FISH RIVER CANYON HIKING TRAIL NAMIBIA JULY 2004

FISH RIVER CANYON
JULY 2004.

Peter & Barbara Giddy
Gerald and Pat Scheepers
Hannes & Jacqui Zeelie
Chris Thiart
Tony Boardman
Robin Holmes. (Hike Administrator)
James Malan (East London)
Dawn Kumm (East London)
Deryk Le Roux

This is planned to be a 9 day (Eight nights) outing including travel and time in the canyon. Cost R700pp and about R500 for Petrol. Plus Equipment, meals, provisions and souvenirs. I do not think that a well equipped hiker will have to spend no more than about R2000 for this outing. However to purchase a good backpack, sleeping bag, mattress, boots, stove etc may cost as much as R3000 to R5000. You will also need a valid passport and a certificate of fitness. A further certificate assuring the park that you will not litter has to be completed.

Day One. Friday 25th June 2004.
We left in two combis from PE at 03.00am on Friday 25th June 2004. We drove at a moderate speed of 110kmph and made 3 stops including a long breakfast in De Aar. Distances are about 250km to Graaf Reinett, 250km to De Aar, 250 to Prieska and a final 200 to Uppington. We overnight stopped at Die Eiland in Uppington. Shared three bungalows. Did some final shopping here, Supper at O’Hagan’s for R50pp.


Day Two.
Started off at 07.00am for the border post. The road from Graaf Reinett is the N10 right to Airamsvlei (About 130km) where the Border Post is located. Formalities here include completing a departure form; you need the registration number of trailers and cars as well as a declaration of all camera equipment, serial numbers etc and any other equipment such as binoculars that may be construed as imports. There is a charge of R180 per vehicle. Remember to have a pen for each person.
The drive between the SA and Namibian border posts is unusually long. About 5kays. From Airamsvlei to Karasburg is about 130km. Karasburg has a few filling stations and a well stocked Spar. From Karasburg there is a drive of 55km to a T-Junction. Once here it is a further 105km to Ai-Ais of which 60Kays is a dirt road. So the total distance from Uppington to Ai-Ais is about 430km. Do not take the Canyon turn off unless you are going directly to Hobas (the start of the Hike). The road to Ai-Ais is clearly marked and is a good quality dirt road. We reached Ai-Ais by 12.30pm. We booked into shared bungalows again. Here there is a further cost of about R20pp plus a vehicle fee to enter the reserve. This afternoon we made our final preparations, had a swim in the hot springs pool and made our way to the veranda where we watched the Springboks Play Wales. The final score was 53 to 18 with tries scored by Breyton Paulse, John Smith (the captain), Wayne Julies, Brent Russell and Bolla Conradie. With Wayne Peel and Shane Williams scoring at the last minute for Wales. Percy Montgomery had one of his better matches, scoring 8/9 attempts at goal. We had bought braai meat for this evening from Uppington and had ourselves a braai. Barbara & I saved left overs for the trail. It is possible to arrange for a Venture to take your party to Hobas at a cost of R60pp and a further R20pp from Hobas to the start of the hike in the Canyon. NB the Namibian $ is R1.00. It is not necessary to buy any of the local currency as Rands are welcomed.

Day Three (Sunday)
This morning we were up at 05.00am and on our way to Hobas by 06.00am. All 12 of us crammed in the combi with bags in the big trailer. The drive took us about an hour but when we got there we realised that Namibian time was now only 06.00am and the office opened at 07.00am Nam time. Namibia is one hour behind SA in winter. We still had to register the hike with names and ages of all participants. We had been advised of a possible way of getting our combi back to Ai-Ais. And asked for Vincent. He was summonsed and offered to take us to the start and the combi back to Ai-Ais for R100. The distance from Hobas camping site to the actual descent and start of the hike is between 10 to 13kays. Vincent would leave the Keys at reception. (In the end this worked out perfectly for us). While waiting for the office to open we realised that we had a flat tyre and I was surrounded by willing people who did the necessary. Thanks chaps!! Wrong jack and all! Well eventually we loaded (now 13 people) and were able to start the hike at 09.00am (SA Time … All times given from here on are SA time.). From the very start Dawn was going to have Knee problems and this meant that her hike was going to be the toughest of all! The descent took us about 2.30 hours. The weather was predicted to be cold and windy. This was true at the top of the canyon but as soon as we began the descent the weather improved and we were soon all in our matching shirts that we had embroidered especially for the hike. They were made of Dry-Fit material and minimised water retention. This kept us relatively dry while carrying backpacks.

