Namibia 2016 Day 6 Fish River Canyon

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An amazing start to today, as we were on our way to breakfast this morning we spotted wild love birds feeding in the garden. After breakfast we explored the quiver tree forest. These trees got their name from the fact that the San Bushmen used to use the branches as quivers for their arrows. They are actually a type of Aloe and seem to thrive in the rocky volcanic terrain. They are incredibly slow growing and some of the trees are estimated to be around 300 years old. The site is also home to a colony of rock dassies. We have seen these before but they are incredibly cute.

We then moved on to a site called the Giant's playground which is reminiscent of some of the landscape we saw in Iceland. The rocks are volcanic and have actually been exposed as the ground surrounding them has been eroded away.

After a quick stop in Keetmanshoop for some supplies we headed on to Fish River Lodge. The last stop for fuel was at a another very bizarre place called Seehiem, which is marked on the map as a village but is actually a hotel with two tanks of diesel on a stand where you can fill the tank. From looking around it appeared to be a rail yard or station although it's now a tourist attraction and camp site.

The journey to the lodge is a trip and a half, it's 119 km from the main road and in that time we saw 2 other cars. The road is all gravel with the last 19km being single track and very rough and it would not look out of place as a four wheel drive testing ground.

We are now sitting in the bar (only place to get WiFi) on the edge of Fish River Canyon, which is reportedly the second largest canyon in the world and is 160km long and up to 27km wide. We are planning on going on a tour down into the canyon so more to follow tomorrow.

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