Swakopmund to Epupa: Bush Showers, Waterfalls and Swimming Lessons for Michael

After posting our last blog, we spent the day exploring the town of Swakopmund. Our accommodation was walking distance from the town centre, so we enjoyed stretching our legs and getting some excercise (Mom, you'd be pleased ;-)). Swakopmund is a great little town- small enough to see most of it, but also with enough people that there's a busy atmosphere. We window-shopped, visited Namibia Wildlife Resorts offices to enquire about the Skeleton Coast and  Etosha and even treated ourselves to coffee and a piece of cheesecake at Anton's- a well-known coffee shop. We also got a lovely dose of people company, bumping into a couple that we'd seen at most of the places we've stayed at so far and had a good chat to them (we found out that they are Swiss, but we call them The Mexican's because at one of our previous stops, we had read in the visitors book that the couple who arrived before us were from Mexcio.. and seeing the couple wearing sambrero-type hats, we incorrectly put two and two together, ha!). We also met a friendly couple from Natal, Brian and Gwyn, and really enjoyed chatting to them and hearing about their trip (they had spent three weeks in the North of Namibia, so we got some great advice on places to stay, birds to be spotted etc.).

After two nights in Swakop we drove inland for a short distance to the Spitzkoppe. The Spitzkoppe are huge mounds of enormous boulders plonked on flat ground. The campsite is run by the local community and each camping pitch is tucked away behind sections of these huge boulders. It is a beautiful, awe-inspiring place and unlike anything we have ever seen before. We booked ourselves in for two nights and looked forward to getting our first taste of 'roughing it'- there was no electricity, water or ablutions (except a long plop for each campsite).

We really relaxed there- spent the time walking through the reserve, swimming in the natural rock pools, bird-spotting, and reading. A highlight was having a Super Solar Shower, such fun and a real treat! It made us realise how priveledged we are to have hot, clean, running water 24/7 at home.

From there, the plan was to drive seaward again and head up the Skeleton Coast and camp at Torra Bay for the night. All went according to plan until we arrived at Torra Bay- a campsite open for the months of December and January only- that was overcrowded with fishing parties and would have cost us N$300 for the night plus an extra amount to have a shower!(we knew we were buggered the minute we entered the campsite. For starters we did not have 10 fishing rods, of varying lengths, strapped to the roof of the car and this was immediately noticed by the fishing parties and we got dirty looks over half full glasses of Brandy and coke.) So we had a quick look at the map and decided to push on inland for another 150km's to the Palmwag Concession in Southern Kaokoveld.

We camped the night at Palmwag Lodge, enjoyed their swimming pool and managed to agree to spend R70 on a personlised key-ring for Michael (fools!).

So, with expensive keyring hanging smugly from the ignition, we moved on the next day to Opuwo- a buzzing little town filled with a mix of people from the varying ethnic groups found in Namibia; Himba, Herero, Owambo, Mhlungu...over to G for the next bit...

After a short stay in Opuwo we headed further north to Epupa, to get a glimpse of the Kunene River tumbling down the falls. En route we stopped at a rather out of place German Fort that had been converted into a hotel. We had a coke and parted company with Sesfontein and it's fort. We were headed for the border of Namibia and Angola and the scenery slowly changed from semi dessert to a greener bush, but, just as many dry river beds were encountered (see insert on Namibian Roads). Epupa consists of a small village and a huge waterfall. One gets the impression that if the falls were not there then the village would cease to exist too as it relies soley on the tourism that the falls attract. We stayed at the Epupa Falls Campsite which is right next to the falls, so close that you are constantly srayed with a fine mist from the falls (like sitting at a Greenside Restuarant, minus the cuppucino, but, with a lot more flies). At times i thought we may be a bit too close to the falls and had images of the river rising slightly during the night and sweeping the Land Cruiser, Tent and all, over the falls. I am glad to say that did not happen, but, strangely, while sitting on the deck at the bar overlooking the falls, I got the urge on several occasions to jump into the raging torrent and try swim to a nearby reed island in the middle of the river just before the main falls. What I would do once I had got there, I was not sure, but the challenge was there. Again, I am glad to say that i never took up the rivers challenge as I am sure I would have been swept over the edge like a couple of tourists have been in the past. I concede, the river won.

Our 2 days at Epupa were awesome and it was the first time that we were able to just chill and not have to pack up camp and head off again. The sight of the falls from a nearby Koppie was amazing. The falls, consisting of hundreds of rapids and waterfalls, had enourmous Baobabs perched on rocky islands amongst the water. It also proved a good spot for a lifer or two and I managed to see the rare Rufous-Tailed Palm-Thrush. Very cool indeed.

