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Another chilly night, another early morning.
We got up before sunrise, this time to capture the morning light illuminating the quiver trees in warm yellow and gold hues.
As we walked around, we saw families of Rock Hyraxes perched on top of dolerite rocks going about their morning routine until we got too close then they froze in place hoping we wouldn’t see them.
One of the more impressive sites was this massive nest that we saw hanging off a quiver tree. It turns out that the nest was built by the sociable weaver bird and can house hundreds of birds at a time.
We then took in a couple of more sites before heading out to Fish River Canyon. The first was Giant’s Playground, an area where large dolerite rocks that are stacked on top of each other to form some type of modern rock sculpture garden.
The other site was further up the road, the Mesosaurus Fossil Site, where we took a guided tour with the owner to see 250 million year old fossils of these ancient animals.
Driving towards Fish River Canyon we spotted some of the local wildlife including ostrich, black-backed jackal, springboks, martial eagle, and a funky cafe serving kudu pies. Yum!
This time we we were staying in a lodge while at Fish River Canyon. When we arrived at our accommodations, we were surprised to find that our rooms were actually individual stone chalets that were built into the native dolorite landscape. It was like sleeping in a cave, though a very fancy cave. Clearly this place was something we would normally not book on our own. This is what happens when you leave the planning to someone else. At least Kim was happy with the choice.
Before dinner we split up and ventured out into the wilderness for sunset. D and Kim went to a nearby dolorite area to hike around,
while G explored near the lodge and came within 20 feet of a group of oryx. The oryx are really cool-looking with their long antlers and mask-like face.
After sundown we encountered yet another small herd of oryx wandering around on the grounds of the lodge. Seriously they are everywhere including their droppings. As we passed they scattered into the hills so we weren’t able to get too close to them.
Accommodation & Eats
Canyon Lodge
http://www.gondwana-collection.com/the-fish-river-canyon-experience/accommodation/canyon-lodge/ Lodge
It's Opener There 