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23-564: The Fish River is the longest interior river in Namibia. It cuts deep into the plateau which today is dry, stony and sparsely covered with hardy drought-resistant plants. The river flows intermittently , usually flooding in late summer; the rest of the year it becomes a chain of long narrow pools. The hot springs resort of ǀAi-ǀAis is situated at the lower end of the Fish River Canyon. Public view points can be visited near Hobas,

46-474: A national monument in 1962. Upstream, the river runs through horizontal dolomite strata; these metamorphic rocks form part of the canyon. About 650 million years ago (Mya), plate movement had formed a north-south graben , or lowered area, along which the ancient Fish River could flow and eventually erode a flat plain to create today's upper canyon. Glaciation at around 300 Mya, part of the Dyka glaciation during

69-403: A camp site 70 km north of ǀAi-ǀAis. This part of the canyon is part of the ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park , while the remainder is privately owned. The Fish River canyon consists of an upper canyon, where river erosion was inhibited by hard gneiss bedrocks, and a lower canyon formed after erosion had finally worn through the solid metamorphic rocks. Both parts have been declared

92-642: A canyon 160 km long, and at points as much as 550 m deep. The outflow of the Fish River joins the Orange River at the border with South Africa about 100 km from the Atlantic Ocean . 28°08′S 17°11′E  /  28.133°S 17.183°E  / -28.133; 17.183 This article related to a river in Namibia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Acacia erioloba Vachellia erioloba ,

115-519: A medical doctor, must be presented at the offices of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism at Hobas. In recent years the trail has become popular, particularly during school holidays and long weekends; therefore permits should be requested well in advance. Bookings for the following year's season open 1 May. Hobas ( 27°37′08″S 17°42′54″E  /  27.619°S 17.715°E  / -27.619; 17.715  ( Hobas gate ) ) houses

138-430: A previously abandoned attempt in 2011, Ryan Sandes completed the course in 6hrs 57min. Unofficial running through the canyon has subsequently evolved into the annual Fish River Canyon Ultra Marathon which held its inaugural race on 27 August 2011. This technical marathon follows most sections of the current hiking trail , testing the athlete's capabilities to the extreme. The route starts close to Hobas and after

161-405: A short section on the rim of the canyon steeply descends 500 meters to river level. Thereafter the contestants mostly follow the river to ǀAi-ǀAis. They are allowed to plan their own routes and take short-cuts through the canyon provided they reach a number of predefined checkpoints. Shortcuts may greatly reduce the total distance of the race but may also cost the contestant dearly in effort. Due to

184-595: Is a river in Namibia . It is 650 km long, flowing from the Naukluft Mountains 150 km to the Hardap Dam near Mariental . From there the flow is entirely blocked, all further flow downstream coming from tributaries downstream from the dam. The flow of the river is seasonal; in winter the river can dry up completely. Despite this, the river is the site of the spectacular Fish River Canyon ,

207-489: Is good for fires, which leads to widespread clearing of dead trees and the felling of healthy trees. It produces ear-shaped pods , favoured by many herbivores including cattle . The seeds can be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee beans . The name 'camel thorn' refers to the fact that giraffe ( kameelperd in Afrikaans ) commonly feed on the leaves with their specially-adapted tongue and lips that can avoid

230-492: The Karoo Ice Age , further deepened the canyon. About 60 Mya, South America and Africa separated (due to continental drift ) and Africa rose significantly; the consequentially increased gradient of the Fish River enabled it to erode the lower canyon into the hard gneisses, forming the current deeply twisting, meandering system of the lower canyon. With the separation of the continent Gondwana about 120 million years ago and

253-489: The camel thorn , also known as the giraffe thorn , mokala tree , or Kameeldoring in Afrikaans, still more commonly known as Acacia erioloba , is a tree of southern Africa in the family Fabaceae . Its preferred habitat is the deep dry sandy soils in parts of South Africa , Botswana , the western areas of Zimbabwe and Namibia . It is also native to Angola , south-west Mozambique , Zambia and Eswatini . The tree

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276-536: The canyon . Apart from the 2 kilometre descent west of Hobas and some optional short cuts, the trail generally follows 88 kilometres of the Fish River through to ǀAi-ǀAis and is usually completed within 5 days. Although there are a number of footpaths through the canyon, the trail is not fixed - leaving the hiker to decide where and how long to hike. There are no amenities on the trail and hikers have to carry all their needs with them. Open fires are not allowed on

