Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Fish River Canyon






February 21, 2009

Preparing to leave the National Park we noticed our fuel was a bit low and decided it best to fill up. Parking by the fuel pumps we noticed a sign stating that no credit cards can be used and that there aren’t any cash machines. A quick count of money revealed 160 rand 15 cents. Yikes. We were about a quarter full, but decided to put it all in. Asking the attendant to do the exact amount, he did surprisingly well and went two cents over. We then headed to the Namibian border. A very friendly and kind gentleman completed our forms and passports without problem. We then needed to pay 160 rand for the car’s insurance. No problem. We have cards, we have the all ‘important’ American dollars. Problem. This particular border post, the only one, doesn’t accept either. Thankfully the customs officer kindly called superior after superior and they decided that we could go without and just pay on our exit with them keeping the all important completed document there. The officer also gave us his name and number in case we encounter any hassles. (Watch this space).

Crossing the border we headed off to Fish River Canyon, a highly recommended point of interest. We cruised along at a steady pace of 80kms per hour as diesel was at a bit of a premium. Map reading was interesting as what I supposed were towns like Wegdraai (Turn away) and Twee Rivier (Two Rivers) were actually their definitions- a turning point in the road and a place of two rivers meeting. Reaching a small town, and I mean small (yes, this is coming from a girl from Saskatchewan) we thought we would try our luck. A quick enquiry of asking a man on his horse drawn cart (seriously – it was the second one we’d seen) revealed that there was a cash machine and a fuel station in town. Fantastic. No luck though as the only cards accepted were visa affiliated ones, no mastercard or maestro. No fair! We steadied on and made it to a major town centre of approximately two thousand, fuelled up and instantly felt lighter.

We approached the Fish River Canyon and weren’t really sure what to expect. Paying a fee of 130 Namibian dollars we entered the gates and drove the ten kilometres towards the viewpoint. Reaching our destination, we climbed out of our car and saw the most incredible sight. A massive canyon, chipped harshly from red and warm brown rock and a beautiful winding river flowing at the bottom. We also took the “4x4 ish” (direct quote from the sign) trail to another viewpoint and saw a very different landscape. This landscape was filled with large rounded rock hills instead of the relatively flat and stony plains of the first viewpoint. We also were lucky enough to see a small herd of the elusive Namibian Cape Mountain Zebra – timid but stunning.

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