By Roxanne Reid
The first time we went to Namibia’s Ai-Ais resort in the Fish River Canyon in the 1990s, campers were packed in so tight you couldn’t have found space for a toothpick. I hadn’t been back for more than 20 years but I discovered that it still didn’t rock my socks. Here’s why.
The first time we went to Namibia’s Ai-Ais resort in the Fish River Canyon in the 1990s, campers were packed in so tight you couldn’t have found space for a toothpick. I hadn’t been back for more than 20 years but I discovered that it still didn’t rock my socks. Here’s why.
From the time we turned off the main road on to the C10 until we arrived at Namibia Wildlife Resorts’ Ai-Ais camp 73km later, we didn’t pass a single vehicle. A post-apocalyptic movie set surrounded us, dark rocky koppies, barren plains of sand, shale and stones, with little sign of how any life form could survive out there. All was eerily still as the midday sun scalded the air and made it hard to breathe.
Then Ai-Ais appeared like a settlement from different planet, its grass, palms, acacias and fever trees forming splashes of green against the burnt rocks. The ghostly solitude we’d felt on the approach road was gone and the place was hopping with campers and cyclists who’d just completed a mountain biking event and were looking grubby but smug.
When I signed in for our overnight stop I noticed that many people were booked in for two weeks so the resort with its indoor and outdoor pools and its spa complex is obviously very popular with southern Namibians. Ai-Ais means ‘burning water’ – a nod to the sulphurous hot springs here, discovered in the mid 19th century by a Nama herder while searching for lost sheep.
We found an unoccupied spot on the far side of the campsite, overlooking the riverbed at the southern end of the Fish River Canyon. Without cover it was as hot as molten lead. Baboons roamed the campsite looking for trouble, but keeping our food hidden away was an easy way to keep them at bay.
Far worse were the people pumping out loud music five stands away from ours, selfishly spewing their choices over the rest of us.
Far worse were the people pumping out loud music five stands away from ours, selfishly spewing their choices over the rest of us.
The sun disappeared behind a koppie shortly before 16:00, giving the rocks a soft rose tinge that stripped away their forbidding aspect. The air cooled slightly and we watched the full moon rise over a koppie to the east as we sipped a cold beer.
I’m not sure how many campsites there are at Ai-Ais, but it’s a lot. And when it’s busy – which seems to be all the time, judging by my two experiences over 20 years! – the smoke from everyone’s braais creates a pall that hangs heavy in the hot air. That night I fell asleep with a small fan blasting to cool me, ear plugs keeping out the thud of loud music and a burning sensation in my throat from the smoke pollution.
But I’m pleased I went back, if only to confirm that it’s one of my least favourite campsites in Namibia. Unless you’re here because you’ve hiked the Fish River Canyon, to plunge into the hot springs or laze at the outdoor pool – when you’ll probably love it – you may as well not bother.
For us the best thing was a really cold beer from the bar. That’s something Namibians definitely understand – the importance of a cold beer.
So what campsites do I like, then? Well, these three: NamibRand, Little Hunter's Rest in the Namtib Biosphere and Klein Aus Vista's Desert Horse campsite. What's your favourite campsite in southern Namibia? Share it in the comments below.
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So what campsites do I like, then? Well, these three: NamibRand, Little Hunter's Rest in the Namtib Biosphere and Klein Aus Vista's Desert Horse campsite. What's your favourite campsite in southern Namibia? Share it in the comments below.
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