Road Trip: Huambo to Lubango
After a couple of days of rest in Huambo we set out to find the ancient rock paintings at Tchitudu Hulu. This would turn out to be the most epic road trip of my life (and I’ve been on plenty of road trips)! Teague and Robert were busily preparing for the journey ahead. Teague made us “Bier Rocks” which consisted of ground beef, cabbage, onion, salt and pepper wrapped in a ball of dough. Biruk made us cookies. Robert replaced the brake pads and balanced the tires on the Land Cruiser. We packed up and set out at 8am September 6th.
For the most part the 6 hour drive to Lubango was paved. But there were crater-like potholes that would appear out of nowhere. Robert, being the experienced pothole-dodger didn’t seem to be bothered. As we drove out of Huambo, which sits at an elevation of 6,000 feet, the landscape changed from dust with huge monoliths jutting straight out of the ground to dust with various bushes and Dr. Suess-esque trees called Baobab Trees.
We passed giant boulders piled up or sprinkled around and hills shaped like volcanos. For hours the only signs of civilization were mud or stick huts, the occasional vendor selling a sack of charcoal or eggs and the tiny boy herding his cattle or goats across the road at any given moment.
Our first tourist stop was Pula Lukwa, a fancy resort/restaurant in Lubango complete with a mini safari. We got to see several wild animals including zebras, a crocodile, guinea fowl and Oryx.
I imagined I would see a few wild animals out in the wild--but in our entire road trip I did not. Robert explained that the decades of war had either driven out or extinguished all the animals that used to live in Angola.
Next he took us to see a breathtaking overlook called Tunda Vala. I say breathtaking because I am terrified of heights. It was beautiful, but VERY high. My palms are sweating just remembering the views and watching the boys fearlessly look over the edge.
There were fascinating purplish pink rocks there, like I had never seen. Later I would encounter an artist shop using these pink rocks for his sculptures.
After the Tunda Vala Robert took us to Cristo Rei--another very high overlook. Then we headed back to Pula Lukwa for dinner. This is when we met our host for the next two nights, a medical missionary, Dr. Steve Collins, who everyone calls “Uncle Steve.”