The Fish River Canyon

The Fish river canyon is an amazing 90km trail (or 60km with alternative routes/ shortcuts) following the Fish River through its mighty canyon. The hike can be done over 5 or 6 days depending on the group's fitness (and how long you want to carry your pack). There aren't specific spots to camp for the night, only recommended spots indicated on the Slingsby map (this map is a necessity for this trail).

I have been lucky enough to hike the Fish twice; in July 2018 and August 2022, both times were such special experiences that I will cherish forever. Both times that I hiked the Fish I did it over 5 days and 4 nights, so this review will be written from that perspective.

When I hiked The Fish River Canyon in August 2022 we had perfect weather and an abundance of water. The nights weren't too cold and we had a light breeze on most of the day which I was incredibly grateful for. We made use of some of the alternative routes on our hike and totaled about 75km by the end of the trail.

Day 1: The Descent

Day one began with a steep descent into the Canyon, followed by a much-needed swim as soon as we reached the canyon floor.

It was about 2km to the bottom of the canyon and after our refreshing dip, we walked another 5km following the river. We spent the night at where we thought was below Pulpit rock.

Day 2: Scooters & Sulfur pools

On day two I woke up with stiff legs and shoulders. Despite having a ground sheet I found myself watching the sunrise from a very sandy sleeping bag.

We paid a visit to the Vespa Scooters that were beached in the Canyon in 1968 due to a bet between some members of the Cape Town Vespa Club.

After several river crossings and snack breaks we turned a corner and smelled Sulfur Hot Springs.

These hot springs provided great relief to the stiff legs and shoulders from the day before.

One of our hikers may have spent a bit too long in the springs because the next morning she found a dried-out, sulfur-fried fish in her hair. After saying goodbye to the Sulfur Springs we set off in search of a place to stay for the night. We hiked about 16 Km on day two

Day 3: Rock Hopping

Day three marked the halfway point of our adventure but not the halfway point of our trail. This was because of the short distance covered on day one due to the dramatic descent.

This meant we had to walk a bit further than the day before (day 2) in order to not leave too much distance for our tired legs on day five.

The nice thing about not having specifically designated camping spots is that you can adjust how much walking you are going to do each day, based on the needs of the group, and you can always take an extra day if you need to (provided you packed enough).

I recommend packing an extra meal in your bag just in case you need to stay another night, yes it does add more weight but could really save you if the worst comes to worst.

Day three was a prime ankle-spraining territory and required a lot of balance and focus with all the rock hopping. Thankfully I just had good luck that day because I can assure you I definitely did not have much focus, my eyes were constantly looking at the beautiful scenery around me (I don't think I looked at my feet at all!).

We set up camp, had a swim, and did some much-needed stretches, after walking about 17 Km for the day.

Day 4: Four Finger Rock

Day four was our longest and toughest day; we walked about 22 km and tackled a mighty sand dune.

We also took several alternative routes on this day, which involved leaving the river and reaching a higher elevation. The views were well worth the climbs.

We stopped for lunch and a swim at the famous Four Finger Rock formation.

Day four was long and hot and I was very grateful for the many swim breaks throughout the day

The wind picked up in the afternoon, but we managed to find shelter at bikini beach where we set up camp for the night

Day 5: The Final Stretch

On our last day, we did about 10 km and finished relatively early in the day and got to relax in the pools at the Ai-Ais base camp.

It was great to see everyone's spirits were still high for the final stretch and despite being stiff, tired and sore we were still able to take in the scenery.

We were lucky enough to spot some Leopard prints crossing our own path.

After drinking tablet-filtered canyon water with orange rehydrate for five days I was very happy to have an ice-cold Savannah at Ai-Ais.

I am so grateful that I got to share this experience with such an amazing group of people. The Fish River holds a special place in my heart and I will definitely be back.