The C49, a few years ago still a gravel road, is now paved. It leads from Kongola in a wide southern arc to Katima Mulilo and partly through the Bwabwata National Park. (The main connection between the two cities is a bit shorter but less scenic!) Signs on the edge of the C49 draw attention to the fact that elephants or antelopes cross the road. On our trip we came across elephant dung but no elephants, but saw sable antelopes and zebras.

We went shopping for groceries in Katima Mulilo, the capital of the Caprivi Strip, which is now called the Zambezi Region. It was December 24th, 2020 and we weren’t the only ones stocking up on food for x-mas! Twenty-five kilometers further east, on the banks of a lake that is connected to the Zambezi after the rainy season, we hit the Caprivi Mutoya Lodge, run by Zane and Tina, who exchanged Zimbabwe for Namibia a few years ago. We were the only guests on the campsite belonging to the lodge. Here we celebrated Christmas, enjoyed food and wine of the lodge and had a good time.

PS. As a Christmas present, we did with Zane a boat tour of several hours on the Zambezi, which took us through a bird paradise. (Fortunately, Brigitta owns a digital camera; otherwise, she would have needed several rolls of film yesterday!)