Day 15 - Kwando es la hora de cerveza?

16:50
We have much upon which to catch. Firstly, my long and successful sleep was neither. I woke up in a strop and tizz from a weird dream about 04:15, and couldn’t get back to sleep. I won’t bore you with the details, but Vicki may - if you ask her nicely… Anyways, I decide a morning of chill is in my future. I sit outside on the deck, listening to the world awaken with the dawn. Hippos make the most brilliant noise. It’s a deep, womp womp womp womp. It is LOUD. I love the sound as I fall asleep, I love it as I wake up. It’s a deeply comforting noise.

I have a couple of coffees, I tidy and get packed, aaaaaaaand it’s still only 06:00. Today could feel a bit of a slog. I read in the hammock a while, and have the vaguest hope that I might drop off for a nap, but those couple of coffees are halting progress in that direction.

Around 08:00, I get the truck packed up, check out of Ngepi, and get on the road. I’m sad to be leaving Ngepi. If I return to Namibia, and particularly this part of it, I’ll be sure to roots down here for a few days. I stop in Divundu for some fuel, and to get my tyre pressures checked. I’ve a sneaking suspicion my rear-left tyre has a very slow puncture, but it’s holding up to around 2 bar reasonably well. I grab some braai groceries as well, as I’ve a few nights of fireside cooking to come.

The drive is 200km of not very much. This whole strip of Namibia, previously called Caprivi after German Chancellor Leo Von Caprivi, and renamed more recently the Zambezi strip, is essentially all national park, with a spine of paved road running all the way through it. As a result, the drives down that spine are pretty featureless - all the action is happening a few hundred metres either side of the road.

Around midday, I pull into Kwando Bush Camp, a campsite on the banks of the Kwando River. It’s really well equipped - a lapa for cooking and hanging out, and a very well set-up bathroom type situation. It’s RIGHT on the river bank, and I’m told there’s a significant chance of some wildlife padding through the campsite at some point.

I head out for an afternoon game drive to the nearby Kwando national park. It’s some of the toughest driving I’ve encountered so far. It’s super soft and super fine sand. I immediately engage the low range 4x4 mode, and lock the rear differential. I feel a little more confident, but am still slipping and sliding all over the place. At one point, I have to pass another truck, and nearly career into the dude. I’m spending so much time watching the track that I’m barely looking out for wildlife. I do see some waterbuck down by the a river, but that’s about it. You can always spot a waterbuck, as their bum looks very much like they’ve just sat on a toilet seat that’s recently been painted white. About 30 minutes in, I start to feel a little queasy. I decide I could do with lie-down, and head back to camp.

When I get there, I start unpacking my tent. It’s 38C today, and I’m struggling. I think about having a cold shower to cool me down to get the tent up, then reason that:

1) This is ridiculous, and
2) Even if I get the tent up, it’s gonna be fucking volcanic in there for a good few hours.

I ponder for a while, and decide to look for alternative lodgings. Just not sure I can face tenting tonight.

There’s a lodge about 35km down the road that looks fab, and is half priced for tonight, I assume as they haven’t sold all their rooms. I’ll take it. I smash down the road, and arrive around 15:30. There’s a short amount of confusion, as I booked via booking.com, and the confirmation hasn’t arrived from them yet. It all gets sorted soon enough. Meanwhile, I sit on the incredible verandah, overlooking the waterhole on the Kwando, and chatting to a family of elephant.

At 16:00, my room is ready, and my new best friend, Moses, walks me over. At night, I’ll be escorted by a night guard, because animals. The room is gorgeous. A deck overlooking the waterhole, a beautiful big bed, a powerful a/c unit, and a massive rainfall shower. Yes please. I settle in for a chill and chill. Dinner at 19:30. Maybe a nap….

21:30
I doze, rather than sleep. I have the world’s best shower. I don a shirt, an actual shirt, for dinner. That’s how smart this place is. Dinner itself is a treat - the highlight being a roasted fillet of beef, served with a smoked potato mash, an excellent red wine and juniper sauce, and some roasted vegetables. I’m beyond tired, and head back to my room a little before 21:00. The night-guard thing - I gently rib the dude with the torch while we’re walking back - along the ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ line. I’m doubtful right up to the point where we come face-to-face with a hippo, which is a bit of a surprise. Thankfully, it’s got a clear route back to the water, and we chase it off using the power of torch. It does a less than graceful belly-flop into the water, and all is well with the world again. I will no longer take the piss about the night-guard.Read more