Namibia & Botswana: The Okavango

On Day Day 18 of the trip, we set off for our next stop, in Namibia's Caprivi strip. This long finger of land sandwiched between Angola, Botswana, and Zambia, a relic of colonial times, was named after a prominent German nobleman of the early 20th century and recently renamed the Zambezi strip. To get there, we decided to cross two borders, to Botswana and then into Namibia, in order to avoid the notoriously poor road that passes directly through Zambia towards Namibia at Katima Mulilo.

By noon we arrived at the Zambia-Botswana border crossing by ferry at Kazangula, where as expected we were promptly swarmed by a group of fixers and money changers. It was the most hectic of the four crossings I experienced so far and we had a rather unpleasant experience with a money changer who convinced the ferry operator not to let us on until we paid a rate much higher than the official one. But once on, we enjoyed the quick ferry ride over the Zambezi into Botswana where we were welcomed by a much quicker and more efficient border post.

The crossing into Botswana was a lesson in the enduring importance of the colonial legacy and the national borders it left behind. I had learned in school that Botswana was one of the wealthiest countries in Africa but was still surprised by how palpable the difference in development levels was. For example we went to a local post office to register our new phone cards and felt like we could well have been in Western Europe. In any case it certainly was a much better experience than I've ever had at a post office in my native Romania, where communism has left its mark on the service industry...

From the Botswanan border town of Kasane, we continued for an hour to the Namibian border, which was a breeze to cross, and on to our camp in Sangawi right by Nkasa Rupara National Park. The camp spot (Livingstone's Camp) was incredible, set on the edge of the Okavango wetland which is home to lions, leopards, hippos and a wealth of birdlife. The place was Namibian-owned and run by an 82-year-old Brit who had spent 30 years in southern Africa. We were surprised to learn that he was a 'young father' of a two-year-old -  aside from my awe at this biological miracle, I will abstain from any further commentary!

The next day we took the long and impsressively straight highway crossing the Caprivi Strip to Divundu and then down to Shakawe in Botswana. The change in scenery from the lush Zambian countryside was remarkable. Gone were the rolling green hills, replaced by flat bushland as far as the eye could see. Similar to the savannah of the Rift Valley in Kenya, this is the Africa of Hollywood films, full of large mammals like lions, leopards, elephants and hippos. But what makes the Okavango Delta region particularly special is the eponymous river snaking its way through it as it empties into an inland area in northern Botswana (a strange concept for most Europeans used to rivers boringly flowing into larger bodies of water!) We set up camp for two nights at the beautiful Shakawe River Camp, right on the edge of the Okavango at what was the nicest campsite of the trip so far in my opinion.

The next day we took the car, which unfortunately had started leaking oil from the gearbox, to Moses, a local mechanic. We had run into a Zimbabwean bus driver the night before who referred us to a fellow countryman running a garage in Shakawe. After several hours of knocking bolts around and cracking jokes about old Bob (Mugabe) and the Crocodile (Mnangagwa, Bob's successor) we drove away in high spirits. Unfortunately the issue would persist but we did at least have some fun and learned a bit more about the car, which should help with diagnostics in the future. And it was a rare but very gratifying exchange with a local which helped put the visit in some context.

Back at the camp we took a sunset boat ride on the river which proved to be the biggest highlight of the first three weeks of the trip. In the fading light we saw up close several crocodiles, including one over 3 meters long, some stunning colorful birds (of course) some hippos. And yet another incredible sunset, enhanced by the mirror-like clear surface of the water...

The following day we crossed back into Namibia and stayed at the lovely Popa Falls Resort just across the border. The falls were more like rapids but the riverside cabins we stayed in were very enjoyable. And sleeping on a sofa at the foot of my parents' bed for the first time in about 15 years was also memorable. Conscious of the risks to my circadian rhythms, I made sure to fall asleep before the snoring symphony...

From Popa Falls we set off early for attempt #2 at fixing the transmission - this time, with much more promising results - and then onwards to Etosha National Park around 600 kilometers away.