Epupa Falls and the Kunene River, Namibia

Wednesday 3 March and Thursday 4 March

Lockdown Day 342 and 343

                   Kunene River

Our journey North on the C43 took us through the Palmwag Consession. We saw quite a lot of springbok and then amazingly about 7 desert giraffe. The river at Khowanib was actually flowing and the landscape got quite green as we progressed into the Kaokaland.

This area in the North West corner of Namibia is home to the nomadic Himba people; one of very few tribes whose lifestyle and culture remains largely unaltered by the modern world. It's popular for foreign visitors to do a Himba tour but I am uncomfortable with these paid-for "cultural experiences". We have been reading a lot about their unique culture instead. We saw many Himba on our journey and in the town of Opuwo. In town we also saw Herero women, who dress in colourful Victorian skirts and headdresses but I didn't try and take any photos.

Epupa Falls is on the Kunene River on the border with Angola. The Umarangu Lodge ( Gondwana Collection ) is a wonderful spot and our bungalow is literally 2 metres from the water. The campsite is awesome too, with 3 riverfront sites.

There hasn't been a lot of rain here like further South, so the falls are still pretty tame.

Birding is good in the area and we saw one of the few endemics, the Rufous-tailed Palmthrush in the lodge garden while enjoying our evening GnTs. On Thursday we took a drive East along the river to Cornie's Camp, another good place to overnight if you are camping. Nice birding here too. We are loving this unique little corner of Africa.