The staff direct us to the Sanford's chalet, we follow cobbled pathways past a well, a gnarled ancient tree, and a put-put course set in the manicured lawns. We spend some time swapping stories of the time apart and admiring the natural stone clad thatched chalet built partially into the surrounding boulders.
We head for the bakkies and follow the road back to Hobas, little more than an official looking building and a campsite. Passing through the boom and making a right turn we drive a little further until we reach the fish river canyon main lookout point, and impressive structure offering some shade and seating. We make our way to the edge and are rewarded with uninterrupted views of the vast canyon before us. The landscape falls away and plunges to the river cutting its way through the canyon. We snap away trying to capture the awesome views.
Next we visit some more of the viewpoints situated along the edge of the canyon, including the start of the fish river hike. My dad recounts his experience of the 5 day walk, tough but rewarding, we contemplate doing it one day. We can just make out the steep track winding down to the base of the canyon where the trail actually starts!
We visit a few more viewpoints before we finally get canyon fatigue and the heat gets too much for us, there is no shade anywhere.
We head for Ai-ais via Hobas, where a rude official confronts us about not paying our entry fee of R75 per person, apparently we have been reported to the police. Trying to avoid being flagged up on Namibia's most wanted we apologies for the honest mistake (there we no clear signs) which does not seem to placate the official, we pay the fee and drive on.
On the road we pick up some weird engine problems with the Steed but we manage to keep it going. Ai-ais lies deep within the canyon, the end of the fish river hike. It's hot, real hot, like the valley is a trapping all the suns midafternoon heat. The palm fringed resort looks quite busy, a lot of campers.
We pull up at the restaurant and make a beeline for the shade and order lunch of fish and chips and cold drinks. Refreshed, we pay our day visitor fees, don our swimming cozzies and take a swim in the indoor warm and cool pools. It seems the resort has been remodeled somewhat and actually looks nice and modern. Interestingly the adjacent rooms open directly onto the indoor pools. We decide try out the outdoor pool hoping it is cool, but it turns out to be the warmest one of all! We fill up with diesel and drive back to the roadhouse.
After a drink at the campsite we decide to tackle the local 4km hike, it seemed like a good idea at the time as it was getting cooler. The views from the koppie above the camp were worth the climb and we carried on along the track.
Soon it started to get really dark as the sun sank below the horizon and we decided to turn back, and only just managed to follow the path in the gathering darkness. What a relief, we were all worried we might have had to spend a night out under the stars. After a few drinks to settle the nerves, we quickly made a fire and braaied the boerewors before the Dave and Renate arrived. We had a wonderful dinner and soon after were fast asleep.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment