The Caprivi Strip in Namibia.

We traveled North again to a town called Rundu which is on the border of Namibia and Angola and a border post so a lot of Angolans come across the border to trade in Rundu.

I was wondering what to expect so entered the town with full security happening. You know the drill windows up, doors locked and not prepared to stop for anyone other than the Namibian Police. We didn’t need any of that in the end because it was a lovely friendly town the we both felt very safe walking around in. We stayed at a campground just on the outskirts of the town and on the Cubango River which seperates Namibia from Angola. I’m not sure why but this was a big place with many cabins and a big camp area but we were one of only three lots of people staying there. In Rundu the next day we had the Land Cruiser have it’s 20,000 kilometre service done at the Toyota dealership and all was good with it. We left the next morning to travel only about 200 kilometres to the town of Divundu and stayed at a campground called Nunda Riverside Lodge still on the Cubango River but this time the camp sites were full and so were the lodges. The next morning we were up early and drove into the Bwabwata National Park and did two sections. Most of this area was used by the military and most of the animals had largely been shot out but since the fighting has stopped the animals have come back and the area now proclaimed a National Park. The first area was called the Buffalo Core area and ran along the East side of the Cubango River and we saw three lions, lots of buffalo and elephant, many water buck, warthog and an amazing number of different birds.

We stopped and had our morning coffee break under a big shady tree on the banks of the river because there are no restrictions about staying in you car but it turned out we saw the lions not far from this same spot!

Then after a quick lunch on the side of the road we went into the Mahango Core area which ran along the West side of the river and had a totally different vegetation and again many animals including giraffe, zebra, elephant, blesbok and some massive Baobab trees. It was a great day and we didn’t get back to camp until about 5.30pm so opted to dine in the restaurant. We had a set menu and the main was roast Oryx and it was the best meat we had had since coming to Africa. While at Nunda Riverside Lodge we met a couple from Cape Town Boetie and Imme who we really got on well with and had a lot in common. We hope to catch up with them again in Cape Town.

We then moved on another 200 kilometres to Divundu and stayed another two nights at Camp Kwando on the Kwando River. We opted to take a boat ride up the river the next morning and when we got to the designated start spot realised that we were the only ones today so we felt very special. Our Captain Alfred was fantastic pointing out all the different birds and telling us all about the eco system of the river and it is a very healthy river I can tell you. He also told us how his people use so many of the plants for food as well as making things like rope, reed fences and reed mattresses.

We saw may animals as well including buffalo, water buck, a baby crocodile and lots of hippopotamus.

On our return to the lodge Pauline needed to go to the loo and discovered a hideaway for some bats in there! 

From here we start the journey back down south to the Okavango Delta.