The Caprivi Strip - Namibia

Despite the fact some Germans played their radio quite loud we had a good night and slept well in the roof tent. At 7am we broke camp, made tea and had our cereal sitting on a huge termite mound looking over the river, it had been a nice overnight stop.   

Our destination today was the small town of Rundu where we hoped to get the roof rack welded before we headed to the Skeleton Coast. We had stayed here for just one night about 12 years ago when we hired a vehicle in Windhoek and 'did' Namibia for the first time, then it had few places to stay so it would be interesting to see how it had changed.

By African standards at 150 miles Rundu was just a hop skip and a jump away so we reached the outskirts before midday. We immediately saw a sign for Kaisosi River Lodge, which hadn't existed on our last visit so we decided to check it out before we carried on into town. Beverley the friendly receptionist showed us a room which cost N$ 770 per night B&B, camping was also available at N$65 p.p.p.n with each site having it's own shower and loo which was nice but being 9km off the main road plus some way out of town we decide to check out the other options.

In town we found a place called Gabus Garage which looked quite jacked up so we stopped to see if they could weld the rack. The garage was run by an Afrikaner guy called Marno who was built like the proverbial brick s**t house. As I feared he said they couldn't weld Aluminium but they could fit some bolts through the struts to help support them until we could get them welded, which probably would mean Lusaka on our way back to Malawi.

But by now it was lunchtime so he told us to come back at 2pm, this was no problem as we would use the time to check out the other lodges in town. First stop was Ng'andu Safari Lodge where an ugly, old, fat miserable white woman was on reception, the place also looked run down and grubby so at N$ 500 per night we were not impressed.

Next was the Sarasunga River Lodge, where we had stayed 12 years ago when it had poured with rain and our chalet had flooded but today was hot and sunny so we had no fears there. They had a room at N$430 per night with breakfast which was ok but a bit close to the poolside noise so we decided to check out a few more places before committing.

We just had time to check out two more camps before going back to the garage, Hakusembe River Lodge was 14 km out of town and at N$1,540 per night was too expensive but nice however their attitude was take it or leave it so we left it!

Last place was the Kavango River Lodge, dismal and dreary with loads of workmen watching your every move so at N$ 600 it was a definite no no and it was time to get back to the garage.  As soon as we arrived the mechanics started work but instead of using a mains drill to make the holes for the roof rack bolts they used a rechargeable which took ages but eventually they were done and at N$115 (£10) all in and with the journey we were facing they were a lifesaver!

By now it was nearly 4pm so we decided to cut to the chase and check into the Sarasunga to enjoy a sundowner and nice dinner, we even got our old room again. Our bill for B&B, dinner with drinks was N$ 620 (£55) even though it was 12 years since our last stay in Rundu the Sarasunga was still the best choice in town.

In the morning we left Rundu and headed West to Tsumeb but first we needed to get some cash, we had planned to pay the Sarasunga by credit card but the machine wasn't working because someone had stolen the phone cable three months ago!! 

One problem in Africa is finding ATMs that a) work and b) don't have massive queues and sure enough this morning we encountered both so we didn't get on the road till after 10am and it was over 200 miles to Tsumeb. The saving grace is Namibia is a big country with a very small population so the roads between towns are almost deserted and you can make good time providing the various road blocks don't hold you up.

Luckily on this route we only encountered two roadblocks and both were quite relaxed so we reached Tsumeb just before 3pm. We hadn't had the chance in Rundu to check email and the bank so our plan was to find an Internet cafe and then head on.

As we drove into town we noticed a campsite in a park like setting behind iron railings, normally we don't camp in towns but we could see people where camped there and it didn't look so bad so we thought as a last resort if we needed to stay overnight then we would camp there for the night.

The only Internet cafe we could find was at Travel North which  doubled as the town tourism centre. As we checked email we noticed they also had guestrooms so we asked the owner Gine what was available. All the double rooms were occupied except one where she was still waiting for confirmation the people would turn up so she might be able to let us have that one but could only let us know one way or the other later.

As it was as we packed up she came over and said we could have the room if we wanted it, it was at the rear of the building in a small courtyard so was very private and best of all we could park Rupert right outside and cool the fridges down on the mains so we felt lucky to get it, it was only in the morning we would realise just how lucky!

It was a very hot still night but the air conditioner in the room kept us nicely cool, we cooked and ate on the verandha and watch a very deep orange sunset, marred only by the buildings on the skyline and the electrified wire running along the top of the perimeter wall, Gine had been telling us that crime was on the increase in Namibia as the country became more affluent like South Africa before it it was attracting more criminals, a shame cos we had always found it to be a very safe place to travel.

