Solace Down the Kunene

December 21 - Day 2

This morning started out very much the same as yesterday…with the steady pattering of rain on the tent fly. Not much of a morale booster. This has not been turning out as I had expected. As I waited for the rain to subside I ran through my options. I turn back and throw in the towel? I stay put and continue later in the day? Just get up, put a wet camp in my bag and trudge through the rain? Option 3 seemed like the least fun (at least type 2), but I figured what the heck, I am not losing my mind yet and at least it isn’t cold. After a quick breakfast and a hasty breakdown of camp, I hit the road decked out in my flimsy poncho (a glorified garbage bag.) Luckily, after only an hour or so the rain came to a stop.

The day turned out OK. Despite the muddy, slippery road, the weather held. I was happy to greet every Himba with a smile and a “wa penduka”. The walking was easy. I covered around 20km along 4x4 gravel road. For the most part, the only traffic was goats, cows, and donkeys with the exception of one South African convoy of jacked-up Landcruisers and Hiluxes. Later in the afternoon rain began to threaten once again. I found a place to camp in a scrub mopane forest about 150 yards off the bank of the river. I struggled looking for a place to set up the tent. This is not true wilderness. There are Himba settlements scattered about the valley and I am not entirely sure of the correct customs – do I need permission from the headman? I had to ensure that I found a place a comfortable distance between settlements. I think I did OK. There are cows on this side of me, donkeys on that side, and an occasional villager passing by on the road but no one has seemed to take notice of my intrusion. After being marooned in my tent once again this evening due to rain, I was finally able to emerge as the sun sank over the horizon. The last of the sun’s rays danced on the clouds which gave me hope. Somewhere to the west the clouds have broken. It makes me optimistic. Tomorrow, I continue west.

 

 Vibrant bird life along the river – some type of Kingfisher?

Stick and mud Himba shelter

Nylon and aluminum GC shelter