The Fish River Canyon is a legendary 89km (55 miles) hike in Namibia. The hike takes five days and the route follows the Fish River.
When a friend asked us a year ago whether we would like to do this hike, we immediately agreed. At the time, it seemed like a great idea. We registered with the Namibian Wildlife Resort and paid a small fee, as only 30 hikers per day are allowed in the canyon.
However, over the next few months, the drought in Namibia didn’t get any better. Most of the Fish River had run dry. We thought that the trip would be cancelled.
Only, it wasn’t. The group was eager to go. We felt slightly hesitant but finally decided to join them.
We met the other twelve hikers of our group in a little place called Hobas, the entry point of the canyon.
We started off and climbed down into the canyon. We soon came across a little pool, a tiny remnant of the mighty river.
After a few hours, we made it to our first camping spot.
Surprisingly, there was an old Vespa there. In 1968, the Cape Town Vespa Club had made a bet that some of its members would be the first to take a vehicle through the canyon. They didn’t make it and abandoned the Vespa (full story here).
That evening, we cooked our first dinner with water from a nearby pool. Unfortunately, after the first few bites, we realized that the water had been far too salty. Everyone threw their dinner away and settled for snacks instead.
We were now a little worried… what if all the water was too salty for the rest of the hike? We each carried 3 litres (6.3 pints), which was not enough for five days.
The next morning, we packed up without breakfast and started to look for drinkable water.
And we found some! There was a small puddle that had non-salty water. We filled up our flasks and had breakfast.
We continued our trek through the dry riverbed. It was quite challenging – we either had soft sand or bulky boulders.
Towards the evening, we got to another pool that was a hot sulphur spring. Now we not only had fresh water but even piping hot water!
And we had another surprise: we spotted wild horses. There are various theories on how these horses ended up in the canyon. One likely explanation is that they were let loose by the retreating German army in 1915.
The nights were freezing cold – temperatures went down to 4°C (39° F). To keep warm, I wrapped myself in our emergency tent, which worked quite well.
Although Kai hated sleeping outdoors, he really enjoyed seeing the stars in the night sky. One morning, just before crawling out of our sleeping bags, we spotted a brilliant shooting star. So special!
On day three, we passed the 20km mark. With still 69km to go, we had to step up the pace!
Again, water became our main concern. We hadn’t passed any pools and we started to ration our water by only drinking when we really needed it.
We had been told that the park authorities had placed a water container where we could fill up. Now we needed to find it!
Finally, we found the container… but it was nearly empty. It was just enough for one litre (2 pints) each. At this point, we were all feeling quite fed up. But amazingly, nobody complained. We all just put on our brave faces and marched on.
After two hours, we found another small pool. Such a relief!
The next day, we passed the 50k mark. Only 39k to go!
We were so happy to reach that 80km marker!
And even happier when we saw that “Cold Beer” sign just before we got to the finishing point!
All in all, it was an amazing adventure. We were glad we did it despite the water situation. Sleeping under the stars, being offline for a week (there was no signal at all) and relying completely on our group was a great experience.
Ironically, when we got back to Cape Town we were met with torrential rain. I didn’t even mind!
- Have you ever slept under the stars?
- Have you ever had trouble finding drinking water during a hike or a workout?
I’m joining Kooky Runner and Zenaida’s link-up, Tuesday Topics. I’m also joining Runner’s Roundup with Mile By Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner and Runs with Pugs.
Oh my goodness what an adventure – almost like a survival hike! But I´m sure a very memorable experience.
I´m with Kai on that sleeping outside isn´t so much fun (1 night is fine and then I need a bed and hot shower, haha), but seeing the night sky and its stars without the light pollution is worth it. And being off-grid should be mandatory to us all from time to time, clears the brain fog.
It definitely was, Riitta! We learned a few new survival skills, too. Like looking for a FLAT place to put your sleeping bag, ha! On the first night, we were rolling downhill after a while and had to change our spot in the middle of the night.
Absolutely! There were no towns for hundreds of kilometres, so the stars and the milky way came out brilliantly. Also, the silence was amazing… not a sound to be heard.
The first day of being offline was strange, but then we got used to it. And I was surprised about how little “news” we missed in that week. It seems that we should do this more often!