Backpacks.
We had a variety of backpacks. From Hannes carrying a tent, self inflating mattresses and tinned food including luxuries such as Oysters (total weight of about 30kilograms) to Tony (the chair-man) and Chris not even carry mini stoves. They would survive on peanuts, raisins and energy bars. What was essential was to have a plastic ground sheet and some kind of mattress. A good sleeping bag was needed even though the temperatures in the evenings were mildly chilly. Early in the morning it seemed to grow colder. A tracksuit and Beanie with and additional warm top was adequate for the evenings. During the day we all wore shorts and the light T-Shirts. Most of us also needed a wide brimmed hat as the afternoon sun was quite fierce. The nature of the hike is that you walk in a Southerly direction meaning that the sun would tend to beat down on the back of your neck. I suggest one or two shorts and T-Shirts, Perhaps two pairs of thin and two pairs of thick socks. Don’t waste space in the bag with making a fashion statement. You will all be pretty smelly by day 5 however much you bath. Trail soap is essential. Remember: what you put into the river today you will drink tomorrow. I do not think that anyone used water-purifying tablets. They make the water taste terrible and you will need Game or Tang to cover the taste. And none of us needed Imodium. I like a few items of fruit and vegetables; they weigh more but are worth it to me. I also carried beers and Brandy (which I mix with Game when the beer is finished). Standard trail meals for us are: Snacker & Fruit for breakfast, Biscuits and Tuna or cheese for lunch. (We also had our left over steak rolls from the braai as Ai-Ais). And Supper consisted of Two Min noodles, Cup-a-soup, tuna or biltong mixed in with a chopped carrot. All boiled up together makes for a delicious and filling meal.

Day three continued.
Today (our first in the canyon) after the Descent we managed a total of about 3kays. The terrain is tough to cover any kind of distance, and the Canyon is at its deepest and should be enjoyed. We passed a group who had begun their descent the previous night. They were particularly slow and appeared unfit but in the end of the hike we only reached Ai-Ais about an hour before them. They would start earlier than us and walk to later. They used the coolest parts of the day to walk and meandered during the hotter part of the day. On this day we set up camp at about 15.00 in a sandy sheltered part of the canyon. The routine setting up of camp: Hannes would find a nook for the tent, build or create a Kitchen. I would set up an area for Barbara and Dawn to make it seem as cosy as possible when they got to camp. Some of the men would collect fire wood. Stoves would be lit and the evening meal cooked and eaten before sunset which was about 18.30. Happy hour was declared to be as soon as camp had been set up. However with limited stock this meant that the evening ration was soon consumed and the rest of the evening would be sitting around the campfire, chatting. Some of us were asleep as early as 20.00. The Full Moon meant that the campsite would be lit as if with an overhead spotlight and there was no stargazing until about 04.00am the next morning.

Day Four.
Today we began our trek to Palm Springs at about 08.00am. It was to be a long day filled with boulder clambering and river crossings. The river was flowing well and so water was never a problem. Just being able to consume enough water would be difficult as we had no idea quite how much we were losing in perspiration and heavy breathing. You can measure if you are drinking enough water by how often you have to urinate and the colour of your urine. Too dark means you are not drinking adequate water. Lunch time was brief; there was a following breeze and plenty of shade this early in the hike. The cliff sides are close to you and provide a cool area to walk for most of the day. We reached Sulphur springs again at about 15.00H and the men had first option in the hot bath with ladies following a little later. A group of 25 Welkom hikers joined us, the last of their group arriving after dark by torchlight. They had begun their hike at 16.00H the previous day and only managed to start from the base of the descent that morning. This meant a very long day for them to reach Sulphur Springs on one day. I personally found the hottest part of the day to be between about 14.00 to 16.00H. The sun is low and unless you are in shade the heat and glare is relentless. Palm Springs is about 15kays into the hike.

Day Five
This was now our third day in the canyon. The slower of us left Palm Springs at 07.00am as we anticipated a long day. From today we began to speed up the pace considerably and were able to take advantage of the river bends always taking the inside lane or as golfers say the “Tiger Line”. Often the path is clear, even and you are able to set a fast pace. But soon the boulders and river crossings catch up with you and the pace slows down again. You are soon able to look back and see Table Mountain in the next valley. We made our lunch stop soon after Table Mountain and had a nice long stop with stoves being brought out and all of us taking off our boots and having a swim of some sort. The water in the river is usually very cold, but does wonders for sore muscles. The part that seemed to be hurting all of us was the tops of our thighs. Of course feet are also tired after a morning of walking with a big pack. Boots are essential. I say again: essential! The last time I hiked this trail in an old pair of Saucony’s. I really don’t know how I did it. James had left his boots at home and his Tackies lasted only to the third day before completely falling apart. At lunch we decided that the fast men would go ahead and scout for a suitable campsite. The rest of us struggled over the “boulder crossing” before coming to the area known as “sand against the slope”. This is on the left hand side of the river and you need to move across to the left hand side for the easiest passage. We (wrongly) chose the shadier right hand side and were soon confronted with a tough boulder section to work our way through. We then come to Vasbyt Bend. We were fortunate that this was in the shade, so although long this was a relatively flat and easy section. As we neared the end of the bend, Tony had come back to make sure that we went over the ridge and we were at our evening campsite. Today we had covered 20 to 25kays and reached the camp only at 17.00. It was to be our longest day but by reaching the end of Vasbyt Bend we had broken the back of the hike. We were able to find good sites near to water and again had our campfire and sundowners to cheer us all up.

