Brigitta has reserved camp 3 at Khaudum Camp, which is located in the north of the park. «Why did you choose Camp 3», I wanted to know? «Because from here you can even see the waterhole from the shower», was her answer. (I’m always amazed at what she keeps records of; but that’s also why she does our bookkeeping!)

As beautiful as the southern part of the park was when we followed the Omuramba (mostly dry river), the landscape became desolate as we rocked northwards in the deep sand. There were charred trees everywhere, some of which were still glowing, and the grass had been burnt over large areas. It smelled of smoke; all we could see was a black landscape. (The fire is eating its way through this part of Khaudum from Botswana!) There isn’t much to see from the fire at the Khaudum Camp, where we stood, and the camps were spared from the fire.

After the strenuous journey of several hours, we crawled into our sleeping bags early because we wanted to get up at 5:15 a.m. the next morning, which we did! What an experience to see the sky turn red before the sun rises over the savannah. Wildebeest and roan antelope approached the watering hole from everywhere. The elephants had quenched their thirst last night and were not yet visible.

The next day we would face sixty deep sandy kilometers to the asphalt road that leads to the Caprivi Strip. A good reason to rest here and mentally prepare for this trip…

PS: If you want to know more about the Roan antelope, read here.