We get up early enough to see the sun rise over the savanna – beautiful. The weather is crisp and a heavy wind (going on all night already) make preparing breakfast more difficult than usual. Since we take our time and watch birds that we feed with chunks of apple we need to hurry cleaning up and putting the tent down. We have a long day ahead of us, all the way to the Namibia/Angola border to Epupa Falls.

Bird-watching at Hobatere camp

Along the way we drive through Opuwo the “capital” of the Kunene region. Stefan the guide calls Opuwo a shithole (Drecksnest in German). I don’t find it charming either and I guess the town has got two faces, at least. I’m glad that I come across the mayor’s Christmas message only after I return home otherwise I would really have expected a prospering town. Opuwo suffers from the usual “side-effects” when strong tradition in rural African areas clash with the 21st century western culture: poverty, neglect, prostitution, crime and alcohol abuse. On the other hand there a few pretty logdes for tourists in the vicinity. Mobile phones and traditional Himba co-exist next to each other.

Impression from Opuwo, the supermarket we used was more western-style, though

Pumping gas becomes an ordeal because we’re once again surrounded by groups of kids and young men. No all of them are friendly looking in my opinion. My western need for security is being probed. Marga gets herself into trouble with (self-declared?) army officer because she takes pictures of an old and rusty army truck without asking for permission. The heat builds up but the spark doesn’t jump and we get a away unharmed.
Shopping is a little easier. At the parking we pick 5 “security guards” out of a group of some 20 kids for our three Land Rovers. We “pay” each one with a can of Coke. On the recommendation of Marga & Stefan we buy corn flour, sugar and bags of Bic ballpoint pens in the super market to give away to Himbas.

In Opuwo the tarred road ends. For the next 10 days gravel roads, some better, some worse, will be our constant companions. Namibia’s north-west is Himba-country. They, too, will become companions in that if we see people at all, they’ll most likely be Himbas. They wave from the dusty shoulders of the gravel roads when we pass them. From time to time we stop and donate a bag of corn flour or something similar. Otherwise all we leave behind is a giant dust trail. Some of the Himbas yell at us angrily if we don’t stop. I can’t really hold it against them as we’re invading their territory to a certain extent. Looking negatively at the whole development one could say that every safari car that travels these roads adds to the deterioration of their culture.
It definitely isn’t a good sign that even the small kids a long the road claim that taking photos isn’t free: “No photo, $10″ they demand (10 Namibian dollars are about 1.3 US $). A herder boy tells Akik0: “Give me your shoes.” They ask for “sweets” and “pen” as a pen makes them look educated and hides their illiteracy.

Namibian kids begging for sweets and pens

The gravel road seems endless, Epupa Falls seems light years away. It was too ambitious to drive all the way from Hobatere to Epupa in one day. It’s certainly doable we you rush it but we’re on vacation and stopping every now and then is more than just a mere necessity. When we finally arrive at Epupa the best spots at the campsite are already occupied, of course. With a bit of luck we manage to squeeze two Land Rovers next to each other and Marga’s & Stefan’s next to our adjacent neighbors. There’s only enough time for a quick stroll around before it gets dark around quarter past six.

At Epupa there are three options in terms of accommodation: the Epupa Lodge, the Omarunga Camp (tented camp), and the campsite next to the camp. For African means Epupa is quite green thanks to the water of the Kunene river. Palm trees grow along the river and the climate is mild even in July (i.e. African winter) which means that it’s comfortably warm in the tent at night. In summer, however, it’s 40° C. The campsite is well equipped, the sanitary installations are quite new, the showers are romantic (again, no-roof-starred-sky-showering) and they even practice waste separation.

Campsite at Epupa Falls

→ Namibia 2009 photos

In the morning we get up at dusk and enjoy a hot shower to warm up – feels great. Again, I’m surprised how good the infrastructure is. Soon after we prepare a wonderful breakfast starter – papaya cuts with sugar and Greek yogurt (plain yogurt). Tip: always look for Greek yogurt in Namibia! Akiko is incredibly helpful and cooperative preparing  and clearing breakfast, I’m sooo proud of her. It’s important to have people like her when you travel with a group.

The way back to the main road from the Waterberg Plateau seems never-ending, but I will get used to gravel roads over the course of the next three weeks. It certainly wasn’t worth it coming out here for just this one night.

We head north-west. Thomas and Stefan both run over a guinea fowl (each). They linger in herds on the shoulder of the road and if their escape strategies are absolutely unpredictable.

Might as well be in Australia I guess...

Wherever we stop, kids and teens try to sell us jewelry, “crystals” (usually polished white stones) and makalani nuts. It’s a little uncomfortable because we’re not (yet) used to that but we learn quickly how to say no. After all we want to be friendly and nice and yet we also don’t want to fill our baggage with stuff we might throw away at home. I feel sorry for the kids and teens. The idleness in which they seem to be caught is overwhelmingly sad.

In Outjo we stop in front of a super-market. Side note, I recommend using the one at the south-east end of the village. Before we even get out of the car we’re surrounded by a group of kids who all want something from us. I feel a little uneasy and queasy. Again, I have to learn quickly to deal with situations I’m not comfortable with. In the west we’re not used to being imposed on. One guy carries a wooden stick, he seems to be the leader of the pack. Marga asks him to watch our cars and we’ll bring hime and his deputies something to eat from the super-market. Although I’m happy to hit the road again that experience will prove to have been important for me in terms of “letting the African culture in” i.e. dropping some of my guards.

In Kamanjab we stop for gas. Although we carry spare cans on the roof of the Land Rovers we make a habit out of pumping gas at each gas station along the way. That’s certainly not un-wise in Africa. Kamanjab is dreary and bleak. At the gas station a few herero women in their traditional dress sell jewelry. Friendly teenagers try to sell makalani nuts. They’re a lot less touting than groups in other places. Of course, one of their first questions is “where are you from”. We don’t tell them right away that we’re from Switzerland but engage them in a little chat about what they know about Europe. Quite a bit, we learn. When we tell them that our country lays between Italy and Germany they’re at loss. When we finally unveil the answer they all yell “Hopp Schwiiiz!” (“Go Switzerland” in Swiss German). Now it’s our turn to be speechless! We burst out with laughter.

Entrace to Hobatere Camp decorated with antlers

After another 70km we finally arrive at Hobatere campsite. The camp is an naturalist’s dream – simply marvelous! There’s hardly any information about this community campsite on the Internet and I don’t know how you’d book in advance. The Hobatere Lodge is 1km away, they might know. The campsite is very basic and luxury at the same time. There are regular toilets aaaaand a hot shower! To build them black canvas is wrapped around trees and bushes. The foundation is made of concrete but there’s no roof – the star-laden African sky acts as the roof.  The water for the shower is heated up by a fire that burns underneath an old gas bottle turned into a boiler. When you wait taking a shower until the sun has set it feels like warm rain falling from the starry sky.

Outdoor shower and sink

We also try to fix the fridge built into Thomas’ Land Rover. Unfortunately, we have to learn that the tools the car is equipped with are lousy. Another lesson learned: make sure the tool set is complete when you take over a rental car in Namibia. We also notice that we weren’t given spare fuses for each appliance. With fuses from Stefan’s and my car we manage to get by…

→ Namibia 2009 photos