Dispatch 44 - Caprivi Chicken and the pole bridge to Livingstone's museum

Zambia is behind us and now we' re in Namibia' s Caprivi with an expedition base camp pitched on the banks of our favourite river, the Zambezi, just outside Katima Mulilo, a name that was taken from the days when it was common practice to carry embers on a long dugout canoe journey to save difficulties in lighting fires at night. Often the splash from the rapids would put out the embers, hence the name Katima Mulilo, which in the Shilozi language means to quench the fire. " There' s also another meaning," says Ross with a grin as around the campfire, juice running down our fingers, we pull apart 5 juicy rotisserie chickens that Mashozi and Anna have just brought back from town. Between mouthfuls of chicken now spread with some Nando' s hot peri-peri sauce (a bottle of which we' ve found in the Landy food drawer) and the delight of fresh bread, Ross tries again. " The other meaning of Katima Mulilo,' he says, " is that young men wading across the Zambezi to visit their girlfriends on the other side would find the cold water of the rapids deeper than expected up to their waists, so quenching the heat of their desire!' Everybody laughs but they' re more interested in the chicken and bread. We haven' t eaten like this in weeks. On goes the dented soot blackened enamel kettle - it' s time for the Captain' s Renoster Koffie. From across the river on the Zambian side there' s the sound of drums, laughter and xylophones. Not all that long ago, this was a war zone, SADF gun emplacements facing across to the enemy on the other side - thank goodness that time in history is over.

Katima these days is a great place to catch a good meal, re-supply, fuel-up, fix tyres and do any repairs. Kate and Dick Sharp at Tutwa Travel offer travel advice, coffee, steak, egg and chips, an internet café and a workshop out the back. Kate gives us the news - a faxed itinerary for a Boundless Expedition community event to be held at Ngoma Bridge where the Linyanti becomes the Chobe - our humble expedition has caught the attention of Windhoek, Lolo Goraseb, the colourful Namibian soccer star, is on his way and is the Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa, Namibia' s Minister of Environment and Tourism, and a media team. We leap into action - we' re good at it now. Adolf Waidelich from 4x4MegaWorld in South Africa has arrived with goal posts, nets, trophies and white lime to mark out the field. The crowds arrive, there' s cultural dances, Lolo talks to the kids and signs autographs, the Minister hands over the Grindrod sponsored Boundless Soccer Challenge floating trophy and the Man of the Match award - it' s been great soccer. The deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs judges the art competition, once again the theme is nature, culture and community. We hand over box libraries, soccer balls, whistles and Fifa rules. Once again the expedition has brought joy to a seldom visited rural community, all part of the build-up to the 2010 World Cup and an expedition to link 2 oceans, 9 countries, 7 transfrontier conservation areas, more than 30 nature reserves and game parks and the communities that live in or adjacent to these areas.

Dave the naturalist on the expedition is down with bad malaria - we treat him with Coartem, he' s very weak - we also give him something for the nausea. It' s his first time so the poor fellow doesn' t know what' s quite hit him.

The expedition Landies move further West into the Caprivi Strip, named in honour of the German Count Caprivi and given to Germany as a narrow strip of land that would join German controlled South West Africa to the Zambezi. Now an important part of Namibia, the Caprivi has become a sought after destination for adventure, wildlife and cultural tourism. Much of the 'strip' is covered by the beautiful Bwabwata National Park sandwiched between Angola to the North and Botswana to the South. We' re heading for the Kwando River and its swamps. At 30,000 ha this is the largest wetland with conservation status in Namibia. Called Mamili, the park is wedged inside a giant loop described by the Kwando/Mashi River, as it becomes the Linyanti Swamp and River. At high water up to 80 % of this park is inundated and the terrain id characterised by channels, ox-bow lakes, tree covered islands and vast reed beds. Swamp game such as lechwe and sitatunga can be seen, with hippos and crocodiles being common. Large herds of elephant roam through and predators such as lion and hyena are plentiful. The bird species count is well over the 400 mark and represents about 70% of the total number of species found in Namibia. We' re here to visit Linus Makwato. There' s been heavy flooding, he' s spent the last two weeks building a Mopani pole bridge so that he can get us across to his camp and a small museum in which he pays tribute to Dr David Livingstone' s journeys and the Helmore / Price missionaries who it' s believed were poisoned by the Makololo. Linus is a humble man with a great community spirit and an avid interest in local history. He talks to us around the fire, stories of how the local Lozi people were once subjugated by Chief Sebitoane of the Bafokeng, a Basotho clan on search of a new land, and how Dr Livingstone had camped here and had been befriended by the chief who had loaned him 23 Makololo porters who were the unsung heroes of Dr Livingstone' s trans-Africa journey from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean at which time he discovered Mosi ao Tunya, the Smoke that Thunders - which he had named the Victoria Falls. Some sixty years later, says Linus, the Lozi people ousted the Kololo and restored the Lozi Kingdom, and that explains why today there are so many Sotho words in the Silozi language. Tomorrow we have a community day at nearby Sangwali village, once again linking nature, culture and community. There' ll be 8 games of soccer, and an art and culture competition. There' s huge excitement - a beast will be slaughtered, the chief will be present, then it' s across the Linyanti to Botswana' s Savuti, Khwai, Moremi, the Okavango and across the Central Kalahari to Mabuasahube and the great Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. So much still to do before we cross the Sperrgebiet to the mouth of the Orange and the end of the Boundless Southern Africa Expedition - we' ll keep you posted.