We awoke to a glassy river and clear sunny skies, Angola o’clock! We cruised down the river and climbed out of the boat 45 minutes later and stepped on Angola soil. Our guide brought out a cardboard that read ‘Illegal in Angola’. We took the most cliche of pictures, skipped away from natural fertilizers, and jumped back in the boat.

There. A detailed trip to Angola.

Our original plan was to drive to Okavango on the Botswana side. It didn’t work out because the person who processed our visa ticked on the single entry box, so we were slightly dispirited for not spending more time in Botswana. Little did we know, that person did us a favor.

Our drive to Nunda River Lodge in Divundu, along the Cubango River, took two hours. We checked in the afternoon and were warned that this was malaria zone, which added more fuel to our fears. Never mind the BUZZ KILL, we spoke about the M word so much in the past week to the point of sickness. From this day on, we never spoke of Malaria again.

We hung out in the uncustomary main area which had so much character and strong wifi until our private sunset cruise on the Caprivi Strip that flows into the Okavango. Cruising down the river was dreamy and refreshing regardless of how many hippos were staring at us. We cruised towards Poppa Falls, along flooded marshes, lotus ponds, and no boat traffic. Sometimes we saw crocs or indigenous birds, and one boat with a group of people.

We were in the bush, a little bit different than Nkwazi at Rundu since we spent our nights in luxury tents with well designed outdoor bathrooms. It was a break out of our comfort zones, having to spend ALL our time in nature, sleeping to the sound of stillness buzzed by insects and frequent hippo grunts.

On our first night, I was spooked out of my mind I barely slept, thinking about the impossible. Snakes on the loose? Insect bites? Reptiles? Being alone in the tent?

It was something I had to grow accustomed to, and eventually I did on the second night.

From and To: Runda to Divundu

Distance: 200KM

Time: 2 Hours