The name sounds like a village, but it is really a small settlement and camping area, and it exists because the canyon's main viewpoint is a short distance away on a gravel track.
What lies beyond is one of the great landscape features of southern Africa. The Fish River Canyon is roughly a hundred and sixty kilometres long, in places up to twenty-seven kilometres wide and around five hundred metres deep, and it is regularly mentioned as the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in the United States, though such rankings depend on how you measure. It formed through a combination of rifting and erosion over an immense span of time, the river cutting down through ancient rock layers while the plateau around it was pulled apart.
For a rider the approach is part of the experience. The long run in from the main highway is across empty, stony plains, the colours are all browns and greys, and the canyon comes with no warning at all. The road surface can change from tarmac to graded gravel, with corrugations in dry months and soft patches where drivers have cut the track. Go slowly on the loose parts, keep a loose grip and leave a wide gap from other vehicles to avoid stones.
Hobas is as practical as it is scenic. The campsite has shade from trees and a pool that visitors from many countries have praised after a hot day, and it is a sensible overnight if you want to see the canyon at sunrise or sunset, when the shadows deepen and the walls turn gold and rust. The Hiking Trail through the canyon, about eighty-five kilometres in five days, is open only in the cooler months from roughly May to September, and permits are required, so it is a project for another trip.
Summer heat here is serious. Temperatures climb well above what feels sensible on a motorbike in leather, so winter and the shoulder seasons are kinder. Bring water for the ride in and out, because help is not around the corner.