Orange River and Fish Canyon Sunset -

Orange River and Fish Canyon were two breathtaking sights in Africa that I got to discover on my Acacia Africa Desert Tracker tour. While many go to Africa for the animals or culture, the landscape of Africa is pretty amazing too. Namibia delivers on everything from sand dunes to Fish Canyon (very similar to the Grand Canyon).

Day 2 of Acacia Desert Tracker Tour

As a common theme of the trip, we woke up early to start our drive from South Africa and into Namibia. During the drive, I experience some of the hottest weather of my life. It was 41 degree Celsius which is 106 Degrees Farenheit and would only be getting hotter on the trip. I was starting to become a bit worried if I could handle this type of heat for 25 days straight. Have I mentioned that the truck doesn’t have air conditioning so we ride with the windows down, sun streaming in, and sweat rolling of us? It would be okay in the morning until about 11am but after that it would become a little miserable.

We arrived around 3 o’clock at our campsite and we all changed into swim suits to head to the pool. I found a spot in the shade and was surprised that the pool water was actually quite cool and refreshing. I was afraid the pool would feel like a sauna since it was so hot outside. The next few hours were enjoyed by the pool until it was dinner time.

The pool with magnificent views where we spent the afternoon overlooking Orange River

Day 3 of my Acacia Tour – Orange River

We woke up early to take a 4 hour canoe trip down the Orange River. We drove 10 km down the road to start our 17km trip down the river. I was excited when I heard that the trip would all be down river, maybe this meant a leisurely ride?? Well the water levels were very low when we visited and I haven’t seen such a calm river before in my life. It seemed like there was no downstream or upstream. It was paddle, paddle, paddle for pretty much four hours straight. To say my arms were tired by the end is an understatement. Especially since there were areas where we paddled through not just water but weeds. It was considerably harder to paddle during these times.

There were a couple of spots that we were given a chance to get out of our boats and swim. Our guide assured us that the Orange River is very clean but I had my doubts. His version of clean and mine might be very different! But I watched others struggle to get back in so I didn’t jump in for fear that I may not be able to get myself back in the boat!

We did encounter three smalls areas where there was a little bit of rapids and a down current. I was so excited for those areas where we could take a break. They were short but well appreciated. It helped me keep going when a large part of me just wanted to quit. Although quitting really wasn’t an option.

At times, I absolutely hated canoeing down the Orange River. It was probably 110 degrees Fahrenheit and I was scorching hot. Our boat seemed to be consistently in the back of the pack even though I felt like I was paddling as fast as I could. We didn’t have many breaks along the way and I started to feel so sore. However we were rewarded for pushing through the pain and the heat with beautiful views for 4 hours that made it worth a bit of discomfort. I am glad that I did the canoe trip even thought it made me hot and tired. However, I knew that I was done canoeing for the foreseeable future.

Fish Canyon

We spent about 4 hours on the bus before we made it to our next camp site. I loved the look of the camp site which reminded me of something you would picture on old Route 66. It was a former car shop and they had very old beat up cars and trucks throughout the camp site. The bar is decorated with license plates. They did their best to create a theme and tourist attraction to set themselves apart from the other local camp sites. I liked staying somewhere with a bit of a theme. We didn’t really get the chance to properly enjoy the camp site though since we drove to Fish River Canyon to take a walk and enjoy the sunset.

We pulled up and I thought I was in old time USA on Route 66

How neat is the run down car in the middle of the yard?

Fun bar area. Too bad we didn’t even have time for a drink!

It was a 2 km easy walk along the edge of the canyon with plenty of viewpoints to stop and take photos. Fish River Canyon has been around for millions of years and it is the second largest Canyon behind the Grand Canyon. We finished our walk with plenty of time drink some wine and beer and sit back and enjoy the beautiful sunset. I love sunsets and this one didn’t disappoint, it was worth the 45 minute drive from the campsite.