Bwabwata National Park

Bwabwata National Park is a protected conservation area spanning 6,274 square kilometers across the Zambezi and Kavango East regions in northeastern Namibia's Caprivi Strip. Established in 2007 through the merger of the former Caprivi Game Park and Mahango Game Reserve, the park extends roughly 190 kilometers from east to west and 40 kilometers from north to south. It is bounded by the Okavango River to the west and the Kwando River to the east, bordering Angola to the north and Botswana to the south. The landscape consists of low vegetated sand dunes, Kalahari broad-leaved woodlands, omiramba dry drainage channels, seasonal floodplains, and riverine islands.The park forms a vital transboundary corridor for wildlife moving between Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. It supports large herds of African elephants and Cape buffalo, alongside rare antelope species such as roan, sable, tsessebe, red lechwe, sitatunga, and reedbuck. Predators active in Bwabwata include lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas, and endangered African wild dogs. The river ecosystems host hippopotamuses, Nile crocodiles, and over 400 avian species, including the wattled crane, Pel's fishing owl, African skimmer, and various raptors and wetland birds.Bwabwata is notable for its integrated management approach that accommodates approximately 5,500 human residents, primarily from the indigenous Khwe San community. The park is structured into three core conservation zones—Mahango, Buffalo, and Kwando—and a large Multiple Use Area allocated for human settlement, community farming, and trophy hunting. Tourism activities include self-drive 4x4 game drives, boat safaris, bird watching, and guided walks, with lodging available at community-run campsites such as Nambwa and Bum Hill, as well as private lodges on the park borders.