We had 4 days until we needed to leave Namibia and we were going to spend them exploring the Zambezi Region, formerly Caprivi Strip. It was the highlight of the country for some and we were looking forward to seeing as much wildlife as possible. We’d been forewarned not to drive down the highway at night due to animals in the road, which added to the excitement.
Divundu
Our first night was spent at Ngepi Camp, which is somewhere you can go to escape everything. It’s on the bank of the Kavango River and promotes sustainability in as many ways as possible. We had seen pictures of their 3-walled bathtub and we wanted to wash ourselves in it. There’s something special about being able to look out and see the sun setting over the river and watching closely to see if a hippo happens to pass by. It definitely changes the scenery of the typical tiled walls.
Ngepi 4×4 road sign
Open shower at Ngepi campsite
While we didn’t see any hippos or crocodiles during our time at camp, we did see a bush snake and swam in the river in their floating pool. Neither of us were brave enough to try to touch the bottom to make sure there was a floor to the cage, but we assume it was there. The river was high and continuing to rise so we’d jump, float to the stairs on the other side and repeat.
Beware of crocs and hippos
Jumping in to the fenced pool
We woke up to the birds singing and had a slow morning before making our way into the Bwabwata National Park. One of the perks for us is that there are no fences around the park. The animals migrate from Angola to Botswana and cross through Namibia on the way. The night before we learned that the park doesn’t have a gate as the highway runs through the middle. The next 200 kms (124 miles) would be in the park and we kept our eye peeled as we drove.
Elephants crossing warning sign
Just after starting, we took a detour through the muddy roads to see the Eastern side of Popa Falls, but they were difficult to see. We did find fresh hippo footprints in the sand from the night before. Back on the main road, we passed warning signs for elephants, kudu and wild dogs. We got lucky and saw an elephant and 3 kudus on the side of the highway. Two different times we took side roads to see what would happen, but we only found farms and mud-covered roads so we turned back.
Fresh hippo footprint
Buffalo Park
Back on the Western side of the park, we stopped in the Buffalo Core Area to see what we could find. It wasn’t the best time of day, but we decided to give it a try. We drove along the river and bumped around on the uneven ground. There was a waterhole in a pan towards the middle of the park and decided to head that direction. Just before reaching it, there was too much water on the road that we decided to turn back. We waited in the shade for the temperature to cool down so the animals could come out of hiding for us to see them.
Mud-covered and flooded roads at Buffalo Park
We made it back to the river road and worked our way along until we spotted our first buffalo. There were a solitary one eating his dinner and then we passed 4 more that were using the water to cool off. We took our time watching them as well as the hippos in the river. We took the road through the military base ruins on the way out and found several kudu, warthogs and impala.
Buffalo eating in late afternoon
Kudu in the forest
Shortly after exiting the gate, we found a large herd of elephants in the road using their feet to dig in the dirt. Although it’s not confirmed, we assume they were doing it to get salt. The sun was setting across the river as we watched the elephants make their way into the bush. Then, we crossed back over the river to make camp for the night.
Herd of elephants eating in the road
Popa Falls
We decided to stay at the Popa Falls Resort since it included access to the falls the next morning. After wandering around the property (because we didn’t understand the directions to the falls), we found the viewpoint. The river was flowing fast and higher than normal so the falls were not as impressive as we had hoped. It was still a better view compared to what we had seen a view on the other side of the river a few days before.
Campsite at Popa Falls Resort
View of Popa Falls from opposite side of the resort
From what we had seen, our expectations were being met from all the good things we had heard about the area. We still needed to see the Eastern side of the park and all that it offered. It was great to have the freedom to explore again and discover the easily-passed places with our truck.
Helpful tips:
- We recommend staying at Ngepi Camp. We wish we could have stayed longer and enjoyed everything it had to offer.
- Entrance to see Popa Falls is 20 Namibian Dollars if you aren’t staying at the resort, but is included if you stay.