We packed up camp and said good-bye to Epupa as our next stop was the Kunene River Lodge, which, as the name suggests,is right next to the Kunene on the border of Angola. We opted to do a bit of back tracking as the direct route, which followed a road along the river, was mostly flooded and we were keen to camp at the lodge rather than some mud pool en route. The lodge was amazing with huge trees in the campsite providing awesome shade (one of the 5 critical factors to making a good campsite) and in those trees were new birds to discover. We had a quick team meeting on the sun loungers next to the pool (another of the critical success factors) and made, in my opinion, the very wise decision to stay there for two nights as we had many chores to complete during our stay. We straight away commenced with one of the many chores and had a swim proceeded by a long read-off on the lounges, occasionally lifting our heads to survey the river or an interesting species of bird in the large tree above. It is tough in Africa, but someone has to do it. Another "job" to complete was a canoe down the Kunene. We were dropped off a couple of Km's upstream and left to navigate our way back to camp on our own. We did recieve a friendly warning by the guy who dropped us off that we could take a chance and swim in the river, which is home to a number of crocodiles, and, if we did swim he would just fetch his empty canoe as it drifted past the lodge. The paddle was brilliant, with not another soul around we were alone on this amazing river in Africa. The complete remoteness left us speachless as we drifted slowly among half summerged trees occasionally stopping at a small island to take in the sights. I am pleased to say that we found the lodge and that we missed the hungry crocs. Drink on the deck watching the sun set was a perfect way to end another great day in Namibia.

Time was moving on and our next destination was the Etosha National Park, but, it was not that simple. First we had to pilot Michael along 60km of the River Road to Ruacana. The manager at the Lodge said that we should make it and that the pools encountered along the road were small and there was always a detour if we wanted to chicken out. Well, "pool" is a very deceptive term, I would have perhaps used olympic size swimming pool to decribe sections of the road. At the first "pool" we came to, Ang, stick in hand, made sure it was shallow enough to pass through. It was and Michael ate it for breakfast. After a few more of these pools we were getting a bit cocky and at a particularly large pool (+/- 100m long), disregarded the detour and hit the water at pace. That pace was quickly reduced by the water which was a lot deeper than first thought and we had to drop Michael into 1st and give it serious horns through the water almost coming to a standstill a number of times. After what felt like a lifetime we were through, Michael spluttering a bit. Next time the detour would be used, and was with a little help from two Himba boys who, casually, climbed up onto the passenger side of the moving car, directing us with shouts of Yes Yes!!!, when following the right path and No No No!!! when I took the wrong route. Altough they gave us great directions they were also quite useful in deflecting a number of branches from scratching Michael, and Ange made sure they would not be swept off by clinging onto their arms. They were rewarded with a couple of apples, although, I think they may have wanted money rather, given that they shouted "money money money!" as we drove off. The worst was over and we quickly came upon the Ruacana Falls. We were lucky to see them in full flow as the dam built as part of a Hydro-electric power scheme has significantly reduced the flow of water over the falls. After taking a few pics, we carried on to Etosha!

Trip musings:
"Why has the pleasure of slowness disappeared? Ah, where have they gone, the amblers of yesteryear? Where have they gone, those heroes of folk song, those vagabonds who roam from one mill to another and bed down under the stars?" Milan Kundera
Slowness is a foreign concept to us back home, and this trip so far has provided us with a blissful, yet alarming introduction to it. Faced with so much time and so little to do, we felt guilty and lazy. But during the time we spent along the Kunene River, at both the Epupa Falls Campsite and Kunene River Lodge, we started to surrender to Slowness and its pleasures. We are looking forward to taking it in in larger doses in the weeks to come :-)

Things Grant has learnt:
1. Michael is not fond of swimming;
2. All the donkeys in Namibia are male and not shy to show you;
3. When a monkey poops on your car, it is better to let it dry in the sun and wind and then fall off rather than wipe it off when fresh. It also provides great entertainment on the open road as you watch the war of attrition between the wind and the poop.

Things Ang has learnt:
1. Scratching Grant under the chin feels just like scratching Bullie under the chin,
2. Examining other campers set-up structure and equipment through binoculars provides fantastic entertainment.

Meals:
Too many to mention, but some of the more palatable have been Bradwurst with garlicy potatoes, Spagetti with Basil pesto, veggie stew with cous cous, pap and boerie, veg and cashew nut curry.
Road trip tunes: David Gray, David Crowder, Dave Matthews Band, more Jesus Culture.
Backgammon score: Ange 5, Grant 3.
Camp set-up time: 30 minutes
Camp pack-up time: 60 minutes

Mom! Happy Birthday for yesterday, Hope you had a good one.