It is entirely possible to visit Angola for a day crossing the Okavango from Rundu. Currently Calai, Rundu’s twin town at the opposite side of the river doesn’t have any viable transport links with inland Angola. Most of the roads are still mined and there was heavy fighting as recently as 2000 during the Caprivi […]

Rundu lies at the entry to the Caprivi strip, at the Namibian side of the river Okavango (Cubango in Angola), with amazing views over the Angolan highlands. A bit more shabby to Namibian standards, the influence of nearby Angola is very strong, with a Portuguese speaking community and more mixed people than in Tsumeb.
On my […]

Tsumeb is a small mining town about 250 km from the Angolan border. The city center looks very American, one shopping street with non-descript South-African supermarkets, a grid of suburban streets behind the main street, a small German church, a park with lawns and flowerbeds.
However, Namibia feels strange and schizophrenic after the Angolan exuberance. The […]

Santa Clara is very much the average Angolan town, leaving aside the countless hostelerias and pensao’s along the main street. At the other side of the border, Oshikango looks like an American mall strip with warehouses and supermarkets lining the road, all busy with Angolans hopping across to do their shopping. Not only is Namibia […]