Canyon Lodge: rock formations and old bachelors

19/8/2015

By Roxanne Reid
If you’ve seen my post about the Canyon Roadhouse you’ll know that this is a hard act to follow. Leaving it is what I imagine it must be like to come down off a heroin high; everything else would pale by comparison. But at its sister, Canyon Lodge, we discovered a completely different world of rock formations and old bachelors.

As we took the turnoff towards Canyon Lodge, the scenery changed so dramatically it was like someone had flipped the TV channel. Gone were the dark flat stones and bleak plains. In their place were koppies of rich red boulders. In the distance, a valley sprouted green after recent rains and a range of mauve-grey mountains formed a backdrop.

The main building, where you can just see the iron bedhead on the roof of the tower

Canyon Lodge’s main building was originally a farmhouse built in 1913 and has an iron bed head on top of it. That seemed odd and worth investigating. Turns out that it’s an old Bavarian tradition showing there was a German bachelor here in need of a wife. Although the Gondwana Collection has changed so much that the two old bachelors who once lived here would no longer recognise the place, they’ve kept the bed as a nod to tradition and history.

The chalets blend in to the rocks that are the lodge's most striking feature

The chalets, pool and main lodge are connected by winding paths, some of them through green-lawned gardens, this one from the pool through the natural landscape

The freestanding chalets were made of stone and thatch to blend in with the environment, where rocks were shaped like fingers, rounded pyramids and hippo backs. They were built around the large boulders, each with a unique footprint to suit the flattened space available. And they were spaced apart to form a small ‘village’ along winding paths. Ours was right at the furthest end from the main building – quite a hike in the heat when we’d forgotten something in the car – but with magnificent views over layers of boulders.

The vibe and funkiness of Canyon Roadhouse was gone, but in its place there was a sense of quiet, space and red-rocked glory. Just as old cars had been the main attraction at Canyon Roadhouse, so here the rocks took centre stage, bringing with them an entirely different close-to-nature experience.

The pool area in the soft light just before sunset

A swim in the pool with its view out over the rocky landscape, a drink in the shade on the terrace that overlooked the gardens – these were the simple pleasures we could find. Once the ferocious autumn heat eased and the sun went down, the silence was thick in our ears, broken only now and again by the chirping of a mountain chat bobbing on a rock. This was a special time, when we could appreciate the quality of the light, the silence, the enormity of the sky; when we could breathe deeply and watch the moon rise behind our chalet.

The terrace looks over the gardens and out to the mountains beyond

How the rocks formed
Out next morning with guide Frans Eiseb, we learned how these rocks formed. They’re granite, a mix of feldspar, quartz and magma, which came up like bubbles during volcanic activity long ago. In Europe, Frans told us, granite is the strongest rock, but here in Africa it’s the weakest because of our climate of extreme heat and cold, our sun and wind. Such extreme changes make the rocks crack. ‘We call these core cracks,’ Frans explained.

We saw many examples. One half of a rock, rounded on one side and flat on the other, would sit alone on a hilltop, its mirror-image having cracked off and tumbled to the ground. One or two had wide core cracks that need another few thousand years of weathering before they split entirely. Frans pointed out how the rocks at the top of koppies were rounder and smoother from the polishing action of the wind, while the ones at the bottom were still rough.

Notice how these two chalets are tucked into private spaces between the rocks

He explained that there’s a dolerite wall underground near the lodge, which holds water in a basin some 16m deep. All the water for the lodge comes from this, and it’s recycled for watering the lush gardens and lawns.

Self-sufficiency and staff
The lodge also separates litter into glass, paper, cans, plastic and food. A relatively new venture, food & beverage manager Norbert Machipisa told me, is keeping pigs that are fed on scraps from the kitchen. The plan is eventually to use them for meat. At present all meat, veg and cheese comes from Gondwana’s self-sufficiency centre at Kalahari Farmhouse near Stampriet, from which they get deliveries twice a month. That explains the fresh fruit and veg that appeared on the buffet table so far in the boondocks.

Clockwise from top left: food & beverage manager Norbert Machipisa; chefs Read and Joshua; the bachelor's bedhead on the roof of the lodge; the ever smiling waitresses and bar ladies Saara (left) and Patricia

Most of the staff employed at the lodge are from the local Karas district, but Frans grew up in the Twyfelfontein area in Damaraland. He first started learning about the natural environment from his uncle, helping him to set up and run Aba Huab campsite. After school, he took a job as a barman at a Sossusvlei lodge but within three months his life took a new direction as he started to learn to be a guide.

Later he worked at Etosha National Park for five years. He shared with us some shocking stories of how dim-witted tourists can be. ‘Sometimes I didn’t want to tell people when I spotted a lion,’ he confessed. Because he knew what they did next would be not only against the park’s rules but suicidally stupid too.

So why did he come to work down south, so far from home? ‘I like to learn new things,’ he said, though he admits the hours can be tough: ‘Guiding is not for lazy people.’ But he still loves his job, the chance to get out into nature day after day.

And for that I envy him, don’t you?

Note: I was a guest of Canyon Lodge for two nights but had free rein to write what I chose. I paid for all meals, drinks and travel costs.

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