Fish River Canyon

In the far south of Namibia, the Fish River rises in the centre of the country, before flowing south into the Orange River, on Namibia’s border with South Africa. In between, it has formed the great Fish River Canyon – the largest canyon in the southern hemisphere, and probably only second to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in terms of size. Approaching the Fish River Canyon from the north is like driving across Mars. The vast rocky landscape breaks up into a series of spectacular cliffs, formed by the Fish River as it meanders between boulders over half a kilometre below. Its size is impressive: 161km long, up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest. Keep in mind that the river is seasonal and generally only flows in the rainy season from January to April.

Accommodation & Activities in that Area:

Fish river Lodge

They offer hiking trips into the Fish River Canyon. A Five Night Canyon Hike, Scenic Sundowner Drive, Day Drives and Day Hikes. Accommodation  at 20 Chalets - Outdoor decks overlook the canyon, additional outdoor showers, large bathrooms with sufficient storage space, double basins and an outdoor platform allows guests to sleep under the stars.

Ai Ais National Park

The area around the southern part of Fish River Canyon was proclaimed a conservation area in 1969. The land was as poor in potential for agriculture as it is rich in potential for tourism, and this was a way of protecting the area from uncontrolled development. The 345,000ha national park now encompasses Ai-Ais and Hobas. A more recent initiative has seen the park linked with the environmentally similar Richtersveld in South Africa, to form Namibia’s first transfrontier or peace park: Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park.

Ai-Ais Resort

Hobas 

Dik-Dik of Namibia

The Kirk's dik-dik  is a small antelope native to Eastern Africa and one of four species of dik-dik antelope. It is believed to have six subspecies and possibly a seventh existing in southwest Africa. Dik-diks are herbivores, typically of a fawn color that aids in camouflaging themselves in savannah habitats.  They are also capable of reaching speeds of up to 42 kilometers per hour. The lifespan of Kirk's dik-dik in the wild is typically 5 years, but may surpass 10 years.  In captivity males have been known to live up to 16.5 years, while females have lived up to 18.4 years.

Dik-diks are some of the world's smallest antelopes, with the largest, the Kirk's dik-dik, standing between 14 and 18 inches tall and weighing no more than 7.2 kg. Female dik-diks tend to be 1 to 2 pounds heavier than males. Dik-diks are dainty creatures with a pointed, mobile snout, large eyes and ears, prominent preorbital glands, pipestem legs, hare-like hind limbs that are significantly larger than their forelimbs, and a vestigial tail. Their coats, depending upon their habitat, range from grey to gray-brown with tan flanks, limbs, and an erectile head crest and whitish eye rings, ear lining, underparts, and rump".

 

Similar to other dwarf antelopes, Kirk's dik-diks exist in monogamous pairs on territories. Territories are marked with dung and urine that are deposited in a ritual that is performed to help helps maintain pair bonds. During the ritual, the female will excrete, followed by the male, which samples the female's urine stream to check her reproductive capacity. He paws over and then marks his dung and urine over her deposit. Finally, the pair marks nearby twigs with secretions from their pre-orbital glands. Kingon 1982 states that, "The male courts the female by running up behind her with his head and neck stretched and his muzzle pointing out in front. Copulation begins with the male standing on his hind legs behind the female and waving his forelegs at an acute angle to his own body in the air over her back". Copulation typically occurs anywhere between three and five times within a 9-hour period.

Living Desert Adventures

The Living Desert Tour, originally developed in the 1990’s, is a unique 4x4 adventure drive through the dunes outside Swakopmund, Namibia. Just the drive in the dunes is an amazing experience, but it will show you a lot more than sand. The tour takes you from the vegetated, life-rich eastern side of the dunes, right through the dunes to the Atlantic Ocean on the western side of the dune belt. 

Introducing you to some of the fascinating, hidden life in this apparently barren landscape that is part of the Namib Desert. Here you can find creatures endemic to the Namib: the sidewinder (Peringuey's Adder), the Palmato Gecko with its transparent skin and beautiful colours - we dig into the dune side to find this nocturnal desert-dweller. We track the large Namaqua Chameleon, and watch it enjoy brunch. Then it's a dash to catch the swift sand-diving lizard. 

Finding out how the area's plants and small animals survive the harsh climate, and how they obtain water for life. You will also track a FitzSimon's Burrowing Skink across the dune face, in hopes of catching this legless lizard. Along the way, they will explain the variety of dune colours. At the end of the tour, weather permitting, you will experience a 'roaring' dune. 

Other characters to be found in the dune belt are the 'dancing' White Lady Spider; the Parabuthus Villosus black scorpion; the occasional horned adder or sand-snake; desert wasps, fish-moths, crickets and several beetle species, and many more. 

The Living Desert Tour is educational, fun and an unforgettable experience. You will see the desert and dunes with new eyes. The photographic opportunities are endless too: make sure those batteries are charged before you leave! 

David Livingstone's Camp

Mamili (Nkasa Lupala) National Park beautifully mirrors Botswana’s Okavango style wetland wilderness with an edge that is uniquely Namibian. In a vast arid country, Mamili holds the distinction of being the largest wetland with conservation status in Namibia.

The newly built Livingstone’s Camp borders the national park and features 5 exclusive camp sites providing visitors with their own private bathroom, hot showers and unrivalled camping facilities.

The camp sites all have incredible views of the Linyanti wetland with abundant birdlife and wildlife. Guests have a range of activities to experience, including Mokoro safaris through the pristine waterways, as well as guided walking and game drive safaris. 

Anyone with passionate enthusiasm for the wildlife of Africa and is equipped with a self-contained 4x4 vehicle will consider camping at Livingstone’s Camp, the ultimate escape.