A cold night and pre-dawn wake up followed as we jumped into the truck ready for a big drive south. Despite the early hour rather bizarrely there was a traffic jam leaving the campsite. This slight annoyance became a source of joy as we were able to savour an amazing sunrise across the Namib desert from our seats in the truck.

After stopping outside the campsite for some fuel and a shop stop, we drove on through the seemingly endless desert. To speed up the day, we had prepared our own lunches and so only stopped for absolute necessities. With the sun beaming in through the windows the chilly start to the day became a distant memory as we sweltered in the truck until eventually and with a little relief within the group, we reached camp at Hobas, 10km away from Fish River Canyon.

We had around an hour and a half free time which was very welcome as most people were fairly groggy after the journey and so needed some time to recouperate. Sitting on the edge of the campsite swimming pool, Kirsty found herself victim to a wasp sting but fortunately medical advice was not far away from Nicole, our fellow traveller and a nurse in her day job.

Patched up and ready to go, we all got a lift to Fish River Canyon, often quoted as the second biggest canyon in the world. Not sure what is meant by biggest but in anyone's eyes, it's truly spectacular! The views were stunning and a short walk along the canyon edge (made longer by several stops for photos) made even more special by the lack of other people preceded sunrise over the canyon enjoyed with a quaff of champagne at the viewpoint. A magical moment!!

Returning to camp, we enjoyed a pasta dinner around the campfire along with some marshmallows for afters.

Despite not having a long drive the following day, we got going at 7.30 as Steph was worried how long it would take us to cross the border into South Africa.