I hope you are enjoying your warmer weather and the longer days!
Liebe Catrina,
uuuuh, was für ein Erlebnis! Süß-sauer, könnte man vielleicht sagen? Einerseits eine reizvolle Wanderung, aber dann die Sorge ums Wasser, kalte Nächte… Vermutlich ist dann das Zusammensein in einer Gruppe der Faktor, der das trägt, oder? Die Wassersorge und keine Verbindung nach draußen hätte mich an den Rand der Panik getrieben, so etwas habe ich Gottseidank noch nicht erlebt und möchte das auch eher nicht.
Erstaunlich, dass die wilden Pferde sich dort halten!
Unter Sternen schlafen war dann sicher eine der positiveren Erfahrungen. Das habe ich einmal auf der heimischen Terrasse im Sommer gemacht, hat was.
PS: Der GP Bern kommt auch viel herum 😉
Liebe Grüße aus dem sehr sommerlichen Rheinland
Elke
Liebe Elke
Ohne die Gruppe wäre ich echt in Panik verfallen! Das eine Ehepaar hatte diese Wanderung schon 11 Mal gemacht und die waren immer sehr ruhig, das hat geholfen.
Mein anderer Gedanke war, was passiert wenn jemand sich das Bein bricht? Wir hatten keine Möglichkeit, mit der Aussenwelt zu kommunizieren. Die Lösung: zwei von uns gehen mit einer Minimalausrüstung voraus, um bei der Endstation Hilfe anzufordern. Das hätte allerdings ein oder zwei Tage gedauert.
Wir sahen überall Pferdemist und fragten uns, woher das kommt! Da müssen noch viel mehr Pferde sein als die zwei, die wir gesehen haben.
Cool! Das würde ich mit deiner Terrasse öfters machen!
Kai war so froh um ein sauberes GP Bern Shirt! 😉
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnig-kühlen Cape Town!
Nun ja, inzwischen hat die Terrasse im Sommer ein dichtes Blätterdach aus Blauregen. Außerdem ist es ja ein Wohnviertel, da kommt dann immer mal ein Auto vorbei und unser Garten grenzt an die Straße. Das Vergnüpgen hat also Grenzen….
Mhm, immerhin, so ein Blätterdach ist auch schön! 🙂
Liebe Catrina,
was für ein Abenteuer.
Wobei ich schon sehr zwiegespalten bin. Natürlich begeistert mich die Möglichkeit unter den Sternen zu schlafen, fernab der Zivilisation, Wildpferden (und einer hübschen Vespa) zu begegnen und diese sehr beeindruckende Landschaft zu durchwandern. Andererseits geht es mir wie euch vor dem Start, dass ich der Meinung bin, dass die Wanderung bei solch einer Trockenheit gecancelt gehört, weil es mir grotesk erscheint für Wanderer extra Wasser (woher nehmen, wenn so knapp) an die Strecke gekarrt wird, nur damit die Veranstaltung stattfinden kann.
Aber es war sicher eine beeindruckende Erfahrung, die Notwendigkeit von Wasser am eigenen Leib zu spüren und ich kann mir vorstellen, wie du den Regen in Kapstadt genossen haben musst! 😀
Liebe Doris
Ganz deiner Meinung, das war genau mein Einwand!
Wir haben uns als Gruppe ein paar Wochen vor der Wanderung getroffen um die Durchführung zu besprechen.
Ich sagte, mir kommt es so vor, wie das Skifahren ohne Schnee: da wird künstlicher Schnee erzeugt (umwelttechnischer Unsinn), nur damit die Leute auf einem schmalen, weissen Streifen mittem im Grünen fahren können.
Wenn die Natur eine Wanderung nicht zulässt, sollten wir es nicht machen. Aber die Gruppe meinte, das sei überhaupt kein Problem, wir kommen auch so durch….
Mit dem Wissen, dass ich jetzt habe, würde ich diese Wanderung bestimmt nicht mehr machen (unter diesen Bedingungen). Interessanterweise waren wir auch fast die einzige Gruppe, die da war… die meisten anderen haben gecancelt…
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnig-kühlen Cape Town!
