The Caprivi Strip

Steffi and I parted company just short of the border and I crossed back into Namibia - fortunately I'd saved my R100 road fund certificate...

The road East is a beautiful drive - you pass warning signs for elephants every few kilometres; I had no idea where I was going to stop for the night and it was by pure luck that I stumbled upon the Mazambala Island Lodge, where camping was easy, and after a shower I headed over to the lodge for a cold beer on a wooden deck overlooking the Zambezi, and watched the hippos frolicking until the light had dwindled to nothing.

Later, chatting to the owner over a G&T (I was the only guest that night) I found out that the hippos were responsible for the beautifully manicured lawns - and as we chatted sure enough the unmistakeable sounds of a stealthy hippo marked the time for our cautious retreat.

The following morning I continued on to Katima Mulongo which was the only place I could be sure of finding DSTV for the England - South Africa match.

I camped at the Zambezi Lodge where they were still muttering about how two Raleigh girls had left without paying for their camping - perhaps that is why they took my passport as surety. It was a beautiful place to rest up for a day or two, but nothing much seemed to work - and I had a nightmare of a time not organising my cheap Zambian visa via the massively useless Ghecko Lodge in Livingstone.

The riverfront view compensated in part, as did the fact that the TV worked (unlike the phone system), and England beat SA. Time to stop stressing about $60 and cross that damned border...