Caprivi Game Reserve is in Namibia’s remote north-east region, near the Botswana border. The game reserve covers nearly 5715 square kilometers and stretches more than 170 kilometers along the Okavango River to the Kwando River. It is bordered by the Mahango Game Reserve on the other side of the Kavango River.
The park’s vegetation is dominated by broad leafed woodlands, savannah grasslands, open wetlands, and marsh along the riverbanks. Several streams and rivers flow through the 32-kilometer-wide reserve, with a few islands in the river.
The game reserve is named after The Caprivi Strip, a finger-like piece of land on Botswana’s northern border. The Okavango and Kwando rivers cut through the Caprivi Strip, while the Chobe and Zambezi rivers form the north-east and south-east boundaries, respectively.
Caprivi in Namibia is a lush, subtropical wetland. Palm trees, reeds, and papyrus grow along vast expanses of open water. The flood plains are dotted with broad-leafed woodlands, and the wildlife is mostly riverine. Birdlife is abundant.
Trailing the world’s oldest desert in the south, the Caprivi wetlands are somewhat surprising. The finger of land that connects Botswana and Zambia and touches Zimbabwe is a subtropical paradise of perennial rivers, flooded marshes, and verdant woodlands, with game viewing, bird watching, and river cruises being the highlights of this lush stretch of land.
Wildlife and birdlife are abundant, reminiscent of the Okavango Delta, which begins at Popa Falls, a picturesque cascade of water that marks the fault line that diverted the Kavango River into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
The wildlife is mostly riverine, with large herds of elephant, buffalo, sable, hippo, impala, red lechwe, and tsessebe, with occasional sightings of sitatunga, reedbuck, waterbuck, and puku. Wild dogs roam the area, while lions, leopards, and hyenas hunt the drier flood plains and savannah woodlands away from the wetlands.
This strip of land, which covers approximately 20,000 square kilometers between the Zambezi and Okavango rivers, owes its unusual shape to colonial powers. The 450-kilometer strip is 30 kilometers wide at its narrowest point and 100 kilometers at its widest point.
The Caprivi is also traversed by a single perennial river known alternately as the Kwando, Linyanti, or Chobe. The Caprivi receives the most rainfall in Namibia, up to 700mm, resembling the southern regions of Central Africa.
Game viewing, bird watching, and river cruises are the highlights of this lush subtropical area. The combination of wetlands, flood plains, savannah woodlands, and Kalahari bushveld supports Namibia‘s greatest bird diversity. Over 430 species have been documented, and the wetlands are a spectacular and attractive birding destination.
Best Time to visit Caprivi National Park
The Caprivi Strip receives heavy rains from December to March, and it is best visited during the dry winter months of May to October, when the risk of malaria is lowest. Bird watching is best from November to April, and game viewing is best from May to October.
It is worth noting that the late winter season – September and October – sees extremely high temperatures in Caprivi, whereas mid-summer (January to February) is frequently marked by heavy downpours, which may render much of the region inaccessible. Roads are easier to navigate during the dry season, trails are less likely to flood, and wildlife is more visible as the vegetation thins.
