Southern Africa - Part2: Fish River Canyon

Early in the morning after a short visit of the waterfall we took of at Augrabies Falls airstrip for a half hour flight directly towards Upington (FAUP). In order to make this flight a fun one, we decided to fly low level again. However this time it was really really low across the Green Kalahari Desert in a height which felt as we were touching the trees. In Upington, we were cleared to land on one of the largest runways worldwide which has been built for spaceship landings. After refueling, customs and immigration we filed a flight plan to Keetmanshoop (FYKT) and called Namibian customs in advance that we would arrive in approximately 2 hours. **The flight to Keetmanshoop was again a direct routing crossing the border to Namibia, which surprisingly to us, was only a small fence running through the semi-desert. Keetmanshoop Airport is one of the largest airports in the area however uncontrolled and fairly deserted. As we arrived we paid landing fees and were advised we had to wait for an hour for customs and immigration since it was lunchtime. Finally, after over an hour three nice ladies arrived to check our passports, the GenDec, and our luggage. The last part of today’s flying took us from Keetmanshoop towards Fish River Canyon. Arriving at the Canyon entrance we descended into the canyon itself following its bends and turns a few feet above ground level giving us a feeling of podracing like Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars. ** As we approached Fish River Canyon Lodge we climbed out of the canyon for the final landing at their gravel airstrip on top of the canyon. The lodge itself is literally located at the edge of the canyon offering fantastic views we could enjoy after this “funtastic” flight.