Hobas to Canyon Roadhouse

March 29, 2022

The spectacular Fish River Canyon viewpoint

First of all, lots of pictures today...just a warning :)

My comfortable bed could have been great except that I felt like I was sleeping in a confection Oven last night. Had the fan blowing and draped myself in a wet towel, but it was just fricking hot. It was cooler outside.
Left to ride out (unloaded) to see Fish River Canyon. Second biggest behind Grand Canyon. It was a steady uphill climb, with little downhills thrown in at times to try and trick me that I wasn’t climbing uphill for 6 miles. I know, because I sped back without a ton of pedaling. Oh, and I saw a group of springboks run across the road and through the field. Neat!

The views were way better than I expected. The river was very windy down below. I didn’t quite make it to the next viewpoint because the road was super rocky. I did walk along the Canyon edge for awhile enjoying the views and the yellow flowers, but I had to get back for my 10:00am room checkout. Yep, check out time is early here, but you can also check in early which is really nice.

No guardrails here. It's Africa, every man for himself!

Glory balanced precariously on the railing

I thought the structure at the main viewpoint was falling apart, but then realized it's actually the design. Probably slanted to offer shade from the sun.

Although these flowers have thorns that will give me flat tires, I still like looking at them.

Good thing I wasn't hating my bike today because otherwise I might have pushed it over the edge! Do you see Glory in his normal spot?

Once I climbed out of the road to my campsite, I had a few minor hills and then it actually pretty much flattened out for awhile. I wasn't moving very far down the road and today, was nice riding. Whereas, yesterday I was not so happy, today I was quite enjoying myself again and didn't mind that I was the only one out there. The temperature cooled down about 10 degrees and I had a tailwind. Namibia has had a ton of rain and so it’s notably more green than usual. It was super pretty. I really felt like I should be seeing some more wildlife, but nothing.

Now, this is what you call an open road!

I saw a bunch of water holes today and scanned the area closely for wildlife. I only saw a duck type bird. He's in this pond.

I'm pretty sure that's my camp for tonight in the distance!

I got to my camp and it’s an interesting place. Old vehicles (classics) scattered about, both inside and out for decoration. Kind of cool!

Quite a collection of license plates they have!

This was my favorite table. Had breakfast at it.

Once I got my camp set up I promptly headed to the pool for a bit. I rescued three bugs today! It’s a thing. I feel sorry for them! (Oh people, that attitude is going to change!) I also had fun watching the birds. Tried to get pictures, but none of them turned out.

The Wi-Fi isn’t working here so I actually got kind of bored. I had a nice dinner planned at the restaurant. Afterwards, I went on the self guided hiking trail — in flip flops. I was just killing time, but just kept telling myself, "Just a little bit further.” I was well aware flip flops are not good hiking attire, so was really watching where I stepped. I do know I tend to watch my feet when hiking in general. I may have walked into a tree and banged my forehead once while hiking in Washington state. I was so intent on my watching my feet, I did not notice the smallish tree that had fallen across the trail. (Just in case you doubted whether I really watch my feet or not.)

I got to the top of this hill and all the rocks were black, kind of like shale. The view was fantastic. Took some pictures and headed back. Not long after, I catch movement off to my left and it’s snake moving sideways like a sidewinder! Not all that big, but I saw it go under a piece of rock you’d think it wouldn’t fit under. When I saw it, I took a sudden step back and stepped right out of my flip flop. Thankfully, I didn’t step on anything that would hurt, but this is why hiking in flip flops is a bad idea! When I got back I asked one of the employees what kind of snakes were in the area. I told him it was brown and blended in and before I could finish he asked it it had black I stripes. I said yes, Although I wouldn’t call them stripes. He told me it was a zebra snake, very, very dangerous! 😳 (Later found out it was a type of adder.) Still, not an ideal encounter. You can bet I'll be checking way more closely before sitting on any rocks going forward!

The view from the top and also the road I'll be continuing on tomorrow

I would never have thought there was an adder hidden under this rock! I can assure you, there is!

Crawled into my tent as it got dark. I hadn't bothered putting up the rain fly. Next thing I know I keep seeing flashes. Sure enough, tons of lightning in the distance. Great. Just to play it safe, I got out and put on my rain fly. I wasn't too thrilled about walking around in the dark as there were animal warning signs around camp. Still, I dared to walk to the bathroom one more time at that point with my headlamp shining brightly all around! Ha ha

Set up in the shade of a nice big tree. Perfect!

Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 2,299 miles (3,700 km)

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