Distance: 206km (Cumulative: 6 353km)
Moving time: 5:34
Average speed: 37km/h
Road surface: 70% Tar, Gravel and Two-spoor track in park
Accommodation: Camping
Ngepi Camp - R150 p.p
Very cool vibe, with beautiful setting and interesting facilities, friendly staff
Caro’s alarm went off at 06:00, the horizon just started to colour over the Kavango. We packed up halfway before Hugo’s cousin, Riaan, arrived. He took us on a small speedboat on the Kavango river. We spotted the Hippos the we heard in the night, a fish eagle and various other birdlife. The water was as smooth as a mirror. Caro enjoyed it a lot and was surprised that she didn’t feel sea sick at all.
Back on shore we packed up the rest of our things and headed for Divundu. In Divundu we bought expensive Nestlé Water, beers, brotchen and salami. We had the latter two for lunch at the Popa ‘Falls’. When the river is as full as it was, it is basically just rapids.
After lunch we went into the Mahango Core Area (only R30p.p entrace) and drove the 4×4 route and the river route. Sam had a good feeling about spotting elephants. His feeling was correct as he spotted them on two occasions, where the car in front of us didn’t even stop at all. The first two times the Elephants were roughly 200m away, but the third time we almost drove into them. Five giants breaking trees, throwing mud and flapping ears. We also spotted hippos (and waited for a yawn), kudus, tsessebes, ostriches, giraffes, a crocodile, warthogs, baboons, monkeys and plenty of other animals and birds. This park is definitely worth a visit.
There is no camping inside the park so we drove the same way out again, we saw a sign for Ngepi Camp and decided to check it out. They kept the 4km road interesting by putting up humoristic signs that makes fun of Land Rovers and 4×4 enthusiasts.
We finally reached the campsite and was gladly paid the R150p.p. We got campsite number 4 against the Kavango river. We went for a swim in the only Hippo and Crocodile cage in the world (self-proclaimed). The current going through the cage was quite strong, which made the swimming pool even stranger.
Sam was still hangry and started dinner. We took out the second gas stove to make spaghetti simulteanously with the pilchards and sauce. Hugo skipped the pilchards and just ate Spaghetti with onions and cheese. His throat was very sore and every bite looked like his last.
After dinner Hugo went to bed while the others went to the bar to hang out and drink beer with the other travelers until after midnight.
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