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Published: July 30th 2010
“To my mind,the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time,to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted”.Bill Bryson.No chance of our taking anything for granted as we left Island View Lodge with heavy hearts.But somehow a new day,direction and destination lifted our spirits as the two vehicles headed west into the Caprivi region of Namibia.Instinctively the radio was flicked on and interestingly some German oompah type song was belting out.This was once upon a time a German colony but the fact that this was Radio Thombela in modern day Namibia…well!To cap it the announcer sprouted away in German.It is fairly well known that the Germans visit Namibia in numbers in search of the sun and to experience the charms and wilds of the African bush.This got the thought processes into top gear and a quick recap of our recent history makes for an intriguing tale.I recollect that in the mid 1960’s the Nationalist Government in South Africa sort of annexed Namibia(then South West Africa)and stuck a puppet administration in place to supposedly keep everyone happy.After all,at that time,the Nats
were at the height of their rule and were somewhat stoically carrying out their social engineering(apartheid)plans.Not unsurprisingly some of the indigenous people in SWA didn’t take kindly to all of these shenanigans and a political group by name of SWAPO came into being.They scuttled off into Southern Angola and started fighting a terrorist type campaign against South Africa.At the same time South Africa was fighting a low intensity war against terrorists operating out of Botswana,Zambia and Zimbabwe.Then to compound matters the Cubans,with a push and a prod from the Russians,arrived in Angola to assist anyone wanting to give South Africa a bloody nose.Because the Caprivi borders all of the countries mentioned above it became a really “hot” military area.The Nats told anyone who cared to listen that this was a communist incursion but it took a long time and many lost lives before the realization finally dawned that this was a war they would never win.The rest of course is history and we now have a vibrant and exciting country thanks in no small measure to Nelson Mandela who pulled us back from the brink of civil war.Today the Caprivi is a tranquil region with no obvious scars of battle.After
a pleasant meander of some 120km’s we crossed the Kwando River bridge and effectively entered the Caprivi Game Reserve which covers a vast expanse of this north west tip of the country.The Kwando River feeds into the Okavango Delta and the strong flow of water confirmed that Angola(it’s source)had a very wet summer.A turn to the left off the tarred road put us onto our first real bush track and it was a timely reminder that this is 4 x 4 country.About 13kms further down the sand track we arrived at the entrance gate to the Nambwa camp site.What an absolute gem!Bruce Birkett is the “John Platter” of wine fame equivalent when it comes to rating camp sites and his first reaction as we set up camp was that this was his best to date(he has stayed in a good few!).Hopefully the pictures herewith will provide a fitting portrait of our view looking across the river to a wetland whilst sitting under magnificent shady trees.There are no fences around this six site camping area located along the river banks.The ablution block is spotlessly clean with hot water provided by solar energy.Having set up camp,a two hour game drive confirmed that
this broadleaved woodland is teeming with lechwe,kudu,impala and elephants.There are lions but these proved elusive to find.Sitting around the roaring campfire watching the African bush around us winding down for the night was superb.Throw in a near full moon and it provided the sort of setting which would have had Robert Roarke struggling to find the right prose to compose the story.Another fine potjie meal,crafted by Megan,washed down with Katimo’s endless supply of Tall Horse Shiraz brought an evening to remember to an end.The roof top tents proved to be cosy and very comfortable and with the grunts of hippos close by,sleep came easily.Now as good as the evenings are,the early mornings are equally spectacular.At daybreak the bird calls trumpet forth in intensity and variety in that eerily quiet first light of day.The thin crimson smudge on the skyline as the sun stuck it’s head up added to the wonder of dawn in the bush.A second game drive provided an opportunity to take in the wooded areas along the Kwando River.Winter leaves little doubt that the rains have gone and small trees and shrubs are mostly dry with their ghostly grey and rusty brown colours.The tall grasses are creamy white