Day Six
Our Fourth day in the Canyon. Today we began at 08.00am. The faster men were beginning to find the pace too slow and so soon passed us at a racing speed. Robin realised that he would be no match for Tony, Chris and James. Hannes had been told by Jacqui that today he would be waking at her pace. Soon after the day began we came to the first official shortcut. Look out for the dense thorn bushes. Make sure that you are on the Right hand side of the river and look out for a steep climb up a cliff side. This is tough but short. There after the going is easy. Always fill water bottles before starting a short cut as they may be open and hot. The fourth day is riddled with short cuts. Remember to fill with water every time you reach the river. We lunched at the German Grave. Here we made a mistake of saying that we would allow the three men to go ahead and that we would meet them again at about 16.00H. Well we took it slow and reached the Causeway at about 14.00H. The first few at the causeway met a group of people who were going to be starting their 22 hike in a few days. They were in their 4X4’s and going to put out provisions. I have heard that it is possible to hide some provisions and beers for the final night but I think that you need a 4X4 vehicle to reach this spot. I have not had personal experience of this. This group of hikers were so friendly that they even gave us a few beers and cokes from their own stock. We also found a few men there who said that they were waiting for someone in a party that was still coming. In the end it turned out that they too had beers to sell (R6 for a Coke and R7 for a Beer) and sold us a few for our last night. Coke and beer on the last night of a 5 day hike has never happened to me before. Here there is a road and you pass a hut. Soon after the hut is an arrow pointing to the left. If you take this path you will come to a suitable camp site. We did not and walked up over the road straight on along the official path and ended up on a wide beach. This is where I had camped the last time I hiked the canyon so I knew that we had gone far enough for the fourth day and would have an easy last day. What we also discovered was an unmarked shortcut. So we camped at the base of this shortcut which would leave us about 12kays for the last day. Today we had covered about 20 to 25kays again. Do not let distances worry you especially early in the hike when there seems to be huge distances ahead. Even the unfittest in our group made the 5day hike comfortably within the 5 days. This turned out to be a perfect campsite and we were all able to have a bath and enjoy the beer! The problem was that the three men had gone on and found a campsite about 3kays further downriver. Hannes and Gerald went on to find them and tell them of our stock of beers. They came back for the beer but had decided to stay where they were. And so the group was split for the last evening.

Day Seven
Our Fifth and final day in the canyon. From where we had camped we went straight into the shortcut. On the other side of this path you need to stay left as going too far over to the right means having to double back to cross the river. Fools gold corner takes you to a bend or shortcut. This is fairly long. As you start this short cut stay on the left hand pathway, it will lead you back to the river and you will soon see the water pipes running on the left hand side of the river. When you see these you are nearly home. Today we had started at 08.00am and finished back at Ai-Ais at 13.30. My advice at this stage is that this is a reasonably tough hike. Do not undertake it lightly! It is advisable to have at least one in the group who has completed this hike before. At Ai-Ais the men were there waiting for us. It was here that we found out that they had had their beers the previous evening and then decided to walk in to Ai-Ais in the dark. The Moon assisted them but they missed some of the easier paths and the shortcut. They had to walk with one torch only as the second torch was useless as it reflected the dust off the boots in front. They had reached camp at 23.30H the previous evening and slept in the camp. The rest of the afternoon was spent washing, setting up for the next two days of travel and lazing in the hot water springs. My combi was safe and I was able to have the flat repaired. There is also a filling station in the camp. That evening we had a supper in the restaurant. During supper we had an awards ceremony and found that tired bodies were happy to head off to bed by 22.00H.

Day Eight
We left Ai-Ais at 06.00 and reached Uppington by 11.00. Instead of going into Uppington we went straight off to Augrabies to see the famous falls. Toady the flow of water through the Orange River was 23000 litres per second. Don’t fall in here as there is no chance of survival! After a short viewing walk we had some toasted sandwiches and headed off for one of the wine Farms at Kakamas. For a fee of R5 we enjoyed their wines and ended up with quite a sizeable collection in the combis. Robin really took advantage of the tour. It seems that he really enjoys good wines! I was later to find out that the prices that we paid for some excellent wines were about a half to two thirds of the price in the local supermarkets. This evening we went back to O’Hagan’s where we had enjoyed good food at good prices a few days earlier and found the same greeted us that evening. This was to be our last time together as a team.

Day Nine
Saturday 3 July 2004. We left at 03.00H and had brief stops along the way which enabled us to get to PE by 13.30H. The road we took was again: Prieska, De Aar, Graaf Reinett and home. Another time I would try the route to the West Coast Road crossing the border to Namibia at Vioolsdrif for either the up or home stretch.

Peter Giddy. Sunday 4th July 2004.