Namibia is vast; vast and arid. More like the Australian outback than South Africa's backyard.

With less than five people per square kilometre it’s the perfect place to escape to for a bit of peace and quiet, but all that space also means that getting around is either at a leisurely pace by car, or by light aircraft capable of dropping you into some of the country's most remote, and beautiful, corners just a few hours flight from Windhoek's International Airport. Ten hours on the road, or two hours by plane? Plane it is then!

Skimming low over the kokerbooms, the gravel runway jumps up to meet our Cessna 210, grabbing us by the wheels as we skid to a halt amongst the high grass; a rare treat thanks to unseasonal rains earlier in the year.

It’s a friendly welcome that awaits us at the Cañon Lodge, as JC and Jacqui come bounding out to meet us. Warm coats protecting them from the mid-winter chills, they’re quick to fuss around our media party, greeting us as if we’re old friends.

“They’re often considered our resident public relations officers,” says Fritz Curschmann, the manager of Cañon Lodge, as he gives his two Jack Russells a quick scratch behind the ears. They’re a regular feature of any stay at Cañon; looking out for new arrivals, strolling between the chalets and even tagging along on the evening nature drives. “If people are looking for me, they just look for the dogs!” says Fritz.

Gondwana Desert Collection

Cañon Lodge is the centrepiece of the Gondwana Cañon Park, one of the four desert parks — which cover the Namib, Kalahari, Nama Karoo and Succulent Karoo deserts — in the Gondwana Desert Collection.

The Cañon Park was formed when nine over-grazed sheep farms were bought in the mid-nineties, the fences pulled down and the land restored to create an 1100km² area dedicated to conserving the unique Nama Karoo succulent vegetation of the area.

When the new owners were looking for a spot to build the original lodge, an old farmhouse nestled amongst an outcrop of granite boulders proved to be just what they were looking for, and so Cañon Lodge was born.

KALAHARI DREAMING
A stop-off in the outer reaches of the Kalahari is a popular option for overlanders traveling between Windhoek and South Africa, with the area around Marientahl offering a number of overnight game farms, such as the Bagatelle Safari Ranch.

The Ranch offers evening game drives, tours of their cheetah conservation project and a great pool and boma for escaping the searing summer sun. Food is hearty farm cuisine, with the occasional antelope from the reserve ending up in the pot. With chalets perched atop the powdery red sand dunes it’s the perfect spot to watch the sun set over all those wide open spaces.

It’s been adapted and extended over the years, but the old farm feel of the house is still evident, with only the sandstone schloss a reminder that 70 percent of the lodge’s guests are from Germany. Accommodation is simple, yet comfortable, with cottages of rough-hewn sandstone tucked away amongst the granite boulders or in the cool shade of a kameeldoorn tree. The sheltered balcony at each cottage (complete with camping chairs and stone table) is the perfect spot to soak up the sun and a glass (or heck, why not a bottle) of the complimentary, and aptly named, ‘kuierwyn’!

One of the most enjoyable aspects of a stay at Cañon Lodge is the knowledge that just by tucking into the delicious cheese and sausages on offer at every turn you’re helping to employ over 20 local people that were previously without work.

As Fritz explains, “It’s all about uplifting the local community. Our self-sufficiency project produces around 70 percent of what we need. ”

Gouda and gorges

The reserve’s Self Sufficiency Project produces vegetables, eggs, cheese and meat for the lodge, while at the same time providing employment and training in essential skills for the local community. It’s a project the lodge takes seriously. Seriously enough to fly out a German butcher to teach the staff how to make the mouth-watering wursts, and seriously enough to send the resident cheese-maker to Holland to learn how to craft the soft, creamy cheeses on offer at each meal.

Buffet dinners are a relaxed, unpretentious affair, with tables scattered around the old farmhouse voorkamer and a roaring fire keeping things cosy. Meat is big in Namibia, so expect giant-sized portions of anything from ostrich to gemsbok. The Nama desert is a long way from the Cape’s vineyards, so order a tall glass of locally-brewed Tafel lager instead. Just ask for a “Tafel sonder stoele” (table without chairs)!

Cosy accommodation aside, the reason most people come to the Cañon Park is to visit the nearby Fish River Canyon. Etched into the surrounding plains as if carved by a wandering child dragging a stick, the Canyon is widely regarded as the second-largest of its kind in the world; dwarfed only by the American Grand Canyon.

It’s difficult not to think in superlatives when describing the canyon; at 170 kilometres long, over 700m deep at its lowest point, and stretching between five and 27 kilometres across, it’s an impressive sight.

Bar the Fish River flowing languidly over half a kilometre below, the view of the canyon from the look-out point is of a rugged place where the sun beats down mercilessly; not a welcoming sight for the hundreds of hikers that each year tackle the 85-kilometre hiking trail to Ais-Ais. Sleeping out with the snakes and scorpions and carrying everything they’ll need for five days it’s by no means a walk in the park, but still rates as one of Southern Africa’s top hiking trails.

It’s a tough way to spend five days, but the scenery and solitude are said to be awesome. Me? I’ll be kicking up my heels at Cañon Lodge with another glass of kuierwin and platter of locally-made treats…