299-491: The Ministry of Environment and Tourism offices as well as Namibia Wildlife Resorts offices and a little shop for curiosities and basic necessities. Camping underneath Camelthorn trees with ablution blocks is available for hikers who plan to overnight at Hobas. The trail ends at ǀAi-ǀAis where a resort with hotel rooms, chalets and camping grounds can be found. A shuttle service runs approximately every three hours between ǀAi-ǀAis and Hobas. It should be booked in advance through

322-466: The bottom ( 27°35′17″S 17°35′53″E  /  27.588°S 17.598°E  / -27.588; 17.598  ( Beach ) ). On the descent some misleading game trails lead to the north and should be avoided. The trail can be divided into three notable sections: Optional short cuts are available. They offer little in beauty but may be a welcome change of scenery and terrain. Popular short cuts are found at: The river flows stronger early in

345-430: The deep canyon is done via stretcher on foot or helicopter and vehicles in the later parts of the trail. Emergency exits can be found: Documented running through the canyon started in 1990. A group of hikers in running gear attempted to complete the 5 day, 90 kilometer hiking trail in 24 hours. They achieved their goal in a time of 11hrs 42min. In August 2003 this time was lowered to 10hrs 54min. In August 2012, after

368-418: The hiking season. Due to flooding and extremely hot summer temperatures reaching 48 °C during the day and 30 °C at night, permits are only issued between 1 May and 15 September. Prior to arriving at Hobas a hiking permit must be obtained from Namibia Wildlife Resorts for groups not smaller than 3 and not larger than 30. All hikers must be older than 12 years and a certificate of fitness, completed by

391-415: The offices of Namibia Wildlife Resorts at ǀAi-ǀAis. The trail starts from the car park ( 27°34′37″S 17°36′32″E  /  27.577°S 17.609°E  / -27.577; 17.609  ( Car Park ) ) 13 kilometres west from Hobas. The descent is steep and chains are provided to assist hikers over the first 100 meters. Thereafter the unmarked path follows a gravel trail to the river floor at

414-405: The remoteness of the trail, all competitors are required to be self-sufficient for the duration of the event and are expected to have adequate nutrients as well as the stipulated survival gear. Water is generally sourced from the river which is always close by. Previous trail runners have commented on the difficulty of the terrain: "The canyon is one of the most beautiful places I have seen but at

437-481: The same time is one of the harshest environments I have run in. I really battled in the canyon due to the extreme heat and terrain and running in there was one of the toughest days of my athletic career." "This canyon is not for the faint hearted and an attempt to run it should not be taken light-heartedly." Fish River, Nambia The Fish River ( Visrivier in Afrikaans , Fischfluss in German )

460-448: The season and by September usually dries up to form a chain of stagnant pools. Water is safe to drink, however the use of water purifying tablets is recommended. River crossings are a notable feature with more than 20 crossings over the course of the trail, and crossings may become a major consideration when water levels are high. There is no mobile phone reception in the canyon and only two emergency exits are available. Evacuation from

483-539: The trail. In times of inclement weather, some shelter in a run-down building can be found at the Causeway ( 27°49′44″S 17°34′16″E  /  27.829°S 17.571°E  / -27.829; 17.571  ( Causeway ) ) but otherwise sleeping is outdoors. The weather is usually mild and typical temperatures vary between 5 °C and 30 °C with little humidity. Extreme weather, such as flash floods, stormy winds and rain occasionally play havoc during

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506-563: The uplifting of the African continent the gradient of the Fish River increased - allowing it to erode even deeper into the rock. Today the deepest point of the canyon is 549 metres deep. Download coordinates as: The Fish River Canyon hiking trail is one of the more popular hiking trails in Southern Africa . The immense scale and rugged terrain has drawn many visitors from all over the world to experience hiking or trail running

529-491: Was first described by Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer and Johann Franz Drège in 1836. The camel thorn is a protected tree in South Africa. The tree can grow up to 20 metres high. It is slow-growing, very hardy to drought and fairly frost-resistant. The light-grey colored thorns reflect sunlight, and the bipinnate leaves close when it is hot. The wood is dark reddish-brown in colour and extremely dense and strong. It

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