Our first border crossing from South Africa into Namibia was simple and stress free. We even managed to coax a few smiles from the sleepy border officials.

We pulled away from the border post heading over the tranquil and luring Orange River, a splash of color in an otherwise dry desert landscape. Feeling the excitement of exploring a new country and of the adventures that lay ahead, we were eager to get out there and experience all that Namibia had to offer. Just 10 minutes down the road, we turned off the tarmac and found ourselves with hundreds of miles of dirt track ahead and nothing to do but enjoy the ride.

As avid hot spring soakers, we gravitated in the general direction of nearest geothermal fountains, rumored to be located on the canyon floor along the Fish River. If there really were hot springs out there, we needed to investigate.

Just at sundown and about 100 miles from nowhere, we found ourselves at the Ais Ais Hot Springs Resort. Starving and covered in a thick layer of dust and sweat, we were immediately lured in with the promise of a hot meal, camping and a soak in the pool. The pool was not up to Chris’s temperature standards, but we had it all to ourselves and I have to say that a dip, even in a lukewarm pool, after riding through the heat and dirt all day, was pretty much heaven.

The next morning we were woken by our neighbor dumpster diving for his breakfast…

After exploring a bit up the canyon on foot, we got back on the bikes to roll North and check out the views along the canyon’s edge.

We eventually stumbled upon an overlook for the Fish River Canyon.

Imagine arriving at the Grand Canyon, the gate guard is asleep and you have the entire park to yourself. That is essentially the situation we found here and we took advantage of it. We spent the afternoon soaking up the views, enjoying the solitude and getting a great tan. This is a spot not to miss if you are travelling through Namibia. The views are stunning, the history is worth a read and if you plan ahead, there is a multi-day trek you can make along the bottom of the canyon beginning at the overlook and finishing 85km later at the Ais Ais Hot Springs. We will be back to do that hike some day!

Got to add this note in here…

“There’s a Vespa down there somewhere. Check with “old” locals for the story,” I was told by Gordon, a previous resident of Cape Town.

Only local folks know this stuff! What a story! It goes like this…in the late 60s someone said with great confidence that there would never be a tire track in the depths of the Fish River Canyon. Well, some South African guys figured otherwise. With ropes, cables, winches and rafts,  six guys had a go at the “trail” with three hardcore adventure Vespas!

The trip starts with one Vespa going for a free fall off a 100′ cliff and the venture just gets wilder the deeper they go. Read the story!

Taken from fishrivercanyon1968vespaexpedition.com

Apparently, there continues to be Vespa sightings by adventures thru-hikers.

http://poserscooterclub.blogspot.com/2014/07/veni-vedi-and-vici.html