Rundu – Divundu – Catima Mulilo (Namibia) : along straight lines

S 17°54.512' E 019°46.482' - S 18°07.316' E 021°34.985’ - S 17°29.169' E 024°17.128’ (altitude: 1092, 1000, 938 metres)
The tongue of land which squeezes its way for about 600 kilometres between Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe must be unique for its form and is a good example of arbitrary African borders. There was not much to hold us in the Caprivi Strip except maybe the Poppa Falls (near Divundu), or rather the small rapids of the Okavango River before it heads into Botswana where its cours ends in the Okavango Swamps. The road is straight, flat and boring as it cuts through the bush, but the odd little settlements of thatch-roofed mud huts revive our nostalgia of mtravelling in Africa – despite the fact that there is no dust as it’s smooth tar all the way. Long troubled by the conflict in Angola, the Caprivi Strip is now quite safe. However, we were told by local people to be cautious as a few weeks ago a moving vehicle was shot at and subsequently burnt one late afternoon. Our reward for all the miles was an idyllic campsite all to ourselves on the Zambezi River at Catima Mulilo, a town once renowned for the elephants stomping through there on their migratory routes.