Wow, what an adventure! I’m not sure if I cold go on knowing that the water was limited. And like Kai, I’m not a fan of sleeping outdoors. I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
I had my doubts about the water, too! In hindsight, it would have probably been better to wait for a year when the river is flowing. The outdoor sleeping was a wonderful experience – minus the cold, though!
Wow wow wow. What an amazing adventure. The water situation sounds scary, but the reward was well worth the risk. I bet that beer was the best ever.
I had a Coke! It felt like the best drink ever! And that shower… I never appreciated one so much.
Enjoy your vacation!
So, da habe ich mir es mal so richtig gemütlich gemacht und mir deinen spannenden Bericht von eurem erneuten Abenteuer in Südafrika in aller Ruhe durchgelesen. Spannend, abwechslungsreich, alles in allem ein gelungener Trip.
Was das fehlende Wasser angeht, so denke ich auch, man hätte wohl besser darauf verzichtet, aber später ist man immer klüger. Gut, dass euch allen nichts passiert ist – außer dem Malheur mit den Schuhen !! – mit Sandalen hätte ich nicht unbedingt bei diesem Profil unterwegs sein wollen – aber in der Not frisst der Teufel ja bekanntlich Fliegen.
Schon ein wenig unheimlich, nachts irgendwo in der Prärie zu nächtigen, aber du hattest ja genügend Leute um dich herum, zum Glück !! Wie ist es dort eigentlich mit wilden Tieren bestückt, muss man da keine Angst haben , insbesondere auch nachts – auch Schlangen und so ??? Egal, alles gut überstanden, die Gruppe war happy, nichts passiert. Ansonsten finde ich solche Abenteuer richtig gut !!
Zum Glück hatte ich noch nie Mangel an Wasser, ich glaube, das ist so mit das Schlimmste, was einem passieren kann !
Habe gerade mal nachgedacht, ob ich je nachts draußen geschlafen habe ??? Ein- zweimal Zelten in meiner Pfadfinderzeit, ansonsten nie, habe auch – ehrlich gesagt – kein Bedürfnis danach !!
Liebe Grüße von der warmen, gut gefüllten Ostsee
Der Bericht war lange ausgefallen, ich hoffe, du hattest noch einen schönen Tee dazu! Ich versuche, mich jeweils auf 500 Worte zu beschränken, aber in diesem Fall war es nur schwer möglich.
Yep! Das war wirklich nicht schön. Als wir alle unsere Abendessen versalzen haben, wurde mir langsam klar, auf was wir uns da eingelassen haben. Ich hoffe, dass wir das später einmal diese Wanderung mit einem richtigen, fliessenden Fluss machen können.
Dass die Tracey das geschafft hat mit ihren Sandalen war sehr beeindruckend! Vor allem mit dem ganzen Sand!
Komischerweise war es überhaupt nicht beängistend. Wir waren ja die einzigen weit und breit im Canyon und so schnell verliert sich da kein Fremder. Auch von den Tieren her war es sehr karg: wir haben nur die Pferde gesehen, ein paar Skorpione (die schnell abgehauen sind) und die Hinterlassenschaften von kleineren Tieren. Sogar Vögel hatte es fast keine. Du hättest da voller Begeisterung mitgemacht – obwohl die klirrende Kälte ein Dämpfer war.
Das kann ich verstehen! Kai war so froh, wieder in einem richtigen Bett in vier Wänden zu schlafen. Und eine richtige Toilette! Das war ja auch immer so ein Akt, mit Spaten bewaffnet hinter ein paar Felsbrocken zu verschwinden… 🙂
Liebe Grüsse von sonnig-winterlich-kühlen Cape Town!
Oh my! This definitely sounds like quite the adventure. I am sure that the water situation was a little scary – great job navigating that.
It was quite the survival trip, Kim. I learned to appreciate water, a warm and comfy bed and a proper toilet!
Dear Catrina,
what an adventure! I love sleeping under the stars! One night in Wadi Rum I saw a really big shooting star like a comet. Isn’t it special to see that? Now that is camping for Kai!
