cheetahs

Finally we left the mountains behind us and arrived in Marienfluss: a wide plane framed by mountains on each side. We had a great view at all this space. There we were picked up by car and driven the last 20km to the Kunene to a proper tented camp with toilets, showers and warm water. We spent two days there, going for short trips, one day upstream, one day downstream. This involved some rock climbing and traversing in places because we wanted to stay close to the river. It is a beautiful area and I could have carried on hiking for another 100km down to Kunenemund. Then we set off for a two days drive with the Unimog to cover the 250km of bad road back to Opuwo. We had a flat tyre twice and it is hard work to change the wheel of an Unimog, but our men managed it well. We passed a point called “red drum” where three roads meet. There is literally only a red drum with an old, damaged emergency telephone and a sign for each direction. Nevertheless, this point was marked as Red Drum on my map of Namibia, so I would have expected at least a village there! Back in Opuwo it was difficult to get used to civilization again. We carried on driving in our own cars for another few hundred km and stayed at a cheetah farm and camp. They have 19 cheetahs there and we were taken on a drive to feed them. It was interesting to watch these cats so closely, fighting for the food. In a separate enclosure was a female with three little ones, only a few months old. It was cute to see them playing on a fallen tree. Also on the property was a 7 months old giraffe which came to the farmer sucking on his thumbs and drinking milk from a bucket. The farmer also had two tame cheetahs and we could stroke them and listen to their purring!

The leopard

Our next camp was near a little creek which run over the rocks to form a pretty waterfall with a beautiful private pool underneath, surrounded be reed. It was such a nice place and a good feeling to have a save bath. The advantage for us two climbers and the drawback for the others was that this place was only accessible by a 5m down climb the rock face. We followed the cascades down for a while until we came to a spot with a good view at the magnificent Kunene river. After taking in the view we climbed back up to the camp in fading day light. This evening our guide bought a goat from the nearby village. It was slaughtered and skinned and then barbequed straight away. We tried the heart and liver which were good and later had the ribs which were tasty, but the meat was very tough and not much of it.

The next day took us some of the time along the river again. At one point we wanted to fill our water bottles and were looking for a suitable way through the reed down to the river. We changed our mind when we heard a loud splash, probably originating from a crocodile that had rested on the shore and jumped into the water at our approach. Later, at the campsite we saw a big one on the rocks on the other side of the river, in Angola. We climbers usually went in front of the group as the geologists were slowed down by rock sampling. We followed our guide through a wide, dry river bed which narrowed into a steep gorge. About 120m from the gorge our guide stopped and pointed at a leopard coming down the rocks to drink from the puddles in the gorge. The animal had not noticed us. We waited and after a while it returned, looked at us and majestetically jumped up the rocks to where it came from. What an elegant, powerful cat! We were very lucky to see a leopard in the wild. The sides of the gorge were vertical, water washed rock. At the bottom were pools with fish in them, it was nice and cool. Further in the gorge the pools merged and filled the whole gorge so that we had to take our shoes off and balance barefoot over the pebbles. It was great to look at the steep walls from down there, tree trunks which had been carried there by the river far above us. We continued until our feet became tired of the permanent hopping and balancing, then returned to leave the gorge and carry on on our route.

Our last camp directly by the river was at a wonderful place. The river was wide and calm, with mountains in the background reflecting in the water. Another river flew into the Kunene. In this river was a small waterfall, very convenient for a shower. The next day we followed this river which again required some rock-hopping, an unusual exercise in this country. Then we crossed the mountain range which brought us trough a new type of a beautiful landscape. There were more gorges and rock face inviting us to climb. However, we did not have any gear with us, so we left it at eye-climbing. The walking became more interesting and challenging, involving some climbing over boulders along the creek. Unfortunately, we only had foul tasting water from some pools at one camp there and exactly on that day I felt a bit dehydrated and had to drink a lot. I put a water disinfection tablet in and some lemonade powder so that it became drinkable. Even the tea tasted bad.

