7. Fish River Canyon

Second to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in size, the Fish River Canyon is no small achievement in fissuring faulting and flooding. The whole process took more that 50 million years – all so modern hikers could boulder-hop for four or five days through heat and dust, adding blisters with every step.

The Fish River Canyon is certainly no for sissies, but strangely it is one of the most popular hiking trails on the sub-continent, along with the likes of the Drakensberg and Otter Trail. What’s the appeal? Desert grandeur and solitude, for sure. Also the challenge and gobsmacking feeling of walking through this huge gap in the earth, where the scale is so huge you feel almost as big as the scorpions that like to snuggle into your hiking boots at night. The desert has a way of changing perspectives, as do grueling physical challenges – The Fish River Canyon shakes you up a little, and that’s good!

Tags: Adventure, Africa, Fish River Canyon, Hiking, Holiday, Safari, South Africa

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