This is the Life

I was privileged to visit beautiful and extremely warm Namibia last week.  It was quite a drive, but worth the numb bum!

We reached our destination, which was about 13km across the Namibian Border at Noord-Oewer.  We decided to visit only the South of Namibia on this trip.  Our campsite, Amanzi River Resort, is situated right next to the Orange River.  What a site!  We pitched our tents right next to the River.

The River was filled to its maximum capacity, because of the flooding earlier this year.  The current was very strong and we could barely go more than 2 – 3 meters in the water without being swept away.  But what a site it was!

We visited Ai-Ais (meaning “burning water” in the Nama language), which is natural, thermal water.  The water reaches a temperature of approximately 60°C and is rich in sulphates and fluorides.  Ai-Ais is a popular recreation resort, especially during winter months.  There are indoor pools with various temperatures, as well as an outdoor pool.  The resort is closed during the summer months, as the heat from the canyons leads to a rise in temperatures of up to 45°C per day!

While travelling we decided to visit the Fish River Canyon via the Hobas camp site as well.  Hobas is 70km north of Ai-Ais following a very bad gravel road.  The Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world and the largest in Africa.  The Canyon features a gigantic ravine which is 160km long, up to 27 km wide and in certain places almost 550 meters deep!  The Fish River Canyon was one of the most BEAUTIFUL sites I have EVER seen! 

Upon our trip back to the camping site, we were also privileged to see some wild life.  We saw zebra’s, ostriches, spring bucks, kudos, mountain bucks, birds, etc!

The next few days of our trip consisted of a 3 hour canoe trip (which took us only 1hour and 40min because of the strong current!), reading, splashing in the muddy, shallow parts of the river, sleeping, visiting little towns, the Aussenkehr canyon, meeting new people and eating! 

This was an amazing trip and I realized that this is what life should be like!  I had so much fun with my family and I am sure that I will never forget this trip …