As for the water I wonder why you didn’t take more water and bigger canisters knowing it was dry? I have hiked in places where you are not allowed to take the water from pools as humans to leave it for the wildlife. You have to bring your own. I think the largest amount of water I carried on a hike is 2.5 gallons. Granted that wouldn’t have been enough to get you through the whole hike, but would have gotten you somewhere. I also have dropped water for myself on a hiking route, so I don’t think it’s so bizarre the park did that for hikers.
It’s still a great scenery. I hope the drought stops soon!
Dear Roni
I just had to google Wadi Rum – oh wow, that’s beautiful!! That must have been spectacular to see the enormous shooting star there!
Good point! 10 litres would have been much better! The others in the group who did it several times before (one couple has done it 11 times) said that we would be fine with the water in the pools.
I didn’t like the “canister in the wilderness” idea, although I was very grateful for it. Somehow it doesn’t seem natural – we should have been able to support ourselves from the available sources without anything artificial.
If we ever do this again, we would wait for the river to flow. I hope that the next rainy season will be better! Who knows, maybe you would join us?
Congrats on making out alive! I say that because as I read through this account, I had all sorts of questions. You had an excellent group experience where it sounds like you helped each other deal with the lack of water.
1) I see you slept actually under the stars. That is crazy beautiful to do. My first thought though, what about snakes, spiders, & other potentially harmful creatures who were curious about you!
Where I live, it is pretty much difficult to sleep without a tent. You would get visited by all sorts of others animals & bitten by mosquitoes & other insects.
Hah yes a flat high spot that is well drained is important. I guess no rain was expected😅
2) Drinking water from pools is a huge concern. All sorts of parasites live there. You can drink that water if you treat it such as boiling it or treat it with iodine, or filter it etc…Hope you do not have any health problems.
Never had problems with finding water, but finding potable water is another issue. Needs treatment because some nasty parasites can cause lots of problems, even if you can get rid of them eventually.
The night skies must have been incredible. Were you able to identify various constellations & see galaxies? Did you bring binoculars to find special star clusters? That Milky Way is phenomenal to see in such darkness without light pollution.
I am wondering about night sounds. Did you hear any calling by any creatures?
What were your meals like? What was the fanciest meal you had? Did you have a bottle or two of wine?
The landscape looks amazing. I have to say I am not much accustomed to just sand & large boulders. Something different for sure!
I am glad you enjoyed the return to appreciate your Coke & shower! Hah. Such simple pleasures. Imagine landing on the moon & being there for a while. Seeing a plant that you consider a weed(if it could exist), would be a most welcome finding.
Great to get away and reset.
Thanks for sharing
Haha, you make some good points, Yves!
1) I was worried about the creepy crawlies as well. However, there were surprisingly few, not even mosquitos. I guess that was due to the lack of water. The only creatures that passed us by during the night were the horses. And I once saw a scorpion hide under a rock, but he was more frightened than I was! I’m not sure I would sleep under the stars in Europe (or Canada), where there are more animals roaming about – and flies and mosquitos and whatnot.
2) Yes! I was concerned as well! We had a water-purifying liquid with us: one drop for one litre. Then you have to wait for 30 minutes for it to work. The group told us that a hiker got a tapeworm once. When I got home, I immediately googled the symptoms. I think (hope) we are alright!
Some in the group knew all about the stars! They showed us how to identify the Southern Cross. This constellation helps to pinpoint the South Pole and is only visible in the southern hemisphere. We definitely should have brought our binoculars with us! Unfortunately, it was close to full moon, so it was nearly too light to see the full magnificence of the night sky. But it was still impressive!
It was eerily silent in the canyon. No chirps, grunts, growls or other sounds. When we saw a little bird after two days, we got all excited. It was so strange to see so little animal life!
Our meals were dried noodles that we cooked in water (I loved the cheesy flavour), tuna with crackers and oats in the morning. In between, we had snacks like muesli bars and biltong. I craved a fresh salad after 5 days! We had no alcohol with us, although I think the others had a small bottle of whisky with them. 🙂
I think you would have loved this hike – especially the survival aspect of it. I guess you could have given us a lot of tips (like the one that a flat sleeping ground is essential!) and how to find the best firewood.
Unfortunately, no dogs were allowed in the canyon, so Radar would not have been able to accompany us!
