Third Stop: Divundu

We arrived at the "Ngepi Camp" around 2 PM. In the middle of nowhere, directly on the Okavango River (Kavango and Cubango are just different names) and located between the two national parks Mahango and Bwabwata. I could tell you a lot about the camp, but if you want to get a better impression, it's best to google it. From numerous funny outdoor sanitary facilities (e.g., a toilet in a throne or in a tree stand) to a cage pool right in the river and unique treehouses, the camp offers many adventures and surprises. Everything here is untouched: the water is heated with fire, electricity is generated with solar energy, and every tree is left where it grows.

As soon as we got out of the truck and let Lena guide us through the camp, we already saw the first hippos grazing on the other side of the river. Another highlight were our small houses/rooms. They are individually located right on the river and consist mostly of a bed surrounded by bamboo blinds. These can be opened towards the river and the sides, so you sleep almost outdoors.

While it was still relatively dry, we wanted to take the opportunity to jump in the pool. As I mentioned before, the pool is located directly in the river and is only protected by a cage from hippos and crocodiles. However, these usually don't come near the pool anyway.

Unfortunately, it started raining again very quickly, so we didn't do much afterwards. Laura, with whom I shared a treehouse, wrote in her diary and I caught up on some sleep because I had a bad night's sleep the night before.

After the very delicious spaghetti carbonara in the evening, we had a few drinks at the bar and then went to bed. We actually wanted to sleep completely open, but the rain was too strong and everything would have gotten wet. Luckily, I woke up very early as usual and then rolled up the "walls" in the morning to enjoy the view of the river. To avoid waking up Laura, I grabbed my camera and took a stroll through the camp. I also passed by the mokoros, narrow canoe-like boats. To my delight, the guide was already there, scooping water out of the boats with a bucket, which meant that the morning mokoro tour would take place at 8:30. I walked back to our treehouse (the camp was very spacious) and told Laura. With three other girls from our group and another couple, we started our two-hour tour. Before we started, we thought we would have to paddle ourselves and get completely wet, which is why none of us brought our cameras, but we were mistaken 😉 In each boat, two of us sat with a guide at the end of the mokoros, who paddled for us. So we could just relax and enjoy our tour, and even though we were annoyed that we couldn't take photos, it was nice to capture all the impressions and images in my memories and not always just see everything through the camera lens. We saw two crocodiles, many hippos from a short distance, many colorful birds, and impressive water lilies. As you can see in the photo, we drove right through the reeds. The feeling of sitting in the front of the boat and approaching a high wall of grass that opens up like a gate was unique 😊 and actually, it didn't just stay dry, the sun even came out a little for us, we could hardly believe it☀️ when it rains so much, you learn to really appreciate the sun.

After our tour, we had a brunch. Since many of us were up very late the night before and had a slight hangover, the mood was rather sluggish and unmotivated, so many people went back to bed or lay in the hammock after brunch. Since after much back and forth (too complicated to explain) I had decided to only stay in the treehouse for one night, I had to reluctantly move to a tent for the second night. But the first night was definitely worth it! At 5 PM, Lena organized a free boat tour for us. Even though I had already seen most of it in the morning, this time I could take my camera with me and capture a few hippos in photos. Originally, Lena had planned to have dinner on an island as a surprise, but due to the uncertain weather conditions, we ended up having our barbecue in the camp. After dinner, we have an "Apples & Onions round" every day, where everyone reflects on the best and worst thing of the day.

Since our alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, I went to bed early again.

Today, we have another long journey ahead of us. The goal is Victoria Falls (which is also the name of the place). This will probably be a lengthy drive because we have many borders and passport controls ahead of us. Exit Namibia, entry Botswana, exit Botswana, and entry Zimbabwe. Apparently, the Botswana border can be quite strict. Sometimes you're lucky and it goes quickly, sometimes you can be there for several hours. I'm curious. We will stay in Victoria Falls for three nights and there are many activities waiting for us. I haven't decided yet what I want to do. I will tell you about it next time.

I'm sending you my best wishes!