Day 16 - 18 (a ) Crossing into Namibia & the full of character Ngepi Camp

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Photo Album: Crossing Into Namibia
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After spending 4 days in Maun, having explored the Okavango Delta by Mokoro ( canoe ), flight and 4x4, it was time to move on.

Finally, it was time to leave the beautiful camping ground, fuel up, top up the food basket, and head west.

Along the highway, dotted with many villages,
  


it seems that there are many cattle, goats and sheep farms, judging by the frequent sightings of these animals crossing the highway with their shepherds,

or cowboys on horses and donkeys.

I hate to guess what trouble would I get into if I accidentally ran down one of these....

The road condition is pretty average between Maun and Sehithwa with some small potholes, however, from Sehithwa northwards, it has gone decidedly worse, the pot holes were getting bigger and more, and it took a good 5 hours to cover the 300 km north of Sehithwa to the border town of Shakawe.

The whole experience in Botswana, up to this point, had been well above expectations, notwithstanding the little incident of a couple of corrupt traffic cops.  Most of the tourist facilities, guides etc. were quite good.

But I always had one small worry in my mind, as it did not rate a high priority...I kept forgetting, was the issue of getting some Namibian money.

And I finally reached the border post of Mohembo at 15:30, that's when the fun started.

I always thought that at the border post, there must be some money exchange facilities for me to get hold of some Namibian Dollars, using my fistful of US cashes, debit or credit cards.  If all else failed, I won't need money until I reach the lodge which is a mere 25 Km from the border.  Sure, any fees payable at the border can be handled by credit cards or US cash. So I thought.

And I had been expending my Botswanan Pulas down by using cash everywhere.

At the border offices, After checking out of the Bostwanan side, I was stamped to enter Namibia without any hassles, until...when they told me they accept only Namibian Dollars in cash or Botswanan Pulas for the payment of the road permit fee for the car.....what to do, it was late in the afternoon and they were closing in an hour.

The only option was to go back 17 Km to Shakawe where there would be an ATM to get some Botswanan Pula.  While the Namibian side let me return to the other side. I needed to have the Botswanan agreeing for me to drive back into the country without paying additional fees.  Fortunately they border polices were very friendly and understanding.....probably I was not the first one, and probably won't be the last....they'd seen it many times over. They let me through without any paperwork or hassles.  Theoretically, I was an illegal visitor, until my return and exit.

Hurriedly, I drove back to Shakawe, found the ATM ( it is a small town ! ), got my money and returned just in time before the border closed for the day.

By the way, the exchange rate at the border is 1:1 which represents a 20% overcharge....but that's life.

Here, I was ready to enter Namibia, following this logging truck and its trail of dusts.

The other side of the border, is the Mahango Game Reserve, of which, I would be doing a self drive safari into it, the following day.  The immediate task was to wind my clock back one hour as there is theoretically a time change.

I then headed to Ngepi Camping Lodge, a lodge recommended to me by other fellow travelers back in Maun, by the River Okavango ( or Cubango as known in Angola where it originates ), the one that feeds the delta.




On the 4 Km soft sand track that leads into the lodge, I found all these lighthearted but reassuring signs (!!), especially when I was only in a small 4x2 sedan,

This one seems to imply something what we, Toyota Landcruiser drivers think of Land Rovers,....

Ngepi Lodge is run by a group of young locals, from the signage they hang up, one can get a taste of their characters.

Both lead to the same place...

By the way, this lodge worked on Botswanan time, so there was no need to slow the clock down by one hour.

The township is called Popa Falls, but the falls itself, is actually quite a non-event, a small dislocation on River Cubango,

Despite being so remote, on the north western corner of Namibia, at the western end of Caprivi Strip, a long and narrow strip of land that connects Namibia to the eastern coasts of Africa, 

Popa Falls has a few Chinese general stores here, the one that I visited sells anything from leather hand bags, tools ,to power generators.

This young couple came from Fujian, China, 5 years ago, and had never set foot in any of the National Parks, except work, work and work.

The local supermarket also boasts a couple of working ATMs that I could draw cash from my bank at home.  That's where I drawn my first pile of Namibian dollars.

During the night camping out on the grassy camping grounds of Ngepi, there were elephant and  hippo roars in the early evening, and singing birds in the early morning.  Such is the experience of camping out in Africa, this part of Africa anyway.

Ngepi Camp also runs a daily sunset cruise on River Cubango, which is also full of wild life excitements.

A hippo with such a long tusk is quite rare....

And finally, another glorious African sunset before dinner....

Next Post : Day 16 - 17 (b) Mahango Game Reserve self safari