I hope the forest fires in Canada are not affecting you too much! Stay safe!
Sounds like you had a great experience.🌞
Glad that you made the water safe. You will be ok.
Interesting to hear that you saw so few animals. But they are around at night when you are sleeping. Good none visited you unexpectedly! That could be unpleasant.🙄
Oh too bad about the moon polluting the sky! The moon is very bright & could even make it hard to sleep if light disturbs you. Still the moon is always welcomed as a familiar site.
Yeah the constellations are totally different. The southern cross is quite impressive . I have seen it when I was in Peru. I know northern constellations much better, I have to admit.😅
I guess now you must be packing for the return trip. I am guessing you are looking forward to getting back?
Bon voyage🛫⛰🏞🚠
Imagine waking up to a bear in the middle of the night!
Yes! I love always seeing the friendly moon – I didn’t realize how much of an obstacle it is to stargazing.
Ah, you know about the constellations! That is very cool. That’s one of my take-away lessons from this trip – I really need to know more about how the stars “work”. It’s such an interesting topic! And useful when you’re out in the wild.
Yes – we’re eating all the leftovers in the fridge and setting up a cleaning schedule (Kai is in charge of the floors). I am looking forward to seeing everyone and also to the warmer weather!
Merci beaucoup!
What an adventure! I’d be a little anxious with the water situation, though. I’m glad everything worked out for your group. I’ve slept under the stars only a few times, once being when I was at summer camp as a kid
I was quite anxious too – not knowing where you can fill up next was unsettling. Back home, it made me appreciate the water coming out of the tap all the more! Oh, that’s cool that you’ve slept under the stars – I wish I would have done that as a kid, too!
wow… what an adventure. However sleeping outside makes me nervous… thanks for sharing these awesome pics.
In this setting, sleeping outside felt really safe. There weren’t even any creepy crawlies!
I was still glad to get back to my own warm comfy bed, though!
No animals. A big maybe then.
😂🤣😂
A wonderful adventure and a great experience with good friends.
The lack of water and the starry sky remind me the first sentence of the beautiful Rainbow song: Stargazer: “High noon, oh I’d sell my soul for water”!
Of course I slept under the stars when I was in the Navy,
I’ve never heard of that song – I just googled it. Yes! You are absolutely right, it absolutely fits!
One guy in our group said his theme song for this hike was “A Horse With No Name” from America. It has a sentence in there about a dead river, which was also very apt.
So cool that you got to do things like that in the Navy!
Wow you are way more adventurous and rugged than I am! The water situation would be tough for me. Can you just drink water out of streams not knowing if it safe? I am also a little too “princess” for such rustic conditions. sounds like you all had a great time!
Haha, I felt a little too princess at times during this hike, too! I longed for a nice shower, washed hair and clean clothes!
We had purifying drops with us for the water. So far, we seem to be alright, I hope it stays that way!
You go on some of the coolest adventures! Something like that would definitely make me nervous but seems like such an amazing experience. I’m glad you figured out the water situation and that everything worked out well!
This was a pretty awesome experience, although I could have done without the critical water situation. I think if we ever do this hike again, then only when the river is flowing properly.
What an amazing adventure! It looks so barren yet beautiful (and those skies!). The water situation would have been quite worrying, though. Especially not really knowing ahead of time what the next few miles would bring.
It was definitely scary, Debbie!
The landscape was beautiful, and I imagine with the river flowing it must be absolutely magical.
I hope to visit this place again when the conditions are better!
This looks incredible!!! I’m not a big fan of sleeping outside, but I would do it if I could do this hike. So, were you filtering the water? I’m curious about how that works. Anyway, your photos are beautiful- thanks so much for sharing this!
Ah, you would have definitely slept outside, Jenny!
We used a liquid that purifies the water. You put a tiny drop in, wait for 30 minutes and then you can drink it. Having said that, I have no idea how it works… and to what degree it would clean really dirty water. We were fortunate to be far away from civilization, so at least we were sure there was no industrial stuff in there.
Wow! What an amazing/scary/crazy/wonderful adventure!! I would have been so freaked out thinking my water supply was running out. You all looked like pros though, so well done! How did you sanitize the drinking water?
