The Caprivi fits the image most people have of Africa, more so than any other part of Namibia. The rural population lives in mud and thatch huts amongst meandering elephants, wading hippos, and other animals. The region consists of an interweaving network of perennial rivers, dense forests, and fertile floodplains. The majority of Caprivi’s 80,000 people subsistence farm in the nutrient rich soils along the banks of the Zambezi, Kwando, Linyanti, and Chobe Rivers. Fishing is also a large part of their economy, and makes an important contribution to their diet. It is common for the region’s rivers to flood with rainwater flowing from the DRC and Angola, with over half the land becoming submerged with water. Oddly, lands frequently experience drought conditions despite the flooding. The Caprivians use their mekoro, traditional dugout canoes, as their mode of transportation during the rains, following the same routes one would walk or drive in the dry season.

The Caprivi, or the thumb of Namibia, extends as a panhandle eastward to the countries of Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is an example of how colonial powers shaped boundaries during the scramble for Africa, disregarding the needs of the indigenous peoples. Known as Itenga, the Caprivi was ruled by the Lozi kings until it became part of the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, known today as Botswana. In 1890, at the Berlin Conference, Germany acquired the strip for access to the Indian Ocean, adding it to the then German South West Africa and naming it the Caprivi Strip after the German Chancellor General Count George Leo von Caprivi. In addition to the Bushmen who have been relocated here, today there are six main tribes in the Caprivi with their own languages, using SiLozi as a common working language.

It is important to remember that much of the Caprivi is divided into various nature conservancies.

This means that animals’ rights have to be respected, and the killing of almost any animal without the proper permit – including driving over snakes – is against the law.

These conservancies have benefitted local communities by providing meat to villagers when animals are culled or a permitted hunting occurs; food from the fallen target is distributed amongst local people.

Bwabwata Wildlife Conservancy in the Caprivi

Officially established in 1999, the Bwabwata included five main zones in and around the Caprivi Game Reserve: the West Caprivi Triangle around Kongola, Mahango Game Reserve, Popa Falls, the Buffalo Core Area around Divundu, and the Caprivi Game Reserve. Bwabwata is on a mission to restore game populations to what they were before poaching greatly reduced the numbers.

Since peace came to Angola in 2002, the area is now a safe place to venture into the bush and get away from it all. Game populations are on the rebound and the area is a lush, African bush paradise. When driving across the Trans-Caprivi Highway between Rundu and Katima Mulilo, it is common to spot herds of elephant regularly crossing the road. Be mindful as elephants are large yet have an amazing ability to blend into the natural environment and become invisible to the human eye.

There are well organized community campsites available, giving you a spectacular bush experience in the presence of large game animals! Some of these camps, such as Bum Hill, have solar-powered hot shower facilities and self-drive routes to view animals.

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