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Namibia> Places to visit in Namibia |
The Caprivi Region has a unique history. Until the end of the 19th Century it was known as Itenge and it was under the rule of the Lozi Kings. In the late 1800's the strip of land was administered as part of the British protectorate of Bechuanaland (Botswana). Then in 1890 Germany laid claim to the British administered island of Zanzibar to which Britain objected. The dispute was settled by the Berlin Conference in 1890 when Queen Victoria acquired Zanzibar and Germany acquired the territory which became known as the Caprivi Strip, named after German Chancellor General Count Georg Leo von Caprivi di Caprara di Montecuccoli. The German motivation behind the swap was to acquire a strip of land linking German south west Africa with the Zambezi River thus providing easy access to Tanganyika (Tanzania) and ultimately the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately for the Germans, the British colonisation of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia) stopped them well upstream of Victoria Falls, which proved a considerable barrier to navigation on the Zambezi. Then during W.W.I the Caprivi Strip again came under British rule and was governed as part of Bechuanaland but it received little attention and became known as a lawless frontier. Nowadays approximately 66,000 people live in the Caprivi, mostly as subsistence farmers who make their living on the banks of the Zambezi, Kwando, Linyati and Chobe Rivers.
There are three game parks in the Caprivi region. The Caprivi Game Park is 5715 square kilometers and extends for about 180km from the Kavango River in the west to the Kwando River in the east. Deciduous woodlands are dominated by trees such as wild seringa, copalwood and Zambezi teak. While the park is sanctuary to 35 large and numerous small game species, visitors are not likely to see many of these animals as vehicles are restricted to the road between Kavango and Eastern Caprivi. Animals likely to be seen are elephant, roan and kudu, buffalo occur towards the west. As many as 339 bird species have been recorded in west Caprivi.
The wild and little visited Mamili National Park is Namibia's equivalent of the Okavango Delta, a watery wonderland of wildlife rich islands, river channels and wetlands. The focal points of the 320km2 national park are Nkasa and Lupala, two large islands in the Kwando/Linyati river. During the dry season the islands can be reached by road but after the rains 80% of the area becomes flooded, cutting them off from the mainland.
Mudumu National Park is a vast 100,959 hectare expanse of dense savannah and mopane woodland with the Kwando River at its western border. The park is home to small populations of sitatunga and red lechwe while spotted neck otter, hippo and crocodile inhabit the waterways. Animals to be encountered are elephant, buffalo, roan, sable, kudu, impala, oribi, zebra, wild dog as well as some 430 species of birds.
The Caprivi region is often visited on guided safaris, particularly safaris which visit the Okavango Delta and Victoria Falls. For those arriving in Victoria Falls it is worth considering car hire in Zimbabwe as this makes travelling around the country much easier.
Another point of interest in the Caprivi area is the Popa Falls, though more of a rapid than a waterfall there is a drop of about 3m. There are a number of campsites and lodges in the Caprivi region situated along the rivers as the area is good for fishermen who enjoy game fishing in Namibia, going after tiger fish and bream.