River highlights of northeastern Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
Once you get to Rundu in the north of Namibia, the deserts are far behind you and the Kavango, Kwando, Zambezi and Chobe rivers present a different landscape. The rivers and their floodplains are the centre of life in this Kavango and Zambezi region, where the sunsets will take your breath away. Here are some river highlights of northeastern Namibia, between Rundu and Kongola.

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Hakusembe River Lodge

We stayed a night at Hakusembe River Lodge on the Kavango River near Rundu. We had lunch on this deck and watched Angolan kids fishing on the far bank of the river, their moms hanging bright-coloured clothes on a fence. Here it’s also common to see people fishing from a mokoro or children laughing as they lead a donkey or ox down to the river to fetch water. On a boat trip trip later in the afternoon we found a wealth of birds, including little bee-eater, fish eagle, pied kingfisher, osprey and about a dozen blackcrowned night heron. According to guide Mathias Ndana there are more than 400 species of birds in the area. 

Special people

At Hakusembe River Lodge we were bowled over by the friendly, helpful staff. Nothing was too much effort. The smiling faces of Virginia (left) and Regina were just two of many during our visit. This isn't unusual at the Gondwana Collection’s lodges in Namibia, but at Hakusembe it was taken up a notch so that we felt we’d found new friends. Isn't it funny how views, accommodation and food can be great (I'm still fantasizing about the roast sweet potatoes with orange zest, the cabbage with fennel) but it’s always people who really make your experience special.

Mbunza Living Museum

Near Hakusembe River Lodge, close enough that we walked there, is the Mbunza Living Museum. It’s a community venture that helps to preserve culture and heritage for future generations. This one on the Four Rivers Route shows visitors the way of life of the Mbunza tribe of the Kavango. There were hands-on demonstrations of basketwork, pottery making, the hard work of pounding and processing mahango (millet), fishing techniques, medicinal herbs, and musical instruments. The end of the tour was a chance for exuberant singing and dancing. How the man in the white fur hat didn’t trip himself up with his fast, intricate footwork, I don’t know. 

Namushasha River Lodge

Namushasha River Lodge is on the Kwando River near Kongola in northeastern Namibia, in an area that used to be called Caprivi but has been renamed Zambezi. Sit here on your porch overlooking the river and you'll hear hippos snuffling in the water and the occasional plop of a water monitor. With our guide Rector Tetuka we explored the shallow river channels in a flat-bottomed boat, where we surprised this waterbuck. We also took a game drive to horseshoe bend in the Bwabwata National Park, and visited the local heritage centre to learn about the traditions and culture of the Hambukushu people of this Zambezi area. With a dozen whitefronted bee-eaters lined up at their nesting holes in the riverbank and a magnificent sable antelope bull as just two of many highlights, it was a busy but fulfilling 24 hours.

Water lilies

African jacanas and water lilies were just two of many things we found on our boat ride from Namushasha River Lodge on the Kwando River. Guide Rector Tetuka explained that the mauve/white lilies open only during the day, the yellow ones only at night. Water lilies form part of the wedding ceremony of the Hambukushu people of the Zambezi region. They take one of the dinner-plate-sized leaves and fold it into a conical hat, secured with a piece of reed or grass used like a hat pin. The groom wears this and also makes a necklace using a water lily bud and a bit of skill to create ‘links’ from the long stem. If the woman takes the necklace and puts it on, all is well. If she puts it on the ground, then there are relationship problems and the elders will be consulted to try to resolve them. The Hambukushu don’t choose their own spouses, their parents do, so I wonder how often the bride uses this last resort to express her opinion of the match.

Cape to Kongola completed

Namushasha River Lodge is some 100km from Katima Mulilo and the Zambian border. This lovely triple-decked lodge on the Kwando River is the baby of the Gondwana Collection, having been taken over only two and a half years ago. (But it won’t be the baby for long. When we were in Swakopmund we saw the site where a new Gondwana lodge is under construction, due to open in November 2015.) Our guide, Rector Tetuka, started at the lodge that is now Namushasha 16 years ago as a gardener but has been keen to learn so he’s done the courses needed to become a qualified guide – a job he loves because it produces something new every day. This lodge was the furthest point on our Cape to Kongola adventure. From here everything we did took us a step closer to home.

Camping near Divundu

We had lunch one day in this peaceful space at Nunda River Lodge near Divundu in Kavango; it's part of Open Africa’s Four Rivers Route. ‘Nunda’ in the language of the Hambukushu people means the fruit of the jackalberry tree (which smells and tastes a bit like fig but has a very dry, powdery aftertaste). We didn't stay at the lodge, but in the campsite, where we had green grass, a shady knob thorn tree, privacy thanks to a reed enclosure, a built-in braai and our own tap and bin. These may seem to be small things but they make for happy camping. There were riverfront campsites too but they were less shady, more sandy. We were seduced by shade and grass just a few metres from the river, close enough to hear the tuba music of hippos as if we were in the royal circle of a concert hall. 

There’s lots more to tell about these places (and many others) so check back soon and let me see if I can inspire you to start planning a Namibian road trip of your own.

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Desert highlights of southern Namibia  
Highlights of Damaraland and Kaokoveld, Namibia
Highlights of Etosha and Okonjima, Namibia 

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