Himba kids

The following day took us to another, bigger waterfall coming from a lakelike widening the river formed. The river split into two parts there and a rock island had been formed in the middle. There were interesting rock formations in marvellous colours: black, red and green. It was a long walk that day as we skipped one camp. I felt it was far too hot to carry on walking and I really got to a point that I did not want to continue anymore. Not that I was exhausted, but just tired from the heat. Finally we reached a dusty place under a tree which was our camp. Some areas of the riverbank were blocked off with cut bushes to prevent crocodiles coming on land. We were directed to a shallow, stony stretch where we could wash off the sweat of the day, cautiously watching the water. In the evening people from the nearby Himba village visited us and there was some chatting, dancing and singing going on. They were friends and family of our guide and two of his kids were living there, a boy of 10 and a girl of 8 years. The kids joined us for the rest of the trip, going to live with relatives at Marienfluss. Even though they were so young they knew the way cross country and they were able to go much faster than us, even barefoot on all these stones and thorns! They helped their dad, never complained and we accepted them as our guides. Tough kids in a hostile environment.
The whole area was not as deserted as I thought: all the time we were crossing paths and every couple of kilometres we passed a few huts and a kraal, where Himbas had lived for a while with their cattle grazing. In front of some huts we even found quite sophisticated wooden toy cars, probably carved with a machete. They had proper wheels and the kids used a stick to move them around.

Donkeys

Next morning the donkeys were loaded, and how! Saddle bags on both sides and on top a big sea sack with our tents, sleeping bags and mattresses. Some animals got the cooking pots tied on top of it which looked funny. The poor donkeys had to carry a lot, it nearly made me feel guilty. The way the guides led them was strange: the donkeys went ahead and were shushed from behind or the sides when they went the wrong way. Often the pots got caught in the bush and the whole group made a funny noise. When the guides whistled the donkeys would stop and wait what was to happen. I admired how surefooted they went through stony, steep terrain, where even we started sweating. The day passed pleasantly, but without any remarkable events. We camped under a huge tree at a marvellous spot at the riverside. Black rock formed little pools save for bathing protected from crocodiles. Further downstream was a small, but forceful waterfall and behind it a rock rose up to 15-18m above the river. At the current low water level it was possible to get over to it and of course I had to climb it together with my friend from the mountain club. On the top we found to our surprise a huge tree trunk, surely thrown there by the water during the flood. What impressive power the water can have! This night we again enjoyed the wine, looked for shooting stars (and I saw a couple of them) and listened to the silence of nature.

day 1

We usually got up with the first sign of dawn, around 5:30, in order to do some of the walk in the pleasantly temperated morning hours. Breakfast was usually muesli with sugar and warm water which tasted surprisingly acceptable. On a few days we tried porridge or millipap which was edible, but much worse. On the first day we passed the waterfall once more and then walked for quite a while along the river with breathtaking views around each corner. Alone the contrast between the dry landscape and the lush green at the riverbanks and the brown-blueish of the water was amazing. Although there was a lot of rain this year the grass was already dry, but most trees still green. There were places at the river where you could think you were on a tropical island: fine, white sand, black washed rocks and Makalami palms. The seeds of these palms are very hard and the Himbas carve beautiful pictures of animals into them and sell them to tourists in the cities. The leaves of the palms are used to make basket with interesting patterns. After a careful footbath we left the river and went cross country through stony terrain. Towards midday it became very hot for walking and I wondered what people do here in summer! Eventually we reached the 4x4 track and were picked up by our Unimog to drive to a place nearby a creek where we put up our camp. The donkeys got there already, this time still without their load. In the afternoon we explored the surrounding, played chess, chatted with each other. When we were sitting on our groundsheet after the meal, drinking wine and chatting, a scorpion came crawling onto the sheet. It was quite a big beast, interesting creature. Our tour guide caught it, but we then moved around more carefully.

Kunene Hike

My latest adventure was a 2 week 150km hike along the Kunene river in northern Namibia. It was organized by geologists and designed as a professional trip for sampling of rocks. However, as 2 people dropped out only two weeks before the trip started they were desperate to fill the places with anyone who would like to do the hike and pay the money. I got to know this from the mountain club and was immediately hooked. A hike through an area where there are not even 4x4 tracks, guided by indigenous Himba people! What an opportunity! I asked my boss nicely and he made it possible that I could have the time off even though I did not have enough holiday left.

The tour started in Opuwo, a town where only a handful of white people live. The majority of the population there are Himbas. We only had to bring tent, sleeping bag and personal items as well as a day backpack for water and snacks. Everything else, including food, was cared for by the tour operator. On the first day we were transported on a Unimog to Epupa Falls, a dusty 200km drive which took about 4h. Our camp was directly at the steep riverbank. We were warned not to enter the water because of crocodiles. That day we only saw a water monitor lizard, though. The waterfalls are beautiful and impressive, with huge baobab trees on the rocks. We saw Himbas from the nearby village washing their clothes there and putting them to dry on the surrounding bushes.