Old Legs Tour Angola 2024 – Days 36 & 37

It turns out that as much as we love Angola, Angola seems to love us even more.  At Xanchanga, the roads turned from tar to ugly and our speeds fell from 70km/h to under 25 km/h. The setting sun taunted us as it hovered just short of the truck canopy, somehow it seemed to know our beer supply was running short.  As we approached the border, chasing closing time, our watches flicked forward an hour to Namibian time and our race was lost. The Angolan immigration and customs departments were happy to extend hours to process our papers and did so, but the more rigorous Namibians, although polite and apologetic, were unable to allow us to cross that evening. And so, for the second time on this tour, we set up camp at an Angolan border post and chilled.

Across the road, about 100 meters away, was a small group of thatched buildings decorated with colourful balloons. We speculated if it was a birthday party or a wedding as we set up camp, including our dining table with the olive print tablecloth. No cutting corners or dropping of standards when you’re on an Old Legs Tour!

We still had one last frozen meal (cooked by Goodson and Chef Morris long ago back in Harare) left in the freezer (thanks to Linda’s meticulous planning). Naison prepared it, and we enjoyed another delicious meal under the watchful eyes of border security.

Beers being in short supply, we toasted our day with Amarula and G&T’s, as across the way, the Latino music rang out.  As the meal ended, Troy mentioned that Amarula was great in coffee and suggested someone make some. Ali, our coffee aficionado, stood up, walked around the table as if to go make some, then fell to the ground waving  legs and arms wildly in the air, shouting “Dead Ants!”

In an instant 7 of us fell off our chairs to the ground imitating him with responding calls of “Dead ants!” whilst Di leapt up and looked on in bewilderment at the 8 of us gyrating like beetles on our backs on the hard floor. The security guard also looked very astonished, unsure whether he should sound the alarm, dial 911 for an ambulance, or arrest us. He did none of the above, just shook his head in disbelief and resumed his patrols.

When we eventually stopped laughing, it was time for bed and so, predictably, the DJ across the street dialled up the volume, distorting the speakers with his finest bottom-of-the-beatbox selection. Adam slept peacefully all night but the others said they only fell asleep at 4:29 am, which was precisely when the speakers finally vibrated apart.

A few short hours later, although we had already completed Angolan immigration formalities the night before, we had to re-present ourselves at Immigration to have the date stamps changed in our passports, but this was quick and painless and soon we were at the Namibian border control which was also quick and efficient.

First stop in Namibia? ShopRite of course, for beer and chocolate (and some unnecessary other purchases like food, water and soap). The collective call for good coffee was loud and irresistible, so following local advice, we sought out the Eha Lodge and then finally set off on the road to Epupa Falls.

There are several ways to reach Epupa, but the D3700 along the Cunene River is undoubtedly the best. This route would be an epic segment for a future tour. Even though we were driving, we loved it. The Himba tribesmen, the bubbling rapids on the wide, powerful river, and the breathtaking landscapes kept us entertained until we reached the Falls campsite around sunset. We still had enough time and light to visit the falls and stock up on another day filled with sights, sounds, and unforgettable memories.

Epupa Falls is on approximately the same latitude as Harare and is about as far away to the West as you can get (on land). The Cunene River acts as a boundary between Angola in the North and Namibia in the south.  It is a beautiful, clean, and wild river that spills into the Atlantic Ocean 100km downstream.

The local people are Himba and Gary tells us they don’t eat fish. They don’t ever wash with water either, but cover their bodies and hair in a mix of red clay and oil which keeps their skin and hair soft and safe from the harsh climate.

Since they don’t eat fish, the river is teeming with bream and tigerfish. The abundant birdlife along its banks is evidence of that and contrasts sharply with the barren wildlife in Angola. During our 5,200-kilometer journey through Angola, we saw very little wildlife: two baboons, a few desert hares, a lone klipspringer, oh – and a couple of dozen roasted rats on sticks. Nick and Ant, avid birders, spotted fewer bird species than they have fingers. Only Gus was thrilled. The plant diversity, especially in eastern Angola, was thriving due to low browsing and grazing pressure. In the East, even domestic animals were scarce. However, as we approached the coast, the population of both humans and domestic animals increased, leading to less forest cover.