Up at 7am we had a relaxed breakfast on the verandha then I went to check the Internet one last time and pay the bill while Sue packed up Rupert.  Even though it was still quite early a middle aged man was already on one of the terminals head down tapping away like crazy. As I sat down I thought the man looked vaguely familiar but didn't think anymore about it as I checked emails one last time, after here it was unlikely we would have contact with the outside world for about two weeks.

As I finished and went to pay the bill Gine suddenly said "weren't you planning to stay at the campsite last night if you hadn't got a room here"?  When I said yes we were she then said we had been fortunate because the campsite had suffered an armed robbery in the early hours of the morning and the man on the terminal had been caught up in it.

At this point the man jumped up and started gabbling on about how at 3.30am a group of about 15 white Namibians had been woken by the sound of one of their vehicle windows being broken. Going outside the campers were met by a gang of black robbers armed with knives and guns, a shot had been fired and one camper had been hit over the head.

The man was very shook up so didn't know what was stolen other than one campers soap bag of all things but he said he and his wife had camped next to the Namibians for safety!  It was only then that I realised who he was, he and his wife were the German couple we had seen at the border and then parked up in their Toyota Landcruiser sheltering from the rain at the Zambezi River Lodge at Katima Mulilo four days and 600 odd miles earlier!

When I mentioned that he blurted out that their camp table & chairs had been stolen while they slept in their vehicle that night so it seemed he and his wife had been doubly unlucky and we had been doubly fortunate.

Wishing him and his wife a safe journey and good rest of their holiday I left to re-join Sue. We needed to head off North Westwards towards Angola and the Kunene River, from here on human settlements would become smaller until they disappeared altogether. At the time we thought that was the last we would see of the Germans but we firmly believe in fate and it was to be our fate to meet them again!

Stopping just to post my sisters birthday card and to top up our supplies, fuel and cash we then headed off towards Ruacana and the Kunene River, Namibia's border with Angola, 435 kms away.  The day was hot, sunny with a blue blue sky and the road stretched ahead, virtually deserted.

By midday we had reached Oshivelo where we were stopped by an army/police roadblock checking driving licences, no problems otherwise.  Carrying on we passed a group walking along the road with various pieces of a freshly slaughtered cow, two were carrying the ribs, two the legs, one had the head and another couple pushed a wheelbarrow with the rest of the cow. God knows where they were going but in this heat we could only imagine the smell and condition of the meat!

During the day the scenery became just dry dusty scrub as we next passed a dead Donkey on the side of the road, no grass to speak of and no water so it probably died from starvation, thirst or both, we also saw young donkeys trying to suckle from their very thin Mum's and all the livestock was thin and weak looking, this was tough country but where we were going would make this place look like an oasis!

In the small town of Ondangwa we passed a hotel with a sign advertising rooms at N$15 a night or N$ 35 a day! With more cows than people wandering around we took the opportunity to top up with fuel! By 4.15 pm we were nearing the border with Angola as we reached Ruacana, our stop for the night. It was still early so we did consider carrying on to try and reach the Kunene River but as we had never travelled this route before and had no idea what we would find we decided to leave it till the morning.

The only place to stay that looked half decent in Ruacana was the Eha Lodge but as we approached the gate the cautious guard shouted to us that all rooms were fully booked, it seemed strange that a guard was the one to tell us this rather than the receptionist but clearly he wasn't prepared to let us in to find out. We flummoxed him however when we told him we were looking to camp as we could see the campsite was empty so he would have to let us in.

After thinking for a moment he allowed us in but told us the receptionist was in the shower so we should go to the campsite  set up camp and she would catch us later.  Even though it was a public holiday the campsite was empty so we had the pick of the 15 sites. In fact once we got in we were pleasantly surprised at how good the place was, plenty of shade and each site had power, a sink, cold water tap and lights, not too bad, the only thing was the loo's and showers were not very clean.

We only had to put up the roof tent and get our chairs and tables down so camp was set up within 10 minutes, Sue took the opportunity to wash some laundry as we were not sure when we would have running water and a sink next and in the heat it would dry very quickly as remembering the Germans tale we didn't want to leave anything out once we went to bed.

As we enjoyed a drink we had Rosy faced Lovebirds flying about in the trees which was lovely, we had never seen these in the wild before only in pet shops and having owned a pair of Fischer's Lovebirds for nearly 10 years in the 1980's we are very fond of these cute little birds.

After showers we had our dinner of sweet & sour chicken with rice washed down with G&Ts. By now it was quite dark and we could hear the shrill call of a bat close by finding him in the torchlight hanging upside down in the tree nearby. 

Just after 8pm a couple arrived and set up their tent on a site some way away from us, normally we would have been unhappy to share the campsite but considering what had happened in Tsumeb we were quite happy to now not to be the only people camping tonight. To bed at 11.30p before we went up into the roof tent we put away everything,  chairs, tables clothes etc and we took the mace, panga and cosh up to the tent with us just in case!