Our boats pulled up on the wet clay beach of Cuito-Cuanavale just after 1.30 PM yesterday. Makoros were pulled ashore and the team embraced one another. It was one hard earned, heart felt, smelly hug after another as we celebrated on the beach in front of politicians, teammates, and press. It was the end of a 19 day journey following the first millimeters of the Cuanavale through its entire 461 km until it's confluence with the larger Cuito river. It is hard to imagine that not long ago this river was at times not large enough to accommodate our Makoro. Our little river is all grown up. It has joined the Cuito and is continuing on without us.
It was a trying day. At times on the river we could see the city of of Cuito-Cuanavale, but the river winded so badly that we were paddling in the opposite direction. The sun hammered us for four and a half straight hours of hard paddling surrounded by 3+ meter vegitation at times. The last boat to take a tight corner, Goetz and I were briefly distracted by a flock of birds becoming very load suddenly. That was all the time it took for a shifting eddy to pull us into the corner dumping liters of water over the side of our boat. It is a feeling that is frequently compared to having someone trying pull themselves in from beneath unexpectedly. In a hectic few moments we paddled desperately out of the deep water, to the area that becomes bank when it isn't flooded. With no land we were forced to bail water with our drinking bottles holding ourselves steady with handfuls of reeds. We narrowly avoided having to retrieve a capsized boat from deep water with no land in sight.
Goetz Neef, who landed in the same spot just 8 months ago when transecting the Cuito on expedition stood ankle deep in the water watching it flow past. His contribution to this project has been immeasurable. Starting as a volunteer , the entomologist was originally only meant to join the project for a few weeks before learning to pole a makoro and captaining a boat from source to sand over 4 months. The now research director is the poster boy for why this team continues to make large sacrifices in order to work out here. 'What is normal anyway? Once you are out here for a few weeks this becomes normal. Waking up, making a fire, going about your work. You miss your friends and family, but this life becomes hard to leave. We are doing very important work.'
I can only speak to my own experience on the beach. The water in this river has become part of me both physically and mentally. The ability to swim and drink, bath and travel all in the same waters is a tangible connection to our planet that much of humanity lost long ago. As Steve has said many times, this place is our connection to eternity, to the entire history of humanity. As I stood on the beach I wanted more. I wanted to stay on the river and hold on to this connection. It is a safe feeling to want more, because we have so much more left to accomplish. The future of the Okavango Wilderness Project was secured after receiving 3 years of funding from National Geographic in late February, with 2 more expeditions planned for 2016. While we all had incredible personal experiences, the facts are very straight forward regarding the river. This wilderness houses multiple critically endangered species, supports a shocking level of biodiversity, feeds the Okavango Delta, and is healthy enough to support a significant increase in animal population. Our preliminary application for Ramsar demarcation of 12 sites is complete and we are confident the Angolan government will submit them for inclusion. It is a direct result of our expedition and an important first step, but it is still just the first. The Okavango Wilderness Project will continue to fight for the health and safety of this environment until it is properly protected.
'When I look back at all we were able to accomplish in the last two months I almost can’t believe it. It takes so much effort just to survive in this harsh environment, it is just incredible our team was able to continue pushing themselves to an end that far exceeded all our expectations -Expedition Leader Chris Boyes
'Many people say its hard to believe that the Angolan Government will join us in this endeavor. Our answer is that we have to believe it. This is the last chance we will have. This will be one of the great works of our generation' -Project Leader Steve Boyes
