Fish River Canyon from our chalet.
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Tuesday 24th October

(The link above takes you to all the photos I took on the 24th October. There are a lot!)

It was more than 360 km form Namtib Desert Lodge to Fish River Lodge. But it was easy driving except for the last few miles to Fish River.

Mountains being covered in sand.

Heading south from Namtib the topography lost much of it ruggedness. Eventually we got to the Keetmanshoop to Luderitz road and were pleased to find it was tarred! Our course was eastwards but we diverted westwards to fill up at Aus.

We got back onto dirt for the final drive southwards towards Fish River. As we neared our destination we found ourselves in flat-lying Karoo sediments. They formed table mountains with a capping of harder rock. At first I thought this was igneous but later closer inspection showed it to be a hard limestone.

Flat lying Karoo with a limestone capping.

It looked a very undisturbed but I did spot one minor fault!

Karoo sediments with minor fault
The previous photo annotated.

Shortly after this we arrived at Fish River Lodge where we were shown our chalet – right on the edge of the canyon!

Chris on our veranda overlooking the Fish River Canyon.
And our bed overlooking the gorge.

Wednesday 25th October

(The link above takes you to all the photos I took on the 25th October. There are a lot!)

After breakfast we set off in Land Cruiser, driven by Philomen, to get to the bottom of the gorge. But here is a photo taken before breakfast.

The edge of the gorge in the morning light.
On our way! The Karoo table tops.
Quiver trees on the skyline.
Panorama – Karoo slumping into the Canyon?
Philomen looking down at the Fish River. He is standing on Karoo sediments.
What he is looking at. The Fish River is generally dry.
We are still some distance above the river.
The way down to river level.
The Fish River and our swimming hole. We are now in the metamorphics, but you can see the Karoo in the background.
The river provides a wonderful place to swim and cool off.
A pool in the bed of the Fish River, complete with cat fish.
Philomen set up, cooked and served a tasty lunch, just above the river.

The journey to the Fish River was an unforgettable experience. I am glad Philomen did the driving – some bits were extremely steep. We saw some animals but it was the scenery which was the unique feature. The swimming and the meal at the river were the icing on top!

Thursday 26th October

We set off for our long drive to Springbok.

IntroductionWindhoekOkonjimaOkaukejo 1OngumaOkaukejo 2Mowani
SwakopmundHoodiaNamtibFish RiverSpringbokBabylon’s TorenGoing Home