Across the Ruacana

With the border complete, we headed for the causeway that crosses the Cunene. The river was raging, with one spillway fully open and water boiling around the supports of the bridge, a wonderful and dramatic way to enter the country. 

A friend of ours had warned us that the traveling was very, very slow going, but we made the turn towards Chitado and were able to trundle along at a decent pace on a modest graded gravel road. It was mopane scrubland for miles, and all was well. 

Jenny pointed out a tree with a red and white paint mark on it, “I wonder what that is?” Another went by, and it dredged up my reading on landmines. Yeah, those. Here we were, not an hour from the border, and there were warnings of mines, leftover from decades of civil war. While landmines are a well-known risk in Angola, one of the most mine-ridden countries in the world, they are rarely referred to in reports of traveling to Iona. The highest concentration of mines is in the eastern provinces, where NGOs are collaborating with the Angolan government to systematically remove mines. 

Here we were clearly safe on the road, but I would certainly not be taking a hike in the forest, that’s for sure. Depending on the source, there are 33-35 Suspected Hazard Areas (SHAs) in Cunene province alone, which we were driving across. Whether these red and white markers were marking an SHA, a cleared area, or something else was unclear. We’ll just stick to the road, thanks. Spoiler alert: After getting home, I did some digging and found that we were not near any known minefields—more on landmines in another post. 

The going was easy and relatively fast through the rural countryside. Eventually, we arrived at the small town of Chitado, which was undergoing some major construction. Heavy equipment, trenches and workers were everywhere, busily digging, building, and redirecting. What prompted such a frenzy of activity in this far off place, we couldn’t say. 

Iona National Park, what it is and how to get there:

Iona National Park was proclaimed as a reserve in 1937, and upgraded to park status in 1964. More recently has been under the management of African Parks since 2020. Before the decades of conflict (either 1961 to 2002, or 1975-2002, depending on whether you count the pre-independence insurgency), the park was home to elephant, black rhino, lions and generally a greater number of animals and wildlife. The decades of neglect have resulted in the total eradication of the big charismatic megafauna. Oryx, springbok, zebra, brown hyena, and some recently reintroduced giraffe are resident, though the land is predominantly desert, so the land won’t support large densities of animals even under normal conditions. 

Most visitors to the park are Angolans, on fishing trips to the coast or as part of tours. These visitors enter the park from the north, either from Ponta Albina or the Solendjamba gate. 

If you find yourself one of the few travelers approaching the park from the Namibian border, the approach is from the east. Typically, the route taken is to Oncocua, then turn west on the EN295 and enter the park at S16.69° E13.017°. There is no sign or any indication that you’ve crossed into a National Park, but in another day of driving, you’d find yourself driving through the village of Iona, and eventually to Espenhierra, where the park maintains a base. That this route gains an “EN” designation, meaning Estrada Nacional, or National Road, is amusing, as it is no more than a rocky two-spoor track crossing dozens of dry riverbeds. This route is remote, rugged and slow going.

But there is another way. The other way, which I will call the Monte Negro track, after the village on this route, does not attain the “EN” designation, nor should it. It is longer, even slower, crosses hundreds of dongas and even less is written about it. Naturally, this is the route we took. 

Turning off the pleasantly graded gravel road north of Chitado, the road immediately turns into a simple two-spoor track. The rain had been good to the land, with everything looking bright and green. The villages all had full fields of maize, the goats were fat with sleek coats. Some of the young men had the most spectacular hair-doos, a sort of braided reverse mohawk thing, sometimes with a sheath or hat; very impressive.

The baobab trees are abundant here, thick in full leaf. This track overwhelmed us with bucolic beauty. One can’t help but imagine that if you were going to live a simple life in a rural village, this looked like a near ideal place for it. Of course, we were seeing it in the best of times. No doubt, during extended periods of drought, it’s a different story.

The road became fainter and fainter, descending into a single motorcycle track wandering westward. It must be driven by cars from time to time, but not enough to keep an obvious second line for the tires. We drove slowly, occasionally having to backtrack, wondering if this was a good idea.

The sun sank towards the horizon, and it was time to find a place to camp. There are no formal campsites on the way to Iona, and even if we had started at the crack of dawn there was no way to avoid bush camping somewhere. Near the road was a river that had recently flooded but had now receded to a modest creek. We pulled off, not as far from the road as we’d prefer, and made camp on the riverbank. 

Normally, when we wild camp, we go to great lengths to be out of sight of the road, but that was not easy to do here, and something about the remote track with the odd motorcycle passing by made us less concerned about security than we usually would be. 

Late in the day and with an idyllic creek nearby, it was a good enough spot for us. When we bush camp we find a spot, park and then set up our chairs and feel things out for a time (totally coincidentally, it usually takes about the same amount of time as it takes to drink a beer), and then make camp. That way, if we realize we’re not comfortable with the spot, it’s not a production to pick up and move on. 

This bush camp suited us nicely. A motorcycle passed by, music booming from his phone and his eyes laser-focused on the track ahead, he didn’t even notice us. We were continually impressed by the skills of the motorcyclists; the tracks are rocky and sandy and quite technical to ride. Another passed by, and after doing a double take gave we waved and he returned with a smile and a friendly wave. 

