Little water on hiking route in the Fish River Canyon

Water supply points for hikers will be set up on the Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail. This was announced yesterday by the state-owned accommodation operator Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR). Within the river section in the Canyon there is hardly any drinkable water, the Ministry of Environment had found during its latest inspection.

According to this, only the sulphur springs about 15 km after the entry point are still suitable for filling up the water reserves. So-called water marshals are to provide drinking water at three points further downstream - about 45 km, 50 km and 70 km after the entry point. It is about 85 km to the end point of the trail at ǀAi-ǀAis. In addition, NWR urged hikers to carry tablets for water purification.

The reason given for the lack of water was that it has hardly rained in southern Namibia in recent months. In fact, the two large reservoirs further upstream, Neckartal Dam and Naute Dam, have received virtually no inflow.

This year's season for hiking in the Fish River Canyon from Hiker's Point to ǀAi-ǀAis starts on 1 May. The Fish River Canyon Trail is only open in the cooler months until 15 September and must be booked in advance.

Sven-Eric Stender

Sven-Eric Stender