doesn’tmatterhow
manytimesyouhave
visitedtheFishriver
Canyonit willalways
leaveyouawestruck.
theFishriver is the
longest river in Namibia.
From its source in the
NaukluftMountainsto
its confluencewith the
Orangeriverinthesouth,
theFishriver is some
800 kminlength.
Onecouldwritea
completestoryaboutthe
geology,flora and fauna
ofthisriver.Butit’sthe
relativelyshortsection,
theFishriverCanyon
- thesecondbiggest
canyoninworld– that
wehadtheprivilegeof
visiting.andit wasfull
moontoo!
Weweretheonly
peopleatthatparticular
viewpointthatstar-
studdednight.Wesat
withoursnacksand
drinksatthepoint
wherehikersstarttheir
frighteningsteepdescent
downintothecanyon
bed,ontheepicFish
riverCanyonhike.
I thinkwewereall
‘changed’sittinglooking
outovertheFishriver
Canyon that night.
Making it through the
hustle and bustle, we headed
the hundred-odd kilometres
north to the Vioolsdrift Border
Control where we crossed the
Orange River into Namibia,
and then another 40 minutes’
drive to Norotshama River
Resort in the Aussenkehr
Nature Reserve.
The resort is situated on a
farm that was purchased by
a Serbian immigrant Dusan
Vasiljevic, who ended up
farming with export table
grapes in one of the most arid
areas on the planet.
The campsite at
Norotshama is set back
behind the riverfront chalets.
As I said, it was Easter
weekend and, of course,
the resort was packed to
the hilt. They have a large
restaurantandpubthatare
wellknownfortheirsteak
andwineselection,butwe
arrivedquitelateandchose
tobraaiinstead.ai-aiS &fiShRiveR
canyOn
Our first official full day
in Namibia started with a
trip to the Aussenkehr Spar
to stock up on groceries,
and anti-venom at the
adjacent shop.
From the Spar we headed
back to the D207 and, after
deflating our tyres to 1.8 bar,
made our way to Ai-Ais.
I’ve been travelling
Namibia for many decades,
and even lived there back
in the 70s, and there’s a lot
that has changed in our
neighbour to the north.But the one thing that
never changes in Namibia:
The beauty of this seemingly
arid land.
The emptiness of it all, no
sign of humanity as far as the
eye can see. The way the hot
desert air hits you when you
are getting out of that air-
conditioned cocoon. The vast
silence surrounding you after
the “tick-tick” of the cooling
engine finally stops.
I love the way the scenery
changes in Namibia.
Suddenly from the wide
expanses of the scrub-dotted
plains you start the curving
steep descent to the southern
end of the Fish River Canyon.
This is where you find Ai-Ais
Hot Springs.
The name Ai-Ais means
“burning water” in the NamaabOveOur first night in Namibiawas spent at the NorotshamaRiver Resort,right on the banksof the mightyOrange.The
nextdaywestockedupinaussenkehr,andtooka drivetovisitai-ais. I've travelled through Namibia for many decades, and I
love the vast emptiness of this seemingly arid land. The towns and settlements you find throughout the desert are amazing.