At times it did get quite scary, Lisa! I never thought that we’d be drinking from puddles during this trip, ha!
We had water disinfectant drops with us. One drop sanitized one litre of water, but you need to wait for 30 minutes for it to work. It didn’t taste great but we got to the point where we didn’t care much.
amazing……
It was!
What a great adventure you and your friends had, Catrina! I would be a nervous wreck if I though I might have to ration water. In fact, I’ve been chugging water while reading your post because I got thirsty just thinking of the “what if.”
I think I never enjoyed a cold Coke as much as I did when we finished the hike. And the shower felt amazing! I have a completely new appreciation for fresh, clean water. And for a warm bed and a proper toilet, ha!
Well, I think we all know how much I hate drinking water, sooo… I imagine this wouldn’t be a problem for me lol.
I just put A on a flight to New Mexico, where he will be taking on a 7 day trek (covering 30+ miles and 3500 feet of elevation). Of course, now I’m freaking out that they won’t have enough supplies LOL! I’m just being crazy, of course – there are food and water drops for everyone, but ooh, it’s nervewracking.
Congratulations on going through with this and having a great time!
Haha, yes, you would have a lot to carry if you don’t like water, Jenn!
Oooh, that sounds like great fun for A!! No doubt his conditions will be similar to ours, but I’m sure there will be enough water for all the kids. I imagine that the Boy Scouts are good at spotting constellations in the night sky, so he will have a fabulous time!
Wow! So many things to say so where do I start? You always have the best adventures and I love that you share them with us. Thank you. I would freak out about the water. What happened to Tracey’s shoes? I see the horses an um is that one that died? Was there beer at the finish point?
It was an interesting adventure! Tracey’s shoes disintegrated – the soles came off from the rest of the shoe. Funny enough, that has happened to me, too. And many others. I think the problem is that we don’t wear hiking boots too often and as they age, the material weakens.
The carcass was an antelope-type animal. As if we needed more to scare us about the water situation, ha!
And yes, there was beer!! However, I opted for a Coke, as it was too early in the day for a beer.
It is never too early for beer! 😀
Liebe Catrina,
alleine schon, weil es ein legendärer Hike ist, muss man ihn wohl mal gemacht haben! … und da ihr quasi nur um die Ecke ‘zuhause’ gewesen seid … ! 😆 … abgesehen von der Trockenheit und der Wasserproblematik, also der Umwelt zuliebe lieber an einem Fluß, der Wasser führt!
Vielen Dank für die veranschaulichenden Bilder, da kann man es sich immer ein bisschen besser vorstellen! – Dabei wäre für mich nicht das Schlafen unter freiem Himmel die größte Herausforderung gewesen, sondern das Haushalten mit dem Wasser …. und dann auch noch ohne Frühstück danach suchen müssen … naja, ausnahmsweise ginge das mal, zumal es morgens ja noch nicht so warm war! 😉 … mal ganz abgesehen von der umwelttechnischen Seite! – Ich selbst bekomme oft Kopfschmerzen, wenn ich zuwenig trinke, erst recht dann, wenn ich bei Wärme/Hitze körperlich belaste.
Zum Glück habt ihr immer wieder etwas ‘gefunden’ … oder ich müsste dann erheblich mehr mitnehmen! – Könnte man diese Wanderung auch in kürzerer Zeit machen? (… alleine wegen des Wasserproblems?) – Oder eben nach einer Regenphase! – Hattet ihr euch nach Filtersystemen erkundigt, die Salz aus Wasser herausfiltern? (Gibt es das überhaupt für sehr salziges Wasser?)
Ich selbst hatte mal bei einem 25-km-OL mit Pfadfindern in freier Natur etwas zu wenig Wasser dabei … sonst wohl nicht.
Unter Sternen geschlafen? – Bei den Pfadfindern, meist aber unter Tarps, oder in Zelten, das aber auch bei einer Winter-Kanu-Tour mit Freunden. Da haben wir lange am Feuer gesessen, in die Sterne geguckt und sind erst spät in die kleinen, dünnen Zelte gekrochen!
Tolles Abenteuer … quasi zum Abschluss eures Aufenthaltes dort fernab im Süden! 😉
Kommt gesund zurück – gute Reise!
