Keetmanshoop to Fish River Valley

The next morning after driving to Keetmanshoop, we woke up early and met up with our guide for the next two days, Mr Rudy Basson with Tour Namibia.   Rudy was a fantastic guide and he took us to the Fish River Valley, which I’ll blog about next, but all along the way, we traveled through the Gondwana National Park, where there was lots of wildlife and interesting things to see.   I thought I would share that with all of you.

First thing, we stopped at a gin distillery, and did some gin sampling at 9am!   Yeah, not typically something I do at 9am, but hey, it was part of the package.  When in Rome….   It was in this little government-owned valley that had a dammed river and it was an oasis in the desert we had been traveling through for 2 days.    The government was growing dates there and here are some pictures of that and the few pics I took of the distillery.

Along the route, we saw all kinds of different plants and wildlife.   Pictured below is the Milk Bush (I would have mistaken it for a tumbleweed if Rudy hadn’t pointed it out), a toxic bush to humans and some animals, but for a few of the wildlife in the desert, edible.  This was by far the most common plant in the desert there.  It’s called a milk bush because when you break it, it leaks out a white substance, but if you touch it and then get it into your eyes, it will mean a trip to the hospital.  Another very populous plant was the Quiver Tree, named that because the bushmen put their arrows in them.

As we traveled on, we ran across animals of all sorts.  Ostrich, Springbok, Kudu,  Oryx, Blackbirds; all thriving out in the desert.

And then we came across a beast of a completely different nature.  The Canyon Roadhouse, which was this bar and grill in the middle of nowhere, who’s theme was mostly older roadhouse styles, think of Route 66.   Here are some pictures from this eclectic looking place which had great food and drinks, by the way. Also a video I took of the main attraction in this roadhouse bathroom! Pandora’s Box!  When you go into either bathroom, there’s a scandalous picture, with a box over their private parts.   When you open the box, it rings out in the bar, much to the delight of the entire customer base who might be eating there.   It’s really hilarious.

After having lunch there, we drove into the Fish River Valley area proper, where we started catching a view of the Grand Canyon’s little sister.   Check out the next blog for pictures and information about this must see location in Namibia!   As always, don’t forget to follow the adventure on email by subscribing, or you can follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Google+, Instagram.