A relaxed departure as we were leaving at 0830 but were all still up before 0700 hours. Drive through increasingly rocky hilly plateaus until we reached Fish River Canyon. This is the second largest canyon after the Grand Canyon - except there us debate amongst those in the know as to whether it is actually a gorge. Eons ago there was much volcanic activity in the region which pushed the earth's fissures further apart creating this awe inspiring landscape. Due to the number of deaths amongst tourists people are I longer allowed at the bottom of the canyon unless they are doing an official multi day hike. We are allowed to walk along the top of it however from one viewing point to the next - which weeks after Tessa had discovered her third geo-cache for our trip. There are no fences or guide rails, just stunning vistas. We paused in our 40 minute stroll in the midday sun to hug a quiver tree. After lunch there was a short drive to our campsite at Ai Ais Hot Springs. We celebrated an early arrival with a lovely bottle of South African Chenin Blanc before going for a swim in the 30+ deg C water ... lots of splashing fun!