Liebe Grüße Manfred
Lieber Manfred
Ich habe mich während der Wanderung gefragt, ob das etwas für dich gewesen wäre. Ich glaube, mit einem richtigen Fluss hätte es dir Spass gemacht. Die Landschaft ist wunderschön und die stille Abgeschiedenheit ist eindrücklich.
Die anderen, die das schon 11 Mal gemacht hatten, haben uns dann immer erklärt, wie hoch der Fluss normalerweise wäre und wie oft man schwierige Flussüberquerungen machen musste. Dies macht man übrigens mit einem riesigen Plastiksack, wo der Rucksack reinpasst. Den Sack hatten wir überflüssigerweise dabei…noch mehr zum Tragen.
Der Wassermangel war nicht lustig. Wir haben sehr darauf geachtet, dass wir uns nicht beklagen, weil das wäre nicht gut für die Stimmung in der Gruppe gewesen (und hätte auch nichts genützt). Ein bisschen habe ich mich aber schon geärgert – wir hatten vorgängig unsere Vorbehalte über den Wassermangel zur Sprache gebracht und alle sagten, das wäre “kein Problem”. Das mit dem Kopfweh bei ungenügendem Trinken kann ich sehr gut nachvollziehen!
Kai und ich haben vorgeschlagen, die Wanderung einen Tag früher zu beenden (also vier Tage). Das wäre gegangen, aber war es für einige zu anstrengend. Ich denke, die Wanderung könnte man gut in drei Tagen machen. Oder vielleicht sogar noch schneller.
Niemand hatte ein Entsalzungs-Dingens dabei… ich glaube, an salziges Wasser hat niemand gedacht, da waren selbst die “Fish River Profis” überrascht.
So ein Nachthimmelbett ist wunderbar, nicht wahr? Eine Winter-Kanu-Tour klingt übrigens auch recht hart… die Winter in Deutschland sind nichts für Weicheier!
Danke dir! Jetzt bricht gerade ein Sturm über Cape Town aus. Es ist kalt und grässlich… genau die richtige Zeit, um in die Schweiz zu flüchten!
Liebe Grüsse und bis bald!!
What an incredible adventure – its endurance and survival all wrapped up in one! And how beautiful do those wild horses look against the backdrop of rock! I think the water situation would really scare me, but so glad you guys made it work!
It was definitely one to be remembered! Those horses looked surreal. There must have been more than two, judging by all the droppings we saw. At one spot, we also saw a large family of baboons. They were eying our backpacks, ha!
Baboons once opened our food box at a camp-site and stole out potatoes planned got supper and all our eggs for breakfast! So good they didn’t get anything from you guys!
OH MY!! They are so clever at opening things! I bet your kids were impressed by the baboons, haha!
This is incredible, Catrina. Well done. The water situation would be quite unnerving.
There has been a few times over the years I have had to deal with water issues. But nothing nearly as extreme as you would have encountered. In my area of Canada there is a quite a few water sources. I’m usually very fussy of my water sources even with filtration. With so much industrial style farming practices taking place, a lot of the water sources are contaminated from chemical fertilizer runoff.
The desert is such a perfect place for bivouacking or sleeping under the stars. In 1984 during my climbing course we spent 3 weeks in the Canyonlands of Utah during the rock climbing portion. With low humidity the temperature does plunge at night. It was late autumn when we were there. It got up to 20C during the day and plunged to around -8C at night. Plus with low humidity there is very little dew in the desert.
I have slept lots under the stars here in Canada, but nothing in the last 4 years. I think I am getting soft…lol. This time of year the bugs like mosquitoes are really bad, so I will always sleep in a tent. Once late September hits the bugs are gone, I will sleep under the stars. Though it is usually always in the forest. So it is hard to see the stars. I have a camping hammock. It gets me off the ground and the trees I can tie the hammock straps onto. The forest also prevents my sleeping bag from getting drenched by the dew. I have thought of buying a bivy sack so I can sleep in the open under the stars here in Canada and stay dry from the dew. But it means more consumerism. I’m looking for a good used on in tall for my tall frame, but they are extremely hard to find.
The water situation was definitely scary, Carl!
