Balmorhea State Park Texas

The main feature of Balmorhea State Park is its natural warm water pool. Temperature of the water all year round is around 22C to 24C (72F to 76F). Unfortunately the day I as there it was just barely over freezing all day and I found the water too cold for this weather when I tried to go in. In fact the only creature in the water were ducks and fish.

It is a huge, beautiful deep pool.

The campsite was quiet and clearly built for summer camping with shelters to create some shade at each site.

After a cold night the local sparrows were trying to keep warm under the roof shingles of the shelters. They made quite a racket but there were fun to watch. You can see the frost on the shady side of the shingles.

Ai Ais Hot Springs, Namibia

As I said in my previous spot Ai Ais Hot springs is not one of those places you go to for the accommodation. The campsite is Ok, though most spots have no shade, which in Namibia can make a difference, but then of course at least you have the springs. Most of all we were lucky because New Year, and in general summer I am told is a quiet time of the year. But apparently in winter the place can be packed, full to the brim with people camping pretty much on top of each other. The hotel has an interesting design (sorry no photos) with a long central hall where pools of different temperature are set and along each sides there are two storeys of room opening onto the pools. This unfortunately, I am told, and I easily believe, makes for noisy rooms.
The semi-detached cabins are just plain boring, very square, plain and "normal".

If you have the equipment camping is really the way to go. But if you don't go anyway and stay in in one of their accommodation, which ever you can afford. It is not as if you are likely to spend much time in your room!

The springs are in a valley, the Fish River Valley. In fact this is the end point of the famous Fish River Canyon hike.

The "resort" is on the side of the valley which is not very wide at this point. When we were there is never rained so the valley remained dry but flash floods are known to rush through.

There are interesting walks/hikes with beautiful views, but for me this was a "rest and relax" holiday so I didn't do any hiking. In summer (New Year is summer on this side of the equator) the Fish River Canyon hike is closed due to possible flash floods and possible dangerously high temperatures.

The campsite is fairly typical of southern African campsites where everybody is meant to be next to each other. In Canada if you can see the site of your neighbor you consider the site to not be great, in southern Africa the vegetation does not allow for this type of privacy, you just hope for  little bit of shade.

Typical South African tents (I saw the same set up in Australia) with the tent on the roof of the vehicle.

The facilities where OK. but again this is not why you want to be there.

We did manage to get good shade, and we were right by the pool. You can't see it but we traveled in comfort and in fact have 2 tents.

For some reason I didn't take many pictures of the pool itself. Probably because it just looks like a very large totally normal pool. The real treat is when you get in and the water is just perfect!

When we were there the place was very quiet and it made for beautiful days, but particularly beautiful mornings.
You are missing something if you have not experience a sub-saharan African morning.

Driving to Ai Ais Hot Springs - Namibia

For New Year I drove to Ai Ais Hot Springs in Namibia. First I drove from Johannesburg to Springbok. I love the drive to Springbok, especially the part from Upington to Springbok, you get fabulous road "mirages". Vehicles coming over the "mirage" seem to float and even have a reflection in the mirage entirely as if this was water.

Then with my friend R. From Springbok, and using her vehicle which is much more practical than my "toy" car and her camping equipment we drove to Ai Ais Hot springs in Namibia.

To cross the border you have to cross the Orange River.

As soon as you cross the river the landscape changes drastically and you can just tell that you are in beautiful Namibia.

We stopped along the way a few times to enjoy the views, for me to look at the rocks etc. An I found this pretty amazing grass hopper..... do you still call it a grass hopper when there is no grass? Look at the size of it!

The entrance into the actual park (Ai Ais Hot Springs) is a complete non-event. the big difference is that out of the park there are fences all along the road, inside the park you are in a fence-free area, always a treat.

It wasn't a dream it was Ai Ais National Park

This is out camp at the hot springs.

Now you're going to have to wait for me to blog about the actual hot springs. For now all I will say is: if you have a chance to go, do not hesitate and go. You can camp or rent a room or a small semi-detached cabin. This is not a place you go to for the accommodation, you have to go there for the surroundings and the fabulous warm water. The temperatures I would guess were around 40C (104F) in day time and probably as low as 18C (64F) some nights and in either temperature the water felt wonderful... but then again I am a hot spring junky.

One more Look at the Area near Miette (Jasper National Park)

One last post about my last road trip in Canada. I started by going back to Miette Hotsprings (where I had already been once this year). It was a beautiful fall this year and it was nice to go back.

This one (below) is not actually near Miette. It is on the way there, where I camped the first night. The Drive from Calgary to Miette can easily be done in one day if you feel so incline but I didn't want to rush especially since I drove the David Thompson Highway to get there and from my point of view this has to be one of the nicest drive in the Rockies ...and that has to be saying something.

The area around the hotsprings is just amazing. Unfortunately this year there seem to be quite a few cougar incidents in the Rockies and the campsite closest to the hotsprings was closed because a cougar had killed a dog. So I ended up "camping" on the parking lot of the springs which was not as nice as being in a campsite with a fire it etc and I ended up staying for less than a week.

I don't think I can ever get tired of this particular mountain ridge (Roche Miette).

