Some Pics and Update!!!

Well my holidays are over and I've been back in Tsumkwe for a few weeks! After Botswana Ben, Michael and I made our way down to Windhoek. Michael is leaving Tsumkwe so we had to move all his belongings and return one of his trucks. We all stopped in at the crocodile farm in Otjiwarango for lunch. The crocs were huge!

After arriving in Windhoek we dropped Michael's stuff off, booked into the Cameleon Backpackers and then went to Brendan (Netcorps volunteer from Canada) place for dinner. Little did we know it was his birthday and the people he's staying with had a party for him. He lives in an amazing house on the hill, with a rather steep laneway. It was a great dinner and we went for a few drinks at Joe's Beer House, El Cubana and the Tower Bar. Unfortunately we were all quite tired so it was an early night. The next day we picked up supplies for Fish River Canyon, but Ben and I had to sleep on Ben's floor because we couldn't get another night at a Backpackers.

The next day we started our long 7 hour drive to FRC. Luckily I was quite tired and slept most of the time. We camped the first night ouside the canyon, but woke at the break of dawn to start our descent. It took a couple hours to get down and the view was amazing. We clambered over the last few rocks and saw the river! After quickly dropping all my gear and clothing I jumped into the water. It was cool but perfect refresher from the long descent.

The rest of the first day consisted of bouldering and slowly making our way through the canyon. The first day was definitely the toughest and we made slow progress. Michael brother actually had cramps so we had to stop early the first day and got seperated from the other half of the group. We had a hearty meal of pasta and soy mince for dinner and all slept like babies, except for the crying part. The next day we finished the boulders and ended up at some thermal springs. Unfortunately the water was way too hot to bath in, so we sat at the end where the spring meets the river. The next few days consisted of fewer boulders (thank god!) and heaps more amamzing scenery. On the 3rd and 4th day we started to run into troups of baboons and dead horses. Luckily there was no correlation between the two and nobody was dinner. We also got lost going through a pass on the 3rd day and ended climbing a mountain to get our bearings. On the final day we ran into a South African guy who was too tired to continue and had to stop. His companions were a day ahead of him so we offered him food, but he was fine. He told us that the trek is much harder then Kilimanjaro...we'll see.

At the end of the canyon is Ais Ais hot springs...whnich was a perfect way to end out trip. I happily gulped down a cold beer and spent many hours relxing in the warm pools.
Well that about it for FRC, it was amazing and I would recomend the trip to anyone who visits Namibia! This week I'll be going for In Contry Training (ICT) in Oshakati and then to a San Conference in Grootfontein. I hope to copy my photos on my way through Grootfontein, so thank for being patient!
Jason