Exactly! In this canyon, we were hundreds of miles away from any city or industrial area and there’s not much agriculture going on within a closer radius. So the water was quite safe. It’s a shame that modern-day farming has such a detrimental effect on our clean water sources!
Oh wow, Utah in autumn is no joke! 20C is fine but those night temperatures! Did you feel warm during the night when you camped there? I realized that having a good sleeping bag is essential (mine was too thin but I could make it work with the emergency blanket).
You sleep in a hammock in the forest? That is amazing, Carl! I never knew that!! What a wonderful thing to do. I can imagine that mosquitos can be quite annoying. Do you also have to deal with horseflies? Yves once mentioned that they can be quite challenging. I hope you can find a good second-hand bivy sack. Or maybe you can find one that is produced in a sustainable way? Seeing that staying out in nature is your beloved hobby and the bivy sack will be well used, it would be fine to purchase a new one that fits you perfectly.
I hope all the forest fires are now under control!
You are very kind, Catrina. My son got me the camping hammock a few years back. If it weren’t for the pesky mosquitoes it would get much more use than it does. Horseflies really are challenging and can really take a chunk out of you. They are mostly active in the heat of the day.
On the outdoor skills course I took there was such a wide range of environments over 3 and a half months. I had 2 sleeping bags, a down fill and a lighter synthetic bag. On the coldest nights I was using both bags. My down bag is likely over 40 years old (I bought it used 39 years ago). I’ve taken good care of it and it has lasted, though it is not quite as lofty, so it has lost some of its insulating abilities. For ethical reasons I doubt I will buy another down filled bag. There has been great improvements in synthetic bags over these past 40 years. Thank you for your kind words on the bivy sack.
Using two sleeping bags sounds like a great idea! I love that you can get so many years out of the down-filled sleeping bag! That’s the way it is supposed to be, right? 🙂
I hope you get to enjoy many nights out in the forest this summer, Carl!
Liebe Catrina,
was ein Abenteuer 😯
Ich bin hin und hergerissen. Auf der einen Seite wirklich cool dieses Offline, das Schlafen unter dem Sternenzelt, das Erlebnis von “wild life”. Auf der anderen Seite kann man sicher auch gut in Panik verfallen, wenn man nicht weiß, wann es wieder frisches Wasser gibt. Und ich als bekennende Frostbeule hätte auch sicher wenig Spaß an den nächstlichen Temperaturen gehabt.
Ich finde es cool, dass ihr das durchgezogen habt 🙂
Auf jeden Fall war das wohl ein super Erlebnis und ihr werdet noch lange daran zurück denken.
Und wie immer: tolle Bilder 🙂
LIebe Grüße
Helge
Liebe Helge
Ich habe am letzten Samstag an dich gedacht! Hast du dich für die Langdistanz entschieden? Bin gespannt auf deinen Bericht!
Genau, ich bin auch zwischen den beiden Polen hin- und her gerissen. Bottom line: ich bin froh, dass wir das Abenteuer gemacht haben, aber nie wieder unter diesen Bedingungen! Ich hoffe, dass der Fluss irgendwann wieder fliesst, dann wäre ich sofort wieder dabei. Und mit einem wärmeren Schlafsack, ha!
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen Zürich!
That looks like such an exciting hike! That’s a very fascinating landscape – so different from what I’m used to. I would be a bit worried going out there during drought for such a long distance. I’ve never done anything even remotely like this, but would love to do a longer hike when possible. We’ll probably start with some of the trails around Ireland, then there are lots of interesting trails in Abruzzo, Italy, where we normally go for holidays. I’ve never slept under the stars, and probably wouldn’t be tempted to in that kind of temperature either!
And yikes – those shoes! How did it work to do that sort of hike in sandals?
Hiking in Ireland or Italy sounds wonderful! This canyon was very different from any hike I’ve ever done – we usually hike in Switzerland. It was strange not to hike up a mountain, but to be surrounded by it instead. I think we would have been better protected from the cold if we had taken a very lightweight tent with us. But then we would have missed out on the stars!
Those sandals worked surprisingly well! Tracey bravely hiked three days in them! She was a bit slower than us, but still, it was amazing!