Our lives and our planet wouldn’t be the same without our wild family, our feathered and furry friends. And sometimes in life we also have to remember our wild side: to let down our hair, throw off our shoes, put our feet up, try something new, loosen our belts and our boundaries, release our to-do lists, dance around the house and forget about the stringent rules and deadlines we live by. A trip to Namibia, with its wide-open spaces, desert stars and abundant wildlife is the perfect place to do just that. 

I relaxed into the charm and generous arms of Chobe River Camp across from Chobe National Park. Low water after a season of minimal rainfall meant no boat trips for now, so I opted for a short, fun canoeing trip and enjoyed delicious buffet supper spreads in the boma with paraffin lamps and a central fire, in true and enchanting safari fashion in the best room of all, the Great Outdoors. I watched wildlife in the distance on the opposite bank from the camp’s central area, open to the Chobe view, and enjoyed being one of the first to stay in the camp’s brand new upgraded tented rooms, presently being built. Tree squirrels, water monitors, coppery-tailed coucals, African jacanas, grey herons and arrow-marked babblers entertained me. And then the small delights, like the fresh salad greens grown in old mekoro in the garden, upcycled Kavango veg boxes. 

I had been river hopping, travelling from the Okavango to the Kwando and Chobe rivers. It was now time for a visit to the Zambezi, and Zambezi Mubala Camp and Lodge. Along the way I stopped and met the watermelon-, tomato- and baobab pod-sellers on the roadside, purchasing their fresh homegrown fare, and I met the children on their donkeys carrying bundles of grass to the market to trade for food for their families. 

The Mubala journey, southeast of Katima Mulilo, begins at Zambezi Mubala Camp, a popular and relaxed camp with Gondwana’s fully-equipped Camping2Go tents and campsite, where I enjoyed a pizza at their outside bar and a night in the safari tents. It’s all about birds (okay, and fishing) at Mubala, so I hopped aboard the sundowner boat cruise to enjoy being on the river and to spot some of the waterbirds. It was too early in the year for the carmine bee-eaters, Mubala’s lively spring visitors, so we watched fish eagles perched in the top of trees; darters, cormorants and herons resting on reeds; and a Zambezi sunset that set the sky and water ablaze. It reminded me of the song by John Hiatt: ‘There’s a lipstick sunset smeared across the (May) sky ‘ And if I could have asked for an encore, I would have. All I could do was applaud, which I did wholeheartedly. 

Being in the Zambezi also made a trip to Mosi-oa-Tunya, the Smoke that thunders, aka Vic Falls, possible (after all it’s only 200km away), but the paperwork, time and costs at the two borders often dissuade me from driving there. This time I took advantage of Gondwana’s 2Go shuttle service for a day trip and spent a few precious hours appreciating one of the planet’s great wonders and absorbing the huge energy of the place (but that is a story for another time). 

I returned to Mubala Lodge, a short boat ride from the camp. This lovely lodge is painted and decorated in the pastel colours of the river and the vegetation on its banks, a range of soothing blues and greens. The lodge rooms, positioned among the trees right on the edge of the riverbank, overlook the Zambezi scenery and are linked by raised wooden walkways winding through the trees. It’s always a surprise to see how wide the Zambezi is, not referred to as ‘mighty’ for nothing. As it’s the fourth longest river in Africa, I was grateful to be able to greet it on its way, especially from my very own balcony, shaded in part by a grandaddy jackalberry tree. I felt like I was on ‘The Zambezi Queen’. A water monitor sashayed past and disappeared behind a termite mound that was trying to compete for height with the tree, the water sparkled like a million diamonds were bobbing on its surface and moved with a vivacious energy, driven by the wind and lapping on the shore, and a fisherman on a mokoro cast his net in the water near the far bank. After days of eating many miles on the tarmac, my body sank into the chair with gratitude and pleasure. To add to the scene, a fish eagle provided the audio accompaniment, completing the moment. What a show. Zambezi magic! 

It was time to retrace my steps, and although generally in life I avoid doing that, this time I was thrilled to be returning to Hakusembe River Lodge for the last few days in this rich northeastern waterworld. I spent the last night at their small campsite on the banks of the Okavango River. I strung up my hammock from the terminalia trees, kicked off my shoes and cooked the vegetables I had bought from the roadside sellers. I watched the phragmites reeds blow in the breeze, listened to the singing of the village children on the opposite bank and sat at the waters’ edge at sunset feeling the deep peace of the place. Barefoot and smiling; I was a happy camper. 

This time of year, the cold comes in at night and the daytime hot temps drops dramatically. I woke to beanie and jacket cold, packed up my tent and made my way over the sandy track past the homesteads and cows to the main road. Here, I turned westwards towards Nkurenkuru and the Owambo Regions north of Etosha, where I would be joining the team for the annual marula festival before travelling on to Kaokoland. 

 Join me next week to continue our journey  . . .