After breakfast we packed our tent and drove towards Mahango NP on the border with Botswana and very close to the Poppa falls. The Poppa falls was a big disappointment. It was so small that we didn’t even realise that we are looking at the falls. It was more like a rapid than a fall. The guards said that it will be more visible during dry season when the water in the downstream is lower.
The Mahango NP was not so disappointing in comparison. It was our first self-driven safari in this trip. We got to see Wildebeest, Impala, many birds, Tsessbe and a big Baobab tree. At noon we drove along the Caprivi strip in the direction of Katimo Mulilo. Our destination was a camping site about 40km away from Katimo towards the Namibian border with Botswana.
On the way we came across an accident site with a 4x4 upside down on the side of the road. There were a couple of policemen standing as well as few locals. For a split second I was not sure what to do and I decided to stop. The Lady asked whether I would like to have a look and I said yes. Though I have to admit I was not sure whether I am mentally ready to see the site if it involves people in blood alive or dead. I had been doing volunteer work with the Red Cross for more than 5 years now. Though I get patients with injuries once in a while I never came across one with serious, life threatening injuries and so I don’t know I have to mental strength to face it. Still, I was absolutely sure that my conscience doesn’t allow me to drive by without stopping. If there is anything I could do within my limits I am going to do it. The policemen said that the accident happened overnight and the patient had been safely transported to the nearby hospital. And he thanked me for stopping by. I was relieved and was glad that I decided to stop.
The route to the camp came as a surprise. From the travel guide that I had I thought it is not so far away from the highway. But it turned out to be about 5 km from the tarred road, which under normal conditions is not a problem at all. Since it has rained a lot in the last days the approach road to the camp has become quite unusable. We had to engage the 4wd for the first time in our trip to get some traction in the mud. At some places the mud was so deep that the car was dancing all over the place irrespective of whichever direction I was trying to navigate. Quite an adventurous route and I was scared a bit at some place. I thought it is just a teaser for what is to come once we enter the dirt tracks in Botswana.
The camps location was really beautiful and the people from the community who were running the camp were very friendly. The camp was in the middle of nowhere with private small huts for shower, kitchen and toilet. It was simply beautiful and one gets a feeling of being close to nature. All those struggles to reach the camp were worth.
I was driving all the way as the Lady was not feeling well in the last days. It seems that her cold and cough is slowly getting bad. The medicines that I had didn’t seem to help either. I felt sad to see her struggle. I wished I could help her in some way and we could enjoy the silence of the nature together. I volunteered to cook for her at night. The plan was to cook noodles with some vegetable curry with the spices I brought. Though I took extra care to use less spices than I normally use, it turned out to be a disaster. It was too hot for her. I got it all wrong!!!
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