Fish River Canyon · 20 km east of the canyon on the C37

Canyon Roadhouse

Fish River Canyon, Namibia

A sixties roadhouse in the southern Namibian desert, full of vintage cars and motoring memorabilia, with twenty-four courtyard rooms, a pool and fuel on site. Bed and breakfast, and about twenty kilometres from the second-largest canyon in the world.

The stay

Old cars, cold drinks and a canyon down the road

Canyon Roadhouse is a lodge with a sense of humour. Weathered Chevrolets and Fords rust quietly among the quiver trees out front, you check in at a truck that has been turned into a reception desk, and the restaurant and bar are crammed with petrol pumps, number plates and transport memorabilia from a bygone era. In winter the old car cabs are fitted out as fireplaces.

Behind the theatre the stay itself is straightforward and comfortable. Twenty-four spacious rooms are arranged around courtyards, each with air-conditioning, an en-suite shower and a veranda, and there is a cold-water pool for the afternoons. Rates include breakfast.

The kitchen is a draw in its own right. Roadhouse specialities, an Amarula cheesecake with a following, and what Gondwana fairly claims is the best cappuccino for miles, served out on the terrace. For sunset, walk up the hill behind the lodge for the view over Holoog Mountain and the Gondwana Canyon Park.

It is also the practical stop in this corner of Namibia: fuel, tyre repairs and an ATM on site, and the canyon viewpoints about seventeen kilometres away.

Canyon Roadhouse with vintage cars out front

Restaurant and bar full of motoring memorabilia

Where you will sleep

Accommodation at Canyon Roadhouse

Twenty-four rooms around courtyards: nineteen twins, one double, three triples and one family room. There is also a campsite on the property.

Twin room at Canyon Roadhouse

Room interior and en-suite at Canyon Roadhouse

Rooms set around a courtyard at Canyon Roadhouse

Canyon Roadhouse with vintage cars out front

Restaurant and bar full of motoring memorabilia

Desert landscape of Gondwana Canyon Park

Twin or Double Room

Nineteen twins and a single double make up most of the lodge. Each room is spacious, set on a courtyard, with an en-suite shower, air-conditioning and heating, a tea and coffee station, a safe, a hairdryer, an umbrella and a veranda.
Three pairs of twins have an inter-leading door, which works well for families with older children or two couples travelling together.

Rates are bed and breakfast. There is only one double, so if you want one bed rather than two, ask early.

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Rooms set around a courtyard at Canyon Roadhouse

Room interior and en-suite at Canyon Roadhouse

Twin room at Canyon Roadhouse

Restaurant and bar full of motoring memorabilia

Canyon Roadhouse with vintage cars out front

Desert landscape of Gondwana Canyon Park

Triple Room

Three rooms take a third person, with three single beds in one open-plan space overlooking the central courtyard.
The same fittings as the twins: en-suite shower, air-conditioning and heating, tea and coffee station, safe, hairdryer, umbrella and a veranda.

With only three of them, they are worth requesting as soon as your dates are firm.

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Family room at Canyon Roadhouse

Family room with four single beds

Rooms set around a courtyard at Canyon Roadhouse

Room interior and en-suite at Canyon Roadhouse

Restaurant and bar full of motoring memorabilia

Canyon Roadhouse with vintage cars out front

Family Room

There is one family room, a spacious open-plan room on the courtyard with four single beds for four adults, or a family.
It is one room rather than two bedrooms, and the en-suite has a shower only. Otherwise the same as the rest: air-conditioning and heating, tea and coffee station, safe, hairdryer and a veranda.

If it is taken, two inter-leading twins are a good alternative. Under 5s stay free and 6 to 13 year olds pay half the bed-and-breakfast rate.

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What to do

Why stay at Canyon Roadhouse?

The Fish River Canyon is at its best when the sun is low and the shadows give the rock walls some depth. Staying twenty kilometres away means you can be at the viewpoints for the early light or back there for the evening, rather than seeing it at midday on the way through.

The guided canyon drives, nature drives and walks run by Gondwana leave from Canyon Lodge, nearby, and you need to get yourself there. The canyon drive includes park entry fees, a snack and refreshments. If you would rather not drive at all out here, tell us when you enquire and we will suggest the best way to do it.

This is one of several Gondwana stays in the Canyon Park, so a mixed group can split by budget without splitting up. The alternatives are a pitch at the Canyon Roadhouse campsite the stone-and-thatch chalets among the boulders at Canyon Lodge, and the Nama-style cottages at Canyon Village. Inside the park, Hobas is closest to the viewpoints, and Ai-Ais has the hot springs at the southern end.

Before you book

Check-in is from 14:00, check-out by 10:00
Rates are bed and breakfast; the restaurant serves dinner too, with its famous Amarula cheesecake
All rooms have showers only — there are no baths
There are no mosquito nets in the rooms
Guided activities depart from Canyon Lodge; you arrange your own transport there
Children up to 5 stay free; ages 6–13 pay 50%
On site: fuel station, tyre repairs and an ATM, plus a cold-water pool, curio shop, Wi-Fi, laundry and secure parking
Accessible for guests with limited mobility
Visa and Mastercard are accepted

Activities

Morning or afternoon canyon drive, about 3 hours to the two main lookout points, with park fees, refreshments and a light snack included
Sunset nature drive, about 3 hours in the Gondwana Canyon Park — it does not go to the canyon
Sunrise hike: coffee and rusks at a viewpoint, then about an hour’s walk back
Morning walk, semi-guided, about 3 hours into the Canyon Park
Self-guided hiking on marked trails of 2–3 hours, free — tell reception before you set off
4x4 //Garas self-drive, 47 km of marked tracks with a trail map — be out before sunset
Sunset from the hill behind the lodge, over Holoog Mountain

Getting there

On the C37 about 20 km east of the Fish River Canyon, in the Karas Region; the canyon viewpoints are about 17 km away
Go2 shuttle transfers run from Kalahari Anib Lodge to Canyon Lodge, stopping at Canyon Roadhouse — ask us to add one
GPS: 27°31′27.0″S, 17°48′53.0″E (−27.52417, 17.81472) — open in Google Maps

Desert landscape of Gondwana Canyon Park

Rooms set around a courtyard at Canyon Roadhouse

Photos

Canyon Roadhouse in pictures

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Video

Canyon Roadhouse on film

A look around the Roadhouse, its vintage cars and the canyon country nearby.

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