as they gently sway in the breeze and the large,impressive evergreen trees provide a blush of different hues of green.Due to the huge volume of water that has flowed south in all the rivers rising in Angola,there are vast flood plain areas some way from the river.Surprisingly there is little evidence of bird life on these water pans which we can only surmise is due to the fact that they don’t produce food in any abundance.On the subject of birds our tally is now an impressive 145 and a fair amount of time is spent bird spotting.Now…one of the things that really gets “birders” excited is a first sighting(or “lifer”)and Nambwa delivered two….the Rufous Bellied Heron and Red Billed Francolin.For the Elliotts,the sighting of a small number of Violet Eared Waxbills was a “lifer”.After another splendid evening spent around a roaring campfire,we all drifted off into slumberland keenly aware that we had just spent time in a special little chunk of the African bush.Before our departure the next morning,a rating system was devised for evaluating the camps to be stayed in.Criteria include�)Wildness(2)Views(3)Ablution facilities(4)Camp environs(5)Uniqueness.Each has a maximum score of 5 and our overall average for Nambwa was 4/5.On the road again on 26th July meant a new direction and destination.The tarred road heading west through the Caprivi is good and with no hills to speak of,it is dead straight so covering about 200kms goes by in a flash.No sightings of elephant along the route despite many signs exhorting drivers to watch out for them.The one observation was the large number of 4 x 4’s pulling trailers or caravans on a similar mission to ours.Many are from the Western Cape region which kind of suggests they do get tired of “that mountain” and maybe the lousy winter weather.Nevertheless,the “grey nomads” are on the move.A small village by name of Divundu provided an opportuntity for a mini re-stock of some essentials but,more importantly,it meant a left turn to our next camping site at Ngepi.Once again we are right on the banks of the Kavango River under magnificent trees.This a large river some 400-500 meters wide and feeds into the Okavango Delta just a little further down.Setting up camp is becoming a doddle with the slick and well organized Birketts getting things sorted in next to no time at all(Elliotts learn each time).This camp is more “up market” boasting a pub and restaurant and is quite obviously a major stop off point for the hordes of overlander groups traveling in the region.There are many small touring groups of overseas people moving around in specially constructed and equipped vehicles.Still…..it is so discreetly laid out you don’t feel any pressure from camping neighbours.The toilets and showers are quirky and designed to convince one that you are really showering or abluting in Africa.About 20kms from Ngepi is a secluded game reserve by name of Mahangu which we traversed for a good few hours.Once again the presence of a large river nearby,which had recently burst it’s banks,meant that there were many flooded pan areas teeming with water birds feasting on fish,frogs and other morsels.Large dumps all over the place confirmed that there were lots of elephant but they proved elusive to find.Animals spotted which we hadn’t seen in Nambwa included buffalo and wildebeest.On the birding front much excitement as we chalked up another “lifer”….a Red Necked Falcon.The one feature of Ngepi were the night sounds….elephant trumpeting on the opposite bank plus the deep grunts of lion somewhere in the Caprivi Reserve.And then through the night the hippos provided their distinctive grunts and were very close by…in fact were it not for the gouged out and steep river banks,we could well have had them wondering around the camp site.And then to crown it all the unmistakable call of the Fiery Necked Nightjar in the early hours of the morning was a gentle reminder,hardly needed,that this was Africa.On our rating system we gave Ngepi 3.25/5.This method of camping and traversing these beautiful regions of the Caprivi is addictive and what better way of feeding a growing addiction problem than heading off to Botswana.The road will take on a definite southerly tack on the morning of 28th July and Botswana beckons…….
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Amy Hector
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Bliss!!!
Wow, it truley sounds MAGICAL there in Africa! Your descriptions once again have me right there with you guys (I wish!). Although we are not so hard done by ourselves: at present we are at the beautiful unspoilt coastline of Cape st Fransis; a real gem of a place. After sorting out a bee problem in my parent's bathroom (where else but Africa-gotta love it!) we got settled into their lovely beach home -away- from -home. Please send my love and big thanks to my special parents. I am so glad they have such good friends to travel with! ENJOY...CARPE DIEM!!! Love Amy