I did a lot of hiking, especially since I was supposed to be training for my trip to Patagonia (which has been canceled obviously otherwise I would be there right now) and looking at the photos I have I was surprised to see that I do not have pictures from the hiking. It is probably because I was into training and carried a heavy backpack (loaded with books!!!) more than into photo taking.

Here is a photo of hte view from Sulfur Skyline I took in August this year (the first time this year I stayed at Miette).

You can see the hotspring facilities in the valley and Roche Miette in the distance to the right.

The Columbia Valley, close to Radium Hotsprings

A lot has happened since I last blogged. I  guess I just wasn't into it.
I sort of did a Canadian "road trip".
I left Canada and flew to Santiago where I spent 2 nights on my way to South Africa.
And now I am in Johannesbug where it is summer. Unfortunately I just missed a record heat wave with highs in the high 30C which is quite hot for Johannesburg.

About the so called road trip..... I did intend to do a Canadian road trip but in the end didn't go very far at all.
I drove to Jasper National Park and spent  a few days there but mostly spent my time in Radium, British-Columbia.
I had been to Radium before but never really stopped. Surely you all know that there are hotsprings in Radium and of course it was the original reason for me to go there. I meant to drive through, soak for a day or so all while figuring out where I wanted to go next but somehow I got stuck there and spent all my time in Radium.
Radium is at the western edge of the Rockies on the edge of the Columbia Valley with the Purcell Mountains on the other side of the valley.

The Columbia Valley is beautiful and Radium's location allows for hiking in open spaces (in the valley) as well as in the mountains. I hiked everyday (not always a great big hikes) and discovered some fabulous spots. Between the hiking and the soaking in the hot springs I found time to fly kites (I hadn't flown kites in a long time but I do really enjoy it), sit in local cafes, read books etc. All together this trip was a success.

Here are some photos of the Columbia Valleys by Radium.

Elsey National Park hot springs, Australia

I am a fan of hot springs and near Kakadu (just south of Katherine) in the northwestern Australia you have Elsey National Park where there are hotsprings. They are only 32C (which for me is a little cool) but they are very very nice. They basically are a deep stream (or maybe small river) and you get into them at one end (there are stairs, the only modification to the natural setting) you get in and let yourself float down about a hundred metres where there are another set of stair and you can walk back along a small path and do it all over again. I am not a great swimmer but I swam back upstream and I can tell you that the current is a lot stronger than it seems. The stream is too deep to stand but there are some logs under water where you can rest along the way.

The water is blue and clear and you can see small fishes swimming around.

It is a wonderful place and if you find yourself in northwestern Australia I higjly recommend it. My recommendation is to go to the "Bitter springs" and not to the Rainbow Springs because the rainbow springs are very very busy, they are small and they are completely developed, though the water is still natural and has no chlorine added.

They are great and if you find yourself in northwest Australia I highly recommend going there. I will add that you should go to the Bitter Springs instead of the Rainbow Springs because the Rainbow Springs are very very busy, much smaller and totally developed, though the water is still natural and has no chlorine added. There is a private and somewhat decent camp site within walking distance of the Bitter springs. While in the are I also recommend the rest of Elsey National Park there is a very nice campground and if you are OK swimming in normal temperature water there is excellent swimming holes in the river. This is the only place in the are where you can swim in a natural setting without having to worry about crocodiles.

Hotsprings I visited in Canada

All together during my trip in Canada I visited  five hotsprings, in the order in which I visited them they are:

Liard hotsprings on the Alaska  Highway in northern British Columbia right by the Yukon border.
Nakusp hotspring in southern British Columbia on the east shore of Arrow Lake, an hour south of Golden for people who know the area
Radium hotsprings in Kootenay National Park only 250 kilometer from Calgary
The least known of them all Lussier hotspring in Whiteswan Provincial Park 80 some kilometers south of Radium hotsprings and 18 kilometres off the highway (but still drivable).
Banff Upper Hotsprings, obliviously in Banff, so very close to Calgary (about an hour and a half drive from Calgary) I felt I had to stop there on my way back from Radium and Lussier last week.

My absolute favourites are Liard Hotsprings. They have little development (a board walk, a change room a wooden deck with steps) but the surroundings are totally natural, and they are VERY hot close to the source. The pool is so big that this allows to choose the temperature you like by choosing how close you want to be to the source.

 Lussier Hotsprings, they also have little development: a dirt road to get there, a path to walk to them and just some pool built with local rocks (no cement) the proximity of the very cod river makes them extra special for me because I like a cold plunge after/during soaking in hotsprings. they are unfortunately reputed to be very busy in summer but in the fall (I am just back from a short trip to Whiteswan Provincial Park) they were never busy, BUT I was never there alone either..... even on week days.

Nakusp Hotsprings, they are fully developed, so they are chlorinated, but they have a VERY hot pool as well as a normally hot pool and they have a reasonably priced campsite right by the hotsprings. The surroundings are pleasant and there are a few good hikes starting right from the hotsprings.

Radium Hotsprings, are basically hot pools, one of them they call "cold pool" and is design to swim lanes. Obviously they are chlorinated and since they are right by the road they can be too busy.

My least favourite of them all were Banff Hotsprings. They are alright but they are so developed that really they just feel like a hot pool. I don't even have photos of them.