Everything is clean and simple, from the latrines to the solar heated bucket showers - simple, that is, for the guests: Lex and Loes have had to buy every item of building material, furniture and food from Keetmanshoop, some six hours' round trip away, or from Windhoek.The evening of our arrival, just after the sun had set leaving a streak of yellow and duck egg blue in the west, the full moon rose from the direction of South Africa's gold fields. Seven guest tents have been permanently pitched on stone bases along the very edge of the canyon with a view across miles and miles of fissures, gorges, hanging valleys and plateaux to a range of table mountains beyond. First they must produce a recent doctor's certificate, as the only way to bring in medical aid is by helicopter from Windhoek, the capital, 700km away. And they must carry with them all their equipment, from tents to food and cooking utensils.Wanting more comfort, we opted for a newly opened alternative, the camp at the Canyon Nature Reserve, which has been set up by Lex Van Den Bosch, a Dutch biologist and tour guide, and his partner Loes Bolle.

Now 100 miles long and up to 16 miles wide, this natural wonder is second only to the Grand Canyon as a gouge in the globe.Every year the Ministry of Environment and Tourism allows a limited number of hikers to spend five days walking 53 miles of the canyon's meanders - from the Main View Point opposite Hell's Corner to the hot springs at Ai Ais. Then some 500 million years ago, a fault opened up among them. Widened by glaciation and altered by more faults and wind erosion, canyons within canyons were formed until 50 million years ago a river began to flow down them. In the mists of geological time, a sea bed was lifted miles above the level of the ocean and weathered into ranges of table mountains. At ground level - amongst sand and quartzite boulders - grew fat succulents, southern Africa's answer to the cactus.Some 110 miles from the town of Keetmanshoop, invisible until you are almost on top of it, the Fish River Canyon is a huge tear in the face of the earth. At regular intervals, interspersed with the huge nests of sociable weaver birds, we passed pale chanting goshawks on the telegraph poles, watching for prey.

But we were delighted by the unseasonal storm for, though the Fish River itself was no longer running when we arrived, water was still cascading down the creeks and seeping through the Canyon floor to replenish the permanent pools. We drove down to base camp across mile after mile of high desert and scrub savannah. Worried and apologetic because of the state of the rough lane, the manager of the Canyon Nature Park rang to warn us that the camp could only be reached in a 4x4. Over two-and-a-half days, 74mm of rain fell in the Fish River Canyon - a whole year's rainfall. The gravel road was covered with treacherous drifts of sand deposited by ephemeral rivers; part of the lane leading to the canyon itself was washed away and the airstrip was filled with fissures created by swift flowing floods.

Charter flights direct to Luxor operate through companies such as Tradewinds (01706 260000) or Thomson (0990 502399) Expect to pay around pounds 250 for a flight.. This consumer pressure has improved the health of all livestock used in the tourist trade. To get to Luxor you need a visa for Egypt: contact the Egyptian Consulate- General, 2 Lowndes Street, London SW1X 9ET (0171-235 9777) for more information, and check with the Foreign Office (0171-238 4503) for the latest travel advice for the region. And it turned out Mohammed liked bananas.The Brooke Clinic for sick animals has a hospital in Luxor, and suggests all visitors refuse to hire unhealthy donkeys. As I stood there bargaining, Mohammed hit Casanova on the haunches.