# Caprivi

The Caprivi, also known as the Caprivi Strip is a long, skinny panhandle extending north-east from Namibia, separating Angola (to the north) from Botswana (to the south) and ending near the south-western corner of Zambia. The Caprivi Strip is wetland, its eastern end is entirely encased by perennial rivers: The Okavango, Cuando, Zambezi, and Chobe.

## Cities

* -17.50388924.2751 Katima Mulilo — a small town on the banks of the Zambezi River

## Other destinations

* -17.91666722.51 Bwabwata National Park — the largest of the region's parks, and an important migration route from Botswana to Angola for African elephant and other game species
* -1823.52 Mudumu National Park — home to large numbers of elephants in the dry season, and animals like the buffalo, zebra, leopard, hyaena and roan antelope
* -18.423.653 Nkasa Lupala National Park (ex Mamili) — a swampland region that is not particularly well-known

## Understand

The Caprivi Strip is named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi who acquired it from Great Britain in 1890 for the German colony of German South-West Africa (Namibia) in order to have a river connection to the German colony of Tanganyika. The connection proved unsuccessful, due to the Victoria Falls. Due to the colonial connotation the administrative area is called Zambezi Region in Namibia but tourists and tourist maps still commonly call it the Caprivi.
There was a conflict in Caprivi in 1999, but it lasted only a few days. In the early 2000s conflict in southern Angola spilled over into the strip, and the B8 between Bagani and Kongola was to be driven only in a military convoy. The strip has been peaceful since then.
It is a tropical, wet stretch of land, known for its typical round huts along the street.

## Talk

You will mostly hear the locals speaking their local languages but English, Namibia's official language, is widely understood. Other languages like German and Afrikaans are rarely spoken or understood by the locals.

## Get in
### By plane

There are some small landing strips in the far part of the strip, but otherwise the best way in is by road.

### By road

Due to the scarcity of other options, most travellers will arrive by car. The major highway in the region is the B8 which is part of the Trans-Caprivi Highway. Travellers from Zambia will cross the bridge over the Zambezi at Sesheke to get into Katima Mulilo. Travellers from Botswana will cross the bridge over the Chobe to get into Ngoma.

### By public transport

Between towns you can catch a minibus. Katima Mulilo is on the route of the big coaches that travel between Windhoek and Lusaka.

### By boat

There are a few river crossings into Angola, Zambia, and Botswana; they do not follow a fixed schedule.

## Get around

The B8 is tarred and in very good condition. Also tarred are the C49, an alternative route between Katima Mulilo and Kongola, and the D3509 to Luhonono (formerly Schuckmannsburg). The C48 from Botswana to Bagani is a gravel road and in fair condition, easily passable with an ordinary sedan. Other roads (D-roads and those without letters or numbers) tend to be rough, sandy, heavily corrugated, and muddy after rainfall. The roads in the wetlands east of Katima Mulilo will normally require a 4x4. During the rainy season (Oct-April) they might not be passable with any type of car, phone your host to enquire about road conditions.

## Do

The Caprivi is a game-rich area and includes three wonderful national parks which are still somewhat under-utilized in comparison to the parks in neighboring Botswana.
Take a game drive, camping trip or boat cruise in any of the parks.
For additional on the parks and downloadable brochures go http://www.met.gov.na/national-parks/17/ here].
* Mashi River Safaris, 38H9+Q6 Ngonga (12.7 km south of Kongola on the C49), ☏ +264 81 4619608, mashiriversafaris@gmail.com. Provides river safaris on the Kwando River floodplain. 2022 rates: Floodplain day trip: N$1,500/person; 1 night floodplain special: N$3,000/person; 2 night floodplain / park special: N$6,000/person; 3-4 hour cruise: N$550; more rates here. (updated Feb 2022)

