Today we only have a short journey ahead of us and therefore some time to test the African version of bureaucracy. Our SIM card from the Namibian provider MTC, the “top dog” in the country, did not work, although it was booked by our tour operator Bwana Tucke Tucke was newly made available. Therefore, we first visit the MTC shop in Keetmanshoop and find out what is wrong with it.

The reason for the malfunction of the phone card is a registration requirement that goes far beyond the usual registration of the address in Germany. We are required to provide all personal information, take our passport and proof of address, e.g. a copy of the water bill (!), to the police for authentication. The card can then be registered and activated with their stamp.

My question as to whether they were all sane remained unanswered and I pointed out that I would have to do without the company's service. After many discussions and two levels of managers, the address of the tour operator, my passport, the booking confirmation for the trip and our return flight ticket were enough to temporarily activate the card. Time required: around 30 minutes for three people - not including the previous discussions. The Germans have the clock, the Africans have the time.

Then we finally move on and drive south to the Fish River Canyon. On the way we pass a "lost place", a former train station in Holoog. Nowadays there are only the remains of a train station, the ruins of a clay oven from the time of the German Schutztruppe and a railway line that no longer seems to have any significance for Namibia.

At the Canyon Roadhouse Once we arrive, we first enjoy the pool and relax. It's still a few hours until our planned tour to the Fish River Canyon and we explore the grounds of the lodge. Relics from the old days of the automobile world can be found everywhere and we also discover some German license plates.

Finally, we drive to the Canyon Lodge, where our tour starts. The advantage of our travel time is that we only have very few fellow travelers and in this case we enjoy the exclusive service of Gondwana for two. We go to several viewpoints of the Fish River Canyon, which is the second largest canyon in the world after the famous Grand Canyon in the USA. The tour ends with the obligatory sundowner, this time on the edge of the canyon.

In the dark, we drive from the Canyon Lodge back to the Canyon Roadhouse, where we are staying. This is not entirely safe in Namibia, as there is no street lighting and you can always expect wild animals. Today alone, we spotted springboks, oryx antelopes, ostriches and mountain zebras right next to the road. If one of these animals jumps onto the road right in front of you, braking on the gravel road is of little use and you quickly end up with another passenger in the car.