Epupa Falls

Day 11 March 11th 2008
From Etosha to Epupa Falls

We picked up another hitchhiker! This dragonfly landed on our bull bar and rode along for several kilometres. It really seemed to enjoy the breeze and braced itself into the wind! At least it is prettier than the locust I had on my window! LOL

The roads to Opuwo were good, even though there were extensive roadworks from D3700 we still made excellent time. Opuwo is a tiny, very African, town that has a bustling market and large, busy, main street. We stopped briefly for fuel before heading on to Epupa.

The roads deteriorated after Opuwo. The effects of the recent floods were more apparent as we climbed into the mountains. Sections of the road were washed away, sometimes almost the entire road was destroyed and we had to pick our careful 4x4 route across the most navigable sections. The road markings in Namibia are excellent, there is a road sign whenever one is required. Yet I was highly amused to see that each damaged section had a ! sign before it, from both approach sides. Some poor fellow obviously had the dubious privilege of hand delivering these ! signs at every hazard. And some of the crossings were very !

Then we got to the river crossings. Some areas are just dips in the road (marked with a road sign, of course) while others do have a concrete causeway. The extent of the floods was often apparent here, with the debris being trapped against the concrete. Sometimes we had to wait for an earlier arrival to get across the bridge. This poor cow was having a bad time of it. She kept stepping close to the edge and slipping off the concrete. She did make it safely to the other side though.

Most of the river crossings looked more like this. Sections of the road were totally washed away and navigation involved assessment, decision, and careful driving in low range. Simon's driving ability really came to the fore here and I was grateful for his skill. In sections the mud was still quite deep and looked very icky and sticky. If we had gotten stuck it would have been a gooey nightmare trying to get ourselves out. Yes, very grateful indeed!

Finally we came to the last village before reaching the falls, and our largest river crossing yet. The river here had burst its banks and totally flooded the village. It was probably about 200m/600ft wide at the crossing point, two thirds of which covered village fields. This meant mud, unknown hazards and who-knew-what else!

We were debating our options when a very well turned out policeman appeared. After the obligatory African greetings, we asked him about the road to Epupa. He told us that he had just come from there and the road would be much better after we had crossed the river. He warned us not to pay attention to the locals at the river, they would deliberately direct us into an area that would get us stuck, and then charge us N$800 to help us get out. Then he carefully explained the route we should take to get through the flooded river. His advice was pure gold, and we got across - much to the annoyance of the rogues waiting for their ill-gotten gains!

The roads were indeed much better, exactly as Mr Plod had explained, and we were able to make better time. From here onwards we climbed continuously into the mountains, the air grew cooler and the roads were drier. (And still expertly signposted.) The bush was lush and green and we saw many goats and cows grazing contentedly. And then I noticed they were dalmatian cows! Yup, they had spots like dalmatians! Some of them were white with black spots, and some black with white spots. I was thrilled - they looked so cute! I found out later that these are Nguni cattle and their hides fetch quite a premium due to their unusual colouring.

When we got to the falls the first thing that struck us was the noise. It was deafening! Like being next to the motor of a huge 16-wheeler at full throttle! The next thing was the flooding. Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink! When we went on our tour the next day we got to see the full extent of it, and it was awe inspiring!

There are 4 campsites at Epupa Falls. The first one, right above the falls, is a community-run campsite. It is basic, but very neat. The next 3 are privately owned and have mod cons like electricity. We elected to stay at the community campsite, mostly because it was empty and we had the place all to ourselves. (Although one other vehicle turned up a bit later.) My greatest desire was a hot shower, and the camp attendant dutifully disappeared and returned with a wheelbarrow full of wood to stoke the donkey boiler at the shower. Hot showers on tap! Yeah!

As the sky was clouding over fast and we were anticipating rain, we set up camp very quickly. Simon liked the idea of being right next to the water, so we positioned the truck about 10m/30ft from the water's edge and set ourselves up. Notice the falls directly behind the nose of the truck?

We quickly put together a meal and packed everything away in order to beat the downpour. As it turned out, it only rained later in the evening, so we were able to sit out under the stars and enjoy the night. Simon had negotiated with the camp attendant to organise a load of firewood. so we had a lovely bonfire going with a kettle on it to make some mint tea. I figured we would sleep very well with the white noise of the falls to lull us. However, I had not reckoned with the storm that would follow. It kept me awake for quite a while, worrying that we would be flooded out and swept downstream!