Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Kunene River Lodge and Epupa Falls
From Hippo Pools our next journey was along the road to Kunene River Lodge, a 47km drive west following the river. The guidebook said not to do this road without another vehicle but we'd spoken to the lodge in advance and they said the road was good but needed care in a few spots. This proved to be a typical African understatement and it took 3 hours to do the trip. It wasn't just the very poor road full of ruts and rocks but also some severe gradients and stretches where the river had flooded over the road.
I soon learnt that getting Angela to walk the flooded areas first was the best way to progress in water, it also ensured that her feet got a rare wash and there was the off chance of a croc helping out with the life insurance claim! In one of the water crossings the wheels started to spin in mud and I had visions of a flooded engine but the tyres gripped at the last moment!
Kunene River Lodge was worth the drive, a lovely lodge and campsite in the back end of beyond run by Hilary, English, and her husband Peter, a Kenyan with an encyclopaedic knowledge of birds and their call songs. The sunset cruise up the river was stunning and memorable (helped by Peter's generous gin & tonic measures) and we spent 3 very relaxing days at the lodge.
Another highlight was the trip to a Himba settlement, arranged through the lodge. In common with the Masai, the Himba are semi nomadic cattle and goat herders. We were invited in to the mud and cow dung lined hut to watch the lady of the house adorn herself with a mix of red ochre and animal fat. Angela naturally couldn't resist the chance to cover herself in it when invited. According to the guide Himba women never bath, amazing how much Angela has in common with them!
Ironically given the Western obsession with perfect teeth, a sign of beauty for Himba women is the lack of front teeth. Unfortunately this is not left to nature, girls are held down and their teeth are smashed out using a stick and stone. If the teeth break the remains are pulled out! Compared to that the male circumsion ceremony seemed a walk in the park!
It seems incredible that the Himba can carry on their traditional way of life in the 21st century but it helps that most of their area is remote, straddling the Kunene River in southern Angola and Northern Namibia and protected by the Skeleton Coast desert and Atlantic to the west. It is a pity that a Namibian politician (from the dominant Owamba tribe) should therefore suggest that the Himba should get themselves suits and ties if they want to progress in "modern" Namibia!
It was difficult to drag ourselves away from Kunene River Lodge, with its 150 year old Leadwood trees, huge palms, banana trees and incredible birdlife. Peter warned us not to attempt the 80km drive down the side of the Kunene River to Epupa Falls, on his last attempt he got a 4x4 truck stuck for 30 hours in deep water and mud. We took the 180 km inland road via the Himba heartland instead, road being a generous description of most of the route.
Epupa Falls are located about as far west as you can get on the Kunene on it's journey to the Atlantic without flying in to the Wilderness Safaris lodge near the river mouth (about US$500 per person per day excl flights) or risking serious vehicle damage on the few 4x4 routes further west.
As with Ruacana we were stunned by the view of the falls. These are actually cascades; water seems to ooze out of the rocks and the vegetation, which includes large baobab trees, precariously hangs on despite the torrent of water. The scene seemed familiar from Tarzan films; Angela and I both felt this was the most "African" scenery we've encountered.
On Peter's advice we camped at the community campsite ($100 Namibian or about 8 pounds) to put the money back in to the local economy. We also bought braai wood from them, got our washing done and "donated" 2 litres of petrol to a guy claiming to be the driver of the local chief's car, which had run out of fuel nearby. The latter story was embellished by mentioning that the chief's wife was stuck in the car, pregnant and about to give birth! If the guy had looked a bit older than 15 the story might have sounded more convincing!
We then had the gate guard suggesting he would come over after we'd eaten dinner to discuss his "big problem", so at that point we decided this was the last community camp we would patronise. It helped explain why the site was empty and why the private site next door was full! We slept that night with the hammer, rape alarm and pepper spray to hand, but the thundering noise of the falls meant that anyone could have driven off with the car, kidnapped Angela and left the trailer on house bricks if they wanted!
- comments