Hiking the Fish… With Struik Nature.

A new book is out and it is fabulous. When I hiked the Fish River Canyon I looked all over the place for good resources and tips for this hike. Well here is the perfect pocket sized guide to the Fish River… everything you need to know to plan, and perfect your trip. It is literally the ultimate guide and available from Struik Nature.

This hike is a challenging one, not only because of the difficult terrain, the heat, the aridness, but also because there is no going back. Once you step into the canyon, you loses contact with the outside world, and while that adds to the difficulty of the hike, it also adds to the joy. To completely escape from it all and immerse yourself in the wild, sleeping under the stars… it is an experience that can’t be beaten!!!

I was so excited to hear this book was coming out and when they asked me for photographs, I was even more excited… this book is as close as I have ever been to being in a book and is packed with photographs from my adventure through the Fish River Canyon…

Honestly I would not hike this trail without someone who had hiked it before, experience is key!!! I also wouldn’t hike this hike without the Slingsby map in my pack. One of the key tips is hike as light as you can, and that being said, I would probably pop this book into my pack… it is packed with invaluable information and they have purposefully made it fairly small and compact, it would actually fit into a pocket.

1. Chapter 1 Introduction: This book takes a lot of the difficulty out of the hike: the planning, the paperwork, even what to pack… literally all the authors have left for you is to hike the hike. The introduction includes the background to the canyon, about the rocks, plants, animals and people of the area… even a section on the stars, which are epic. There is also a handy “highlights” map, so that you can see how far you have come, things to look out for, and so that you can notice the landmarks you are hiking through.

2. Chapter 2 Planning your hike: This chapter is invaluable, all the details on the preparation, including the paperwork you need, not just for the hike, but for the border post, since most hikers will be entering Namibia from South Africa.

3. Chapter 3 Packing the right gear: What to pack, what to wear, what to eat… and what about emergencies? It is a lot to figure out in advance and this is one hike that you simply have to keep going to get out. So preparation is key. I was lucky enough to have all my meals prepared by Forever Fresh, most hikers will not have that advantage, there is a great meal plan in here. You need Chapter 3, to tell you exactly what you need to pack, including what to pack it in… there are so many packs on the market and it is good to hear, from folk who have hiked the hike, the actual requirements.

4. Chapter 4 Fish River Canyon Trail – Day by Day: If you,like me, want to know what you are heading into, then this chapter is it, step by step details on what you will find throughout the canyon. A day-by-day explanation, and landmark-by-landmark… if you don’t have someone in your party who has been before, you absolutely must have this.

Thank you so much to our two very experiences authors: Lizet Meyer and Henk Blanckenberg for a fantastic resource.

1. Se7en’s Guide to Hiking the Fish River Canyon with Forever Fresh.
2. Introducing the Fish River: Day 0 – The Descent.
3. Day 1: To the Vespas…
4. Day 2: To the Hot Springs…
5. Day 3: To Somewhere Far…
6. Day 4: To the German Soldier…
7. Day 5: To the Finish…


This book was given to us for review purposes by Struik Nature. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.