Highlights: Etosha National Park, Kavango Region, Caprivi Region, Chobe National Park
Day 1 & 2 Etosha National Park
Upon your arrival at the international airport you will be met by your guide who will give you more information about the tour. Thereafter you will continue your journey to Etosha National Park where you will devote purely to the wild life found in the Etosha National Park for the two days. This park is home to 4 of the big five – elephant, Lion, Leopard and Rhino. Etosha National Park is one of Southern Africa’s finest and most important Game Reserves. Etosha Game park was declared a National Park in 1907 and covering an area of 22 270 square km, it is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species, 16 amphibian species and, surprisingly, one species of fish.
Etosha, meaning “Great White Place”, is dominated by a massive mineral pan. The pan is part of the Kalahari Basin, the floor of which was formed around 1000 million years ago. The Etosha Pan covers around 25% of the National Park. The pan was originally a lake fed by the Kunene River. However the course of the river changed thousands of years ago and the lake dried up. The pan now is a large dusty depression of salt and dusty clay which fills only if the rains are heavy and even then only holds water for a short time. This temporary water in the Etosha Pan attracts thousands of wading birds including impressive flocks of flamingos. The perennial springs along the edges of the Etosha Pan draw large concentrations of wildlife and birds.
Day 3 Kavango Region
This morning after breakfast you will proceed east via the mining town of Tsumeb and the “maize Triangle” to Rundu, where your lodge for the night is situated. On the way to Rundu we will stop in Grootfontein to visit a small quaint museum that offers us unique insight into the culture, historical as well as the agricultural history of Namibia. The riverside town of Rundu, on the banks of the Okavango River, is situated in Kavango, the home of Namibia’s well- known Kavango woodcarvers. This ancient craft, handed down over generations, is a flourishing industry today
Day 4 & 5 Caprivi Region
This morning after breakfast you continue your journey along the Kavango River to Popa Falls, where you can stop for a scenic walk along the rapids and surrounding forest, before traveling through the Caprivi Game Park. This area is renowned for its rich wildlife and abundant bird variety. Caprivi was named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi, who negotiated the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom. Von Caprivi arranged for Caprivi to be annexed to German South-West Africa in order to give Germany access to the Zambezi River and a route to Africa’s East Coast, where the German colony Tanganyika was situated. The annexation was a part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany gave up its interest in Zanzibar in return for the Caprivi Strip and the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.
The Caprivi Strip is of strategic military importance. During the Rhodesian Bush War (1970–1979), African National Congress operations against the South African government (1965–1994) and the Angolan Civil War, this little finger of land saw continual military action and multiple incursions by various armed forces using the Strip as a corridor to access other territories. This morning after breakfast you can visit a traditional village, where you will experience the daily life of the people who live here. You can also take part in morning game drives or game cruises in the morning or late afternoon.
Day 6 Botswana
This morning after breakfast you will travel along the Caprivi Strip, you enter Katima Mulilo, situated along the Zambezi River that forms a natural boundary to Zambia. Driving along stretches of huge Baobab Trees, you enter Botswana and travel via the Chobe National Park, renowned for the highest Elephant population on earth, to Kasane where your tour will end.
Have a Safe Journey!
