Of the four rivers that run through the region, the Kwando is the narrowest. This characteristic enables you to watch game and birds on both banks during a sunset cruise.
Namibia has some of the most scenic desert landscapes on earth. It's also a place where silence rings loudly across the plains. But during summer, the Kavango East and Zambezi regions (formerly known as the Caprivi Strip) are never quiet. The call of a woodland kingfisher is your alarm clock. A red-billed spurfowl gives a harsh cackle. Something disturbs the crowned lapwings on the riverbank and they also kick up a racket. A coppery-tailed coucal calls doo-doo-doo in a bush. Cows moo, donkeys bray. Insects zoom and chirr, and when the sun sets, frogs join the choir. The closer you are to the river, the louder all the clicks and croaks become.
In the morning, a gogga floats in your coffee mug. Moths flutter up from your towel when you grab it to go for a swim. This is a place for extroverts – every species makes itself seen and heard.
Yes, there are quieter animals, too. A silent flock of little egrets flies low over the water in the early morning. A purple heron holds perfectly still among the reeds. An African darter watches the world from a tree.
Wherever you choose to stay, you can prepare your senses for the holiday of a lifetime.
PARK INFO
You need a 4x4 to explore the parks properly. The maps at the park offices are dated, so bring a GPS loaded with Tracks4Africa software. Bwabwata, Mudumu and Nkasa Rupara national parks have the same tariffs: SADC members pay R70 per adult, R30 per child, and R50 per vehicle to enter.
KAVANGO RIVER
The first river
We drive over the Red Line on the B8, about 70 km north of Grootfontein, and the landscape immediately begins to change. Gone are the huge game farms and game fences with no people in sight; things are getting looser now, more
