Fish River Canyon sundowners and scenic drives

It’s not until you drive down into Fish River Canyon that you get a true sense of its size. As we descend into the world’s second-biggest canyon, you can clearly see the different layers of sedimentary rock, the colourful quartz and limestone minerals. Guests love seeing the elephant skin rock weathering and the ancient petroglyphs left behind by San hunters.

On the way down, we stop at various viewpoints to photograph the canyon. I’ll point out the endemic vegetation, which includes succulents and quiver trees. There’s a 50-50 chance of spotting some of the canyon’s game, including springboks, kudus and oryx, as well as baboons and the shy rock hyrax. If we’re very lucky, we may see a brown hyena; some guests recently glimpsed a leopard, which is very rare.

The bottom of the canyon is carved by the Fish River, which flows during the rainy season from January to April. It’s a spectacular sight; you can see why the local Nama people believe the canyon was formed by a giant snake thrashing around. The river dries into a series of pools, which you can swim in. We’ll also have a picnic while taking in the views – you feel tiny surrounded by this 500-million-year-old geological wonder.

Our canyon-rim sundowner drive is a shorter option. We head off in the late afternoon, stopping at two viewpoints to photograph the canyon during golden hour when the light is fantastic. At the third viewpoint, set on a plateau, we set up a table with drinks and snacks, which you can enjoy while watching the sun sink over the canyon, transforming the colours of the rock and the sky.