Epupa, being a relatively secluded area, was a refreshing change of pace. It was delightful to see nature thriving.However, due to Epupa Falls’ popularity as a tourist destination, the local people often live along the road. We frequently saw goat herds of over 100 animals. It’s a mystery what they eat, but they appeared healthy and strong, and the mums often had twin kids by their side.

“Sunrise”, Troy declared “is at 06:18, so those wanting to see it rise over the Falls should get to the view sites by 06:00”. Breakfast was arranged for 07:15 and, as we have a long, long, long way still to go, we agreed 08:00 would be the right time to leave.

All great plans, like rules, are made to be broken, and broken they were. First to throw a spanner in the works was our good and untrustworthy friend, Google. Aspiring to be the Oracle of All Known Things, Google includes automatic time zone adjustments. We’ve already castigated G’s navigation and yet again Google was confused. Are we in Angola or Namibia? it mused. At the time of Troy’s announcement, it seems Google was still 100m away on the north side of the river, but as we slept, it must have realised “Oops, I’m actually  in Namibia. Never mind, the stupid humans won’t ever know. I’ll just change their watches and phones whilst they dream about whatever it is that humans dream about “.

As seasoned adventurers, we woke up at 5:45 AM, in plenty of time to see the sunrise. However, our watches and phones showed the time was actually 6:45 am, and a quick glance to the East confirmed something was amiss. But as experienced adventurers, hardened by the forests and sand traps of Angola, our instincts were sharp, and we were prepared to face any challenge.

All except Ali, that is, who it must be said has been a great disappointment. Very little foraging has been evident of late, and a few days ago he even delegated the early morning coffee club, a Forager tradition, to novice Gus! He came a close runner-up to Google, chucking in a spanner of his own and…overslept!  Whatever next?

Despite being reduced from our full team of 17, we didn’t let that stop us from seizing opportunities as they arose, and so, with the help of the willing and enthusiastic Thelma, the waitress at the breakfast balcony overlooking the falls, we set about pranking Ali.  We waited until Ali and Di finally made an appearance and, as  Ali started to climb the stairs to the balcony on the one side, we all scurried down the opposite side to hide.

A low whistle from Thelma, and a hastily whispered warning “He’s coming round the other side!” had us scrambling back up, across the room and down the other side, giggling and sniggering as we went. Alas, we bungled it. Ali reappeared, catching us red-handed and wrong-footed on the staircase. Initially bewildered, he quickly realised what we were up to and a grin of relief and self-satisfaction spread across his wisened face,and the game was up.

Needless to say our 08:00 plan drifted over the falls like flotsam and as a result, we only left Epupa around 10:00.

It’s a long and bumpy ride to the tar road 100km away at a town called Opuwa. Desert, dust, rocky mountains, and dry riverbed after dry riverbed after dry riverbed is what you see – and Himba people and giant herds of goats. It is pretty but it’s also pretty boring and we were delighted to eventually reach tar and be free of the dust.

But driving on tar is even more boring, and not much more can be said about that, except that we eventually found ourselves at Hobatore campsite just outside the Etosha Galton gate at around 5:30 pm.  The vet checkpoint just before the campsite confiscated the mince we had planned for dinner, as no raw meat is allowed to cross Namibia but Naison came to the rescue with a commendable Plan B and we settled down for the night happy and content.

We are so grateful to all our sponsors for supporting the Old Legs Tour.  Thanks to you we can help patients like Mr. I, the ultimate running enthusiast! This spry octogenarian has completed multiple Comrades Marathons and still hits the pavement with his running club every week. Talk about dedication! But, as we all know, even the toughest athletes can take a tumble (literally!). Mr. I fell, broke his collarbone, and as he could not afford the surgery, was told by his doc to wait and see if it would heal on its own.

Fast forward three weeks, and we got wind of Mr. I’s predicament. Once the surgeon saw Mr I’s injury, there was no time to wait as his bone was sticking out, and at the point of piercing the skin.  So, we swooped in, got him into surgery within a week, and voilà! He’s now recovering like a champ!

But here’s the thing: without amazing sponsors like SWIFT, FX Logistics, Express Flowers, Milflora, Alifra, Montgomery Processors, ProBrands, JRG/Pezulu, and Selby Enterprises, we wouldn’t have been able to help Mr. I get back on his feet (literally!). So, a huge thank you to our Gold Sponsors for their support! You guys rock!

Until the next time from the road,

Have Fun.  Do Good.  Do Epic.

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