Rundu is where Namibia's long, dry north suddenly turns green. The town sits on the south bank of the Okavango River, and across the water, close enough to hear the roosters, is Angola. It is the capital of the Kavango East region and a proper working town of nearly sixty thousand people, which in this part of the country makes it a metropolis. After hundreds of kilometres of bush and cattle fences on the tar road from the south, the first sight of reed beds, dugout canoes and glittering river is a small shock.
For a rider, Rundu is a supply stop and a good one. There is fuel, there are supermarkets, banks that actually have cash, and a good choice of places to eat with the river in view. Treat it as the last dependable shop for a while before the long eastern run into the Caprivi, and top up everything that holds a fluid. The river road along the water is slower and more interesting than the main highway, with mud-brick homesteads, fields of mahangu millet and children waving from every gate.
The Kavango people have lived along this river for centuries, and their woodcarving is the thing most travellers take away. Along the roadside stalls, craftsmen sell animals, masks, bowls and chairs cut from local hardwood, and a good carver will happily explain which tree is which. You will not fit a giraffe on a motorcycle, but a small bowl wrapped in a jacket is entirely possible. Greeting people before you ask for anything is the local courtesy, and it works wonders.
Take the usual care with the riding around town. Pedestrians, goats, cattle and donkeys use the shoulder as their own, and after dark they use the tarmac too. Most locals will tell you not to ride the highway at night, and they are right. Mornings are the best light and the best temperature, and the dry season from roughly May to September keeps the days clear and the mosquitoes thinner. Sundowners by the water, with fish eagles calling and the Angolan bank turning orange, are the reward for a hot day in the saddle.