Epupa Falls

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Great travel scenery today. We flew in a 12-seat Cessna plane for the 3 hour trip from Swakopmund to Epupa Falls on the border with Angola. No toilet on this flight so water intake at breakfast is kept to a minimum. The route followed inland from the Skeleton Coast through the region called Damaraland. This is a mountain landscape with dry valleys between and very few tracks of vehicles for 100’s of kilometres. The occasional circle of acacia thorn branches seen below from 2000 metre height in the plane is evidence of cattle herders’ kraals. The mountains are relics of ancient craton collisions worn down to rounded sandy peaks. When it does rain here the evidence stays in the sandy soil stream beds where drought tolerant shrubs line the route of the occasional water. But no water anywhere today as the landscape is completely dry and empty.

Finally we arrive at Epupa Falls airstrip, also served by a single gravel road on the Namibia side of the river but nothing on the Angola side. The runway is soft sand and the pilot does a quick fly-by to ensure that no wildlife or domestic cattle or goats are wandering across the strip before he lands. This place is so remote that the pilot and plane stay with us for the two days of our stay.

The falls are dramatic and the river is flowing at full force. It is weird in such a dry landscape. The water comes from the Angola highlands to the north east and the water travels along the border between Namibia and Angola to empty in the South Atlantic 100 km to the west. Our accommodation is on the banks of the Kunene River 100 metres above the falls and the sound of the falls is always in the background. We are warned not to swim in the river because of crocs. We notice a few water monitors along the shores, but fortunately no crocs. The water runs over a 40 metre deep fault of 2 billion year old rock and sunset provides great photography setting.

The photograph objective is cultural – to visit a Himba village. Arrangements have been made before hand and we arrive in an open 4x4 festooned with cameras. These folk retain a unique life style. They live with their livestock in an enclosed coral, in small igloo-shaped homes made from acacia branches and covered with cattle manure. Most of the men are away shepherding the livestock and women are home caring for children. In spite of unbelievable conditions everyone looks healthy and happy. Our Himba guide talks about their traditions. At an early age the two bottom front teeth of boys and girls are knocked out with a stone and the roots gouged out. The women wear no tops and only short cattle skin skirts. They cover their skin with cattle fat and ochre to protect it from the sun and they never bathe. No problem, their skin looks perfect and healthy.

We then visit a local school. Children are chosen for school (apparently not every child goes to school) which is about 10 km away. So they stay at the school during the week and are home only on the weekend. At the school learning is as could be expected in Vancouver with chalk boards and chalk, except there are few desks or chairs in the class rooms and these rooms double as dorms every night. Two meals per day are provided which consists of porridge of maize meal dished out to each student from a huge black metal pot cooked on an open fire. Once again everyone is heathy, fit and full of normal children energy. We give the head master a donation and get his agreement to let us know how it is spent, for student accommodation or supplies.

Weather is warm and sunny for our visit here, and we are happy to use the mosquito nets in the chalet's at Omarunga Camp.

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