Game Viewing in the Caprivi

The Caprivi Game Park

It has since been managed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) as a conservation area. In 1999, Cabinet decided that this park would be renamed as the Bwabwata National Park and that the borders would change to include the Mahango Game Park and Kwando Triangle. Certain areas such as Omega and Bagani will again be excluded from the park. However, these changes have yet to be proclaimed by Government.

The landscape in the 5 715-km2 park is generally flat, except for sporadic 30-m to 60-m high dunes covered in vegetation. Deciduous woodlands are dominated by trees such as wild seringa, copalwood, Zambezi teak, wild teak and several wild raisin and bushwillow species.

While the park is sanctuary to 35 large and numerous small game species, visitors with normal vehicles are not likely to see many of these animals, as traffic is restricted to the road between Kavango and Eastern Caprivi. There are 4x4 tourist tracks along the western bank of the Kwando River that can be negotiated only by 4x4 vehicles because the terrain is extremely sandy. As yet there are no facilities for tourists, except for basic camping sites. Such a trip is, however, extremely rewarding in respect of the wildlife that can be viewed.

Animals likely to be seen while driving through the park are elephant, roan and kudu. These species roam throughout the area, while buffalo occur towards the west in the Buffalo Core Conservation Area and in the east along the Kwando River. Because there is no surface water, most species congregate along the Okavango and Kwando rivers and at the Malombe and Ndwasa pans in the north east. As many as 339 bird species have been recorded in West Caprivi, which makes a drive through the park especially rewarding to birdwatchers.