Fish River Canyon Day 1 – (Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park – Namibia)

Group #251 2023’s day one began at about 13:45 on the 28th of August 2023 after a slow careful descent. The temperature was a warm 36 degrees centigrade and after a much-needed lunch in the shade, as well as a swim for some at the kilometer zero pool, the official Day 1 section of the trail began. This recording begins after the descent (follows previous recording: Fish River Canyon Day 1 Descent – (Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park – Namibia) in this Wikiloc profile) and continues downstream for approximately 7 kilometers until a suitable overnight camp site was found. The initial plan for the group was to continue to sizeable pools at Wild Fig Bend around the 9km mark, we settled for stopping at the 7km mark due to a late start, careful descent, sufficient pools found, and due to light that was fading fast after a spectacular sunset high over the canyon cliffs above Sweet Thorn Bend. The terrain on Day 1 was rather tough and unforgiving. Deep sandy sections in the heat were tough on the legs not yet used to a pack that is at its heaviest weight of the whole hike. Long sections of sand on slopes and large areas of giant boulders to navigate made these 7km slow and technical. Nevertheless, the scenery on Day 1 was remarkable, high canyon walls above, deep ravines and the feeling of having so much space and separation from society was liberating for many in our group, a detachment that many of us were craving. As the viewpoint high above disappears from sight about 2km in you get a feeling of true wilderness, as if nobody else is around for miles and in our experience that was the case, nobody except our group, it was just the 13 of us and the canyon. The groups that started the previous day were well ahead of us and from what we could tell there was nobody who descended after us that Monday. Be on the lookout for a pair of Black Eagles which frequent the first few kilometers of the canyon. We were fortunate enough to spot a pair soaring high above the rock pinnacles with the main viewpoint in the background above. After taking the first corner at about 2km just after First Rest Pools the terrain becomes fields of boulders giving way to sandy sections. Just as you gather your stride the one seems to give way to the next. There are good open sandy areas at kilometers 2.5 and 5 which many use as a night one camping option. At 4km there is a spring which may provide good drinking water in dry years, it is known as Spring in the Reeds. Our group didn’t investigate or find the spring as we had filtered and filled at the large pool 100m or so upstream from kilometer zero and still had plenty in reserve. At 5km the camp area is right near Pulpit Rock which is a prominent feature on the trail. For those interested in Geology, from here the Dolerite Dykes are also visible, they are 800-million-year-old distinct bands of rock that intruded the canyon’s surrounding basement rocks and appear as distinct dark bands in the surrounding beige rock. From this point, over the next few days there are various distinct specimens to be found along the route. As soon as the 6km mark is crossed one should be on the lookout for Vidi, the remains of a Vespa Scooter which was abandoned in the canyon in 1968 when the Vespa Club in Cape Town thought it would be a good idea to take three scooters down the canyon. The three scooters were Veni, Vidi, and Vici after Julius Caesar’s Latin phrase meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered”. The scooters were all painted in the patterns of indigenous Namibian wildlife, Veni was painted in a Zebra pattern, Vidi was painted as a giraffe and Vici in Leopard rosettes. Veni, the Zebra painted scooter was the first casualty which fell after the ropes being used to lower it down the steep descent snapped. The sharp shales cut through the rope and Veni fell into a deep ravine and was irreparably damaged and it was not possible to retrieve it either. Vici was the next Vespa to go. After a successful albeit long descent the party tried putting Vici on a raft in the river. Realizing that the deep sand and boulders meant that they barely covered less than 2 kilometers in a day when trying to progress on land, this was the team’s rationale to adopt a raft on water technique. Whilst pulling the raft across the river, Vici fell off the raft into deep water taking one of the members of the expedition with it. Vici and the man overboard were both recovered but Vici was not in working condition any longer. With time running out on the expedition’s permit the team gave it all they had with Vidi. A day or two of slog later at around the 6km mark along the river Vidi refused to start and the nearest spare part which the team needed to repair it was all the way back in Cape Town. This conundrum along with the words “You are mad” written in the sand by a passing group was the last straw for this ambitious adventure group, it marked the end of the expedition and after 8 days of struggle the team took the emergency exit at Palm Sulphur Springs after hiding Vidi in a pile of rocks. The team swore to return the following year, not sure if that ever actually happened but one thing that was for sure was that the Vespas were the only vehicles ever, to this day, which managed to set tyre tracks in the bottom of the canyon. Over the years Vidi has changed colours and themes quite often. With every few seasons that pass someone inevitably spray paints it over again, it’s been red, luminous green and pink, and while we were there in August 2023, Zebra stripes (perhaps as a tribute to the first Zebra painted Vespa, Veni, or erroneously painted so in confusion). Perhaps one day Vidi will be repainted in its original Giraffe pattern, who knows. Either way this is a distinct landmark on the Fish River Canyon hike, keep an eye out and get a photo with Vidi for your memory books. Shortly after Vidi was reached our group decided that it was time to call it a day at the 7km campsite and pools. It proved to be a good choice for a camp site, the water was far from perfect, but it was plentiful and far less green than most of the pools seen before on Day 1. There were good areas of level sand around the main pool which was a great option for water filtering and cooking. The total recorded for this trail was just over 7km. Navigating the boulders and sand it’s easy to add a few extra meters when compared to the 7km on the paper map. Ideally you should enjoy this dramatic first few kilometers of the canyon and avoid rushing it if possible. 5km, 7km or at a push 9km along the river on Day one is a solid effort, any more than 9km and one might be missing out on some of the canyon’s finest initial features. I would classify this section as moderate, even though its rather short its slow moving over the terrain. Heat can make Day 1 extra tough so try to descend as early as possible if you are aiming to cover ground. A later descent with a few kilometers on day one, 3 or 4km for example can be a good option to ease into the hike if you are attempting in 6 days. On Day 1 some interesting sightings included the Black Eagles and many large Barbel skulls displayed on sticks as well as the odd Klipspringer pelt. Thoroughly enjoyable first day in the Fish River Canyon, while trudging along the challenging terrain be sure to look up and take in your surroundings, stop and capture the moment where possible.