We skipped the fire and had a simple dinner, sitting on the riverbank and watching the stars come out. It felt like we were doing some proper overlanding, and we felt good. 

In the morning, we had a pleasant coffee time by the river and a slow start. We were here to experience Angola; there was no need to dash off at sunrise like we would on a game drive in a park. 

Happily, the track improved, and we made our way without too many obstacles towards the village of Monte Negro. We meandered through these far flung backwaters of Angola, enjoying the environment, the slow and rocky track, and the odd passerby on a motorcycle. There were not many. There are several river crossings, but they were all dry at the time. 

Bird life was good, but we found birding in Angola to be difficult; the birds were not cooperative about it. As soon as we picked up our binoculars, they would flit off, unlike the more congenial birds in Namibia and Botswana. 

Next time:

• The village of Monte Negro
• We get an “opportunity” to use the MaxTrax

The Nitty Gritty

Travel time, Ruacana border post to bushcamp: 4h 22m
Avg speed: 28 kph
Distance: 122 km

Links to Other Angolan Reports of the Monte Negro route:
• Photographer Paul Godard’s blog and report of taking the Monte Negro Track
• A report on the 4x4Community Forum by member “La Leona” – They were only a week or so behind us, and we had been in touch during our trip to swap notes. 
• Another excellent 4x4Community report by RodS, taking part of the track we drove, but then going further north and turning west on the EN 295 approach.

There are many other good reports of visits to Iona on the 4x4community.co.za forum, notably those by Stan Weakly and Wazungu Wawilli

A note on visiting Ruacana Falls

There are two places to view the falls from the Namibian side. For both of them, you take the turn toward the border post. For the first viewpoint, after turning for the border, take the first left, toward the power plant, and then you’ll see a small area to park to the right side of some hydro-electric plant infrastructure. Park and walk 10 meters, and there you are. It is unmarked. 

The second viewpoint is in no-man’s land between the border posts. Continue on to the Namibian border post and ask the authorities if you can proceed to the falls viewpoint. They will give you permission, and you drive straight to the viewpoint (there is a sign), which is about 300 meters away. There is a parking area, a few picnic benches, and a modest bar/café. A few steps down, on the left side of the parking area, will bring you to a viewpoint. The one by the power plant gives you a more expansive view, the official viewpoint between the borders is closer to falls. Both are impressive. 

After viewing the falls, it was time to find a place to camp. I’d messaged a new campsite, Raycana campsite, and they said they might be able to exchange some money for Angolan Kwanzas for us. The river was in flood and so high that some of the riverside camps were flooded, and Raycana is situated on a hill and clear of the water, so it seemed it would tick all the boxes. 

It’s 8 kilometers from the falls, and the rain had not been good for the road, so it took longer than expected. The campsite is at the top of a hill overlooking the valley. There is a bar area, a pool with a view, and six camp pitches close together. Each campsite has its own ablutions.

Getting Kwanza was causing some anxiety. We planned to use the Ruacana border post, in keeping with our preference for small borders, and this was closest to our goal of Iona National Park. However, there are no banks or ATMs between that border and the park, and the park only accepts Angolan Kwanzas or international wire transfers. Since we were not sure of our exact dates or duration of stay, we had avoided pre-paying via wire. However, Kwanza was not even allowed to be traded outside the country until fairly recently, and this, combined with the frequently fluctuating value, means that, practically speaking, you can’t get Kwanza outside of Angola.

It turned out that Raycana did not have Kwanzas to trade today, but they seemed confident that we’d find someone at the border to exchange money on the black market. We were advised to look for the young men carrying backpacks.

It had been something of a whirlwind to get from America all the way to the Ruacana border, so against our better judgment, we let ourselves have a relaxed morning before heading for the border. We made the journey back east, and all the way to Ruacana town to top up on fuel prior to heading to the border. It is 20 kilometers past the border to the fuel station, so this took up a bit of time. 

With that, we turned at a faded road sign saying “Angola —>” and headed for the unknown. 

Highlights

• Ruacana falls in full flood. Stunning!
• Lovely views driving down the escarpment to the falls, and from Raycana campsite
• Back on the road again!

Lowlights

• Appalling fuel economy of a heavy cruiser
• Difficulty in getting Kwanzas, though totally expected

Questions or comments? It’s great to hear from readers. Please comment below, and I’ll try to respond as soon as possible!

Ruacana 

Raycana Campsite is actually in two locations: a brand new riverside camp and the hillside camp we stayed at. Camping was $N350 pppn. While the camp had a lovely view and a pool, each of the pitches was close together. The camp has well tended landscaping and looks great. There is an excellent sundowner spot with picnic tables and a shelter, a couple of minutes’ walk from camp. 

Ruacana Puma Station does accept credit cards. Additionally, they can act as an ATM of sorts, swiping your card at the register and then dispensing Namibian dollars in exchange. Fair warning, though – they charge a high fee – $N250 for this service. But there is no other choice. The shop in the Puma station is quite well stocked for a small shop, including ice (usually) and some frozen meat.

There are a few roadside vendors selling wood on the side of the road as you drive into Ruacana town towards the Puma station. We paid $N20 per bundle of good mopane wood.