The journey to the campground was beautiful and exciting. We drove out to a campground that lay on a rough gravel road, perhaps an hour’s drive past the falls. Dry, rocky mountains covered with scrub and small bushes lay off to our left, while a thin strip of green followed the course of the river to our right. We passed perhaps two settlements in this hour, despite driving alongside the only source of water for hundreds of miles. Outside the narrow strip of green, beautiful but inhospitable scrubland stretched everywere.
This part of Namibia, called the Kaokoveld, is one of the least inhabited regions on the earth. It is roughly 20,000 square miles, with a population of not more than 30,000 humans – a population density of roughly 1.5 people per square mile. Even that figure is misleading, however, as a good 10,000 people live in the region’s main city of Opuwo. To provide some basis for comparison, the population density of the United States overall is about 80 people per square mile, Mexico is 130 per square mile, and a large urban city like London is just over 10,000 per square mile!
Our campground, the Kunene River Lodge, is a little oasis on the river covered in tall trees, grass, and sporting lemon trees. The owners are a middle-aged British couple who first came to Namibia when their daughter was serving here as a volunteer. They fell in love with the country during their visit, and bought the lodge from its previous owners. They also give a ‘volunteer’ discount, which I was happy to take advantage of!
The next day, Vicky and I decided to rent a canoe and paddle down the river. We were driven upriver perhaps 6 kilometers and then launched into the river in our little rubber canoe. The lush green riverbanks contrasted sharply with the surrounding orange-coloured rock. Cattle peacefully browsed both sides of the river bank. The river carried us slowly, lazily under the warm sun of midday. Stretched out on the canoe, dangling my feet in the water, I felt like Huck Finn drifting down the Mississippi on his raft.
We pulled off to the river bank for a lunch of waterlogged crackers, cheese, and fruit. Later, we discovered a small island in the river, separated from the mainland by just a few metres of shallow water. Pulling the canoe on land to investigate, we discovered that we shared this very lush island with only a small group of cattle, and no humans. Probably the island is covered with water during times of high water levels. When the river is low, however, it would be a great place to hide out, just like Jackson’s island in Huckleberry Finn.
Pushing off from the island, we immediately stumbled into another allusion. The channel between the island and the mainland became increasingly narrow and overgrown with giant fronds. We paddled, pushed, and ducked branches, searching for a way back to the main part of the river, just like Bogey and Becall in The African Queen. After much effort, we finally emerged from the overgrowth and headed to the center of the river to enjoy a well-earned rest. At the end of the day, after four or five hours of hard canoeing, we pulled up the canoe to the lodge and posed for one final picture: African Canoe Gothic.
The rest of the trip was pleasant but uneventful, although our campsite was visited by a troop of monkeys in the morning when we were packing up. These monkeys knew their way around campsites, scavenging for leftovers. The owners’ tiny dog decided it was her job to chase off the monkeys, which she did both energetically and fruitlessly, as the monkeys were eating all the fruit. Finally we packed up the car and headed back down the gravel road, saying a fond farewell to the Kunene river.
1 comment:
What an utterly idyllic experience!
Post a Comment