Letter from Cuito River source lake
Thalefang Charles | Friday February 26, 2016 16:38
Three pour into the Atlantic and one in the Indian Ocean. It is only Kubango and Kuito (sometimes referred to as Cuito) that amazingly end up in the middle of sand at Lake Xau near Mopipi.
Cuito River is the main and longest river that feeds into the Okavango Delta. I am writing this from Cuito’s biggest and farthest source lake up in the remote Angolan highlands.
I am with a team of experts brought together by the Okavango Wilderness Project (OWP) for a National Geographic Expedition to conduct biodiversity surveys at the headwaters of the rivers that feed into the Okavango.
While the team took days to arrive here through difficult roads, I dropped in courtesy of an Angolan police helicopter from a town called Menongue.
I arrived with a proud river bushman from Jao Flats in the Okavango Delta – Water Setlabosha – a Moyei whose connection to this river cannot be over emphasised.
Last year Setlabosha was with the expedition team that made the arduous journey of the entire river basin from here through the Okavango Delta to Lake Xau using mekoro only.
He is among the only four Bayei polers in Botswana who know the entire river, from its Cuito source to Lake Xau.
The helicopter ride to the source of Cuito gave me the privileged opportunity to see the sheer beauty of the Angolan highlands from above. The intimidating dark green forest with long coils of metal grey rivers spiralling out in different directions from the highlands, were pleasing to the eyes. At some point the rivers resembled the famous waterways of the Okavango Delta, but unlike the Okavango, these highlands are not protected and are less explored too.
For years the area has been closed to outsiders due to wars that ravaged the region. Angola is now shaking off its ugly past and welcoming explorers. That is why the Angolan government fully supports this expedition. Upon my drop-off at the Cuito River source lake, the police helicopter airlifted the leader of the expedition, Chris Boyes, who had caught malaria and typhoid – a reminder that these highlands still harbour dangerous ailments.
But the expedition must go on. There are over 13 scientists here, camping out in tents next to the source lake. These include entomologists, ichthyologists, botanists, herpetologists, bird experts and mammal experts all busy doing fieldwork on the lake and surrounding highlands.
They are busy catching frogs, fish, insects, reptiles, counting birds, mammals, collecting plants and testing water for further research that will guide future explorers in the region.
All this painstaking fieldwork is done amidst sudden downpours that keep soaking us and sometimes causing serious damage to our electronic equipment. When we arrived here, the rains welcomed us by soaking my laptop and cameras. For the past few days the laptop has been sitting on rice to suck out the moisture and luckily it is working fine today, which is why you are reading this.
The rains on these highlands are very important in central and southern Africa as they impact life through the rivers of Zambezi, Congo, Okavango and Kunene, thousands of kilometres away from here.
From here we will be travelling to the source of the Kuanza and Cuavanale Rivers, which are not far. The trip is also supported by the Halo Trust organisation that has been clearing the landmines that were planted during the war in this area.