Fish River Canyon

After we left the Quiver Tree Forest, we stopped off at Reetmanshoop to top up our provisions. It's not uncommon to have people asking you for money outside the supermarkets and it's difficult to refuse - particularly when you learn that unemployment is 50 percent in Namibia and the government provides no unemployment benefit. So people have few options but to beg from comparatively wealthy tourists. It's difficult to imagine how hard life must be when your daily focus is simply survival.

At $6,900, GDP per capita is relatively high in Namibia compared to other countries in the region, but the wealth is very unevenly distributed and 56 percent of the population live below the poverty line. Life expectancy in Namibia is only 52 years. This has come down because of Aids/HIV which affects around 15 percent of the population.

We headed to the very south of Namibia to the Fish River Canyon, which is the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon. As we drew closer, it felt like we were driving to the end of the world. The scenery is so desolate, but still has this beautiful, ethereal quality. At one point, we found ourselves driving alongside a steam train. There can't be too many places left in the world where that is possible. As our guide slowed down to keep pace, we noticed some children who were hanging out the carriage windows and waving at us.

Before reaching the canyon, we stopped off at the Canon Roadhouse which is a quirky restaurant and lodge that attempts to recreate the sort of roadhouse you might see on the remote parts of Route 66 in the US. There were old, rusted cars in the garden and inside the restaurant and for a moment, I felt like I was back in Cuba. As you drive around Namibia you sometimes see abandoned cars by the side of the road and given the vast distances from civilisation, they are usually just left there to rust. We had our lunch under a tree which provided some welcome shade, before heading back onto the road to seemingly nowhere.

As we drew closer to the canyon, some crevasses in the flat, barren land gave us a hint of what was to come. But nothing could have prepared us for the breathtaking view of the canyon itself, which gouges out the earth to the tune of 160km in length, 27km in width and a depth of 550 metres. There are two viewing platforms at the top of the canyon. Our guide dropped us at the furthest one so we could walk back along the rim to the main platform which offers the most impressive view of the canyon.

It is possible to do a five-day hike through the canyon. Our guide has done this three times with groups of guests. It must be incredibly difficult to not only push yourself to achieve the arduous trek, but also be responsible for guests and even have to carry their bags if they're struggling.

The path down to the bottom of the canyon

I woz ere..

Scenery around the top of the canyon

Once we'd taken in the stunning spectacle of the canyon itself, we drove down the road which runs alongside it to the southern end of the canyon. It seemed like we were driving into a quarry and was not particularly attractive, but then we turned into the campsite at Ai-Ais which by contrast was a veritable oasis. Aside from the welcome sight of some trees and vegetation, the campsite is right on top of some hot springs. In the Nama language, Ai-Ais means "scalding hot" and with water at 60 degrees celsius, it certainly is. The hot water is rich in chloride, flouride and sulphur and reputedly therapeutic for rheumatism. It's piped into the campsite for baths, jacuzzis and even the swimming pool. After a long day's drive, we took a dip in the pool which felt like swimming in a very large hot bath. I tried doing a few lengths but it was too warm for anything energetic. After a five-day hike through the canyon though, I can imagine that it's somewhere you'd want to spend a lot of time.

Quiver tree forest

From the Brandberg mountain, we headed to Swakopmund on the coast. This is Namibia's premier seaside resort and quite an affluent place. The German influence is palpable in terms of the architecture and number of cafés that serve an assortment of enticing cakes. I decided that it would be a good place to return to and hang out in for the last few days of my trip.

From Swakopmund, we returned to Windhoek and spent one night there before heading on the southern circuit of the tour. There is one major highway - the B1- that cuts right through the middle of Namibia from north to south. It is straight for as far as the eye can see. It only has one lane running in each direction, but given the density of population in Namibia, traffic jams are not exactly an issue. Indeed, Namibia must be a civil engineer's dream with its vast open plains. It's not unusual to see a railway line, electricity pylons and water pipes running alongside a road as there is enough flat land to build all the infrastructure in close proximity and no buildings to bypass.

As we headed south, there was a noticeable rise in temperature. Our route took us through a strip of the Kalahari desert and we stopped to take photographic evidence as we passed the Tropic of Capricorn. There are no service stations along the highway, but concrete tables and stools where you can stop and eat lunch. Passing other drivers is a relatively rare occurrence, so they tend to put a hand up to acknowledge each other on route - almost with a sense of camaraderie that you've both ventured into the middle of nowhere.

Crossing the line..

Our lunch spot in the wilderness

Rush hour on the B1 highway

Our first destination in the south was the Quiver tree forest, just north of Keetmanshoop. When we arrived at the campsite, we were taken by the owners to see their cheetahs and observe them at feeding time. In Namibia, people seem to keep cheetahs like other people keep dogs, since they are easily tamed and relatively timid. The legal requirement is that you have to keep them in no less than one hectare of land. One of the female cheetahs was so tame that she even allowed us to stroke her head even while eating.

Funky accommodation at the campsite

After setting up camp, we went to see the quiver trees themselves. Quiver trees are a form of aloe and the early San people used to cut their branches and hollow them out to make a quiver or holder for their arrows. The land where our campsite is based has the largest concentration of quiver trees in Namibia. They look surreal and almost Gaudi-esque in appearance. And I can imagine that he would have been wonderfully inspired by them.

Brandberg mountain

Our next camp was based right next to the Brandberg mountain - the highest in Namibia at 2,573 metres - which lies within the Damaraland region. The Brandberg means "fire mountain" and we were able to see precisely why when the sun set that evening, producing a spectacular orange glow all around.

We were all keen to have a shower that night, as the heavy rain had put us off the night before. There were two shower blocks - one that was surrounded by wild donkeys and one that wasn't. I decided to opt for the one without the donkeys, as I thought I'd have at least one day where I wasn't grappling with wild animals. My wish was not granted, however, as I forgot to close the zip on the bottom of my tent and a meercat snuck in there later that evening. I found him poised over my stash of chocolate-chip cookies and not planning to leave any time soon. I thought that shining my head torch into his eyes would frighten him off, but he was too tame and tenacious. So one of my fellow campers came to the rescue and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and removed him.

After we'd finished our dinner around the camp fire, our guide briefed us on the next day's activities and issued a warning before we went to bed. I thought we were about to get another snake lecture, but this time the animal that we need to be worried about in the middle of the night is elephants..

Our campsite was right in the middle of the migration path of the desert elephant that lives in the region. This is a unique phenomenon within Namibia. It was thought that elephants could never survive in the desert as they typically need to drink around 200 litres of water every day. But these elephants have evolved to suit the environment and are able to survive on much less. Apparently they are much skinnier than normal African elephants.  Our guide advised us that if we needed to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, we should go in pairs. I am not entirely sure how that would have helped, but I am happy to report that I managed to control my bladder throughout the night and avoid any potential confrontation with an elephant in the queue for the toilet.

The Brandberg mountain

Our camp at sunset

Breakfast at camp

Walking through the Brandberg mountain

The rock that looks like a baboon!