## Sleep

* -17.89824.7291 Chobe River Camp (turn left right in front of Ngoma bridge), info@gondwana-collection.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 10:00. Chalets and camp site on the Chobe River, restaurant, bar, pool, small curio shop, WiFi. Restaurant, pool and a viewing platform directly overlooking Chobe River, some of the chalets, too. You can see all sorts of wildlife at sunset. The restaurant only offers set buffets, N$270 breakfast, N$395 dinner. The lodge offers and tours of varying duration along Chobe River. Unfortunately the boat tours become unavailable if the river water level is too low, and a game drive along the Namibian side of the Chobe then remains the only option Camping N$290 pppn, Namibians -50%, SADC residents -40%. Day tour to Victoria Falls N$3,000pp.. (updated Jan 2025)
* -17.98623.2952 Namushasha River Lodge (signposted off the C49 south of Kongola), info@gondwana-collection.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 10:00. Large lodge in the middle of the forest on the banks of the Cuando River, restaurant (over the day à la carte, buffet for dinner), curio shop, pool, WiFi. Most of the chalets overlook a side channel of the Cuando, which is by now deeper than the main river and thus hosts most of the hippos. Environmentally this is a poisoned chalice because it means that the Cuando hasn't had normal water levels in many years. Angola built a dam in the 2010s, and since then this wetland is slowly drying out. 6 very generous and private camping spots on grass with plenty of shade, hot water, electricity and private ablution facilities. The hot water only works sometimes. Camp site 1 and chalet 29 are less than 20 m away from the main hippo pool! Witnessed by droppings and animal spoor, hippos also visit the camp site at night, and big cats (lion, leopard) come very close. There is a sophisticated security patrol all night with electronic check points, but the gentlemen are not very specific about what exactly they would do if a hippo attacked the happy campers. The lodge offers boat tours, also in the dry season. You don't need to wait for other people to join, the tours are conducted also for just one person. Camping spots on grass with lots of shade, some of them directly overlooking the river. Camping N$290 pppn, Namibians -50%, SADC residents -40%. Guided walk N$295pp, game drive N$940pp, boat cruise N$540pp.. (updated Jan 2025)
* -18.19823.4033 Nkasa Lupala Tented Lodge, Sangwali/Mamili NP, info@nkasalupalalodge.com.
* -17.45324.2694 Zambezi Mubala Lodge and Camp (signposted off the D road to Luhonono), info@gondwana-collection.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 10:00. Chalets and camp site on a side arm of the Zambezi, à la carte restaurant, bar, pool, curio shop, WiFi. Restaurant, pool and a viewing platform directly overlooking the river and an island that is still on the Namibian side. Crocs and hippos everywhere, visible right from the bar and the camp site The lodge offers boat tours, also in the dry season. You don't need to wait for other people to join, the tours are conducted also for just one person. Camping spots on grass with lots of shade, some of them directly overlooking the river. Camping N$290 pppn, Namibians -50%, SADC residents -40%. Boat tours for fishing N$365ph, birding (3h) N$750pp, sunset cruise (1.5 h) N$440, Namibians -25%.. (updated Jan 2025)

## Stay healthy

All of northern Namibia, and particularly the tropical Caprivi, is a Malaria risk zone. Take the necessary precautions.
Tap water throughout the Caprivi might come from the rivers. Ask the host if you can drink it.

## Stay safe

The Caprivi is famous for its many elephants. Don't drive too close, and don't drive too fast, even (and particularly) on the B8. Unless accompanied by a screeching halt, 10-15 m will normally not put your party in danger and is close enough for good holiday pictures. Come any closer and the younger elephants might play with your car, the older ones might get angry, either way your car might end upside down. You'll know that an elephant is angry when he shakes his head. In this case, stay in the car, switch off the engine, and avoid all unnatural noise (cell phone, camera, such things). They will eventually walk away; wait for this to happen instead of trying a daring escape.
All perennial rivers in Caprivi have crocodiles and hippos. It is not safe to swim there. Outside the settlements it is not safe to even go near, as hippos are both aggressive and territorial and can easily outrun a human on land. Hippo males have their own "hippo highway", the place where they, and only they, leave the water. They mark this exit with dung, spread by wagging their small tails. If you see fresh distributed dung somewhere near the river, back off immediately.
Namibia has the largest variety of poisonous snakes on the planet, and many inhabit the Caprivi. Specifically, the Black Mamba and the Mozambique spitting cobra are more common in this region than you may think. Be extra careful, even when in the premises of a lodge or in your room or dining area.
In forested areas near the rivers velvet monkeys raid each accommodation about twice a day. No food should be left unattended. This includes food right on your plate or in your hands, if you're distracted, for instance by another monkey. Velvet monkeys can lift lids off refuse bins and food boxes, and they also might take small things they're interested in, like eyewear or car keys.

## Go next

* In the south lies Botswana and its natural wonders, the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park.
* The Victoria Falls are not far away from the Caprivi Strip. Depending which side of the Falls you want to visit, you can reach the Zambian side by crossing the border at Katima Mulilo over Sesheke Bridge. From there the Falls are about 200 km (120 mi) to the east, on a road that is so terrible that you might not have seen anything like it before. Expect to spend an entire day on this road chain of potholes. To reach the Zimbabwean side you cross the border into Botswana at Ngoma. The 90 km (56 mi) stretch of road from there to the Falls is tarred and decidedly better.
* Further west is the Etosha National Park