The Zambezi Region (formerly known as the Caprivi Strip) is one of Namibia’s most distinctive destinations and one of the least integrated into standard Namibia itineraries. Positioned in the far north-east, where Namibia narrows between Botswana and Angola to form a geographic anomaly of colonial border-drawing, it offers a completely different Namibia from Etosha and Damaraland: river-based wildlife, permanent water, dense riparian vegetation, and species unavailable anywhere else in the country.
The Route
From Okaukuejo to Katima Mulilo (Zambezi Region):
Option 1 (via Windhoek): Okaukuejo → Anderson Gate → Windhoek (440km, 5 hours) → B1 north toward Otjiwarongo → B8 northeast through Grootfontein, Rundu → B8 east to Katima Mulilo. Total: approximately 1,500km from Okaukuejo; 2 to 3 driving days.
Option 2 (via northern roads): Exit Etosha via Von Lindequist or Nehale lya Mpingana Gate → north toward Ondangwa → east toward Rundu → B8 east to Katima Mulilo. Total: approximately 1,200km from Okaukuejo; 1 to 2 driving days.
What the Zambezi Region Offers
The Zambezi Region’s parks. Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park, and Nkasa Rupara National Park, protect a river and floodplain ecosystem that supports species absent from Etosha and Damaraland:
Red lechwe in large numbers on the floodplains; sitatunga in the papyrus swamps; puku (a Zambia-adjacent species rare in Namibia); hippo and Nile crocodile in the rivers; African fish eagle calling across every waterway.
The wildlife viewing is entirely different in character from Etosha: boat-based game drives on the Chobe and Kwando rivers, walking in floodplain habitat, and the atmosphere of a water-rich environment after the aridity of the rest of Namibia.
Is It Worth Adding?
For a ten-day Namibia itinerary focused on Etosha and Damaraland, the Zambezi Region is too far and the driving too significant to add without a dedicated allocation of time. For visitors with 14 or more days who have specifically done Etosha and Damaraland before, or who want to combine Namibia with Botswana’s Chobe and Okavango, the Zambezi Region is a natural extension.
The Zambezi Region also connects directly to Botswana’s Chobe National Park and, via the Kazungula crossing, to Zambia’s Livingstone and Victoria Falls. A 14 to 21 day itinerary combining Etosha, Damaraland, and Zambezi before crossing to Chobe and Victoria Falls covers southern Africa’s greatest highlights in a single circuit.
Contact Mat-Travel to discuss a Zambezi Region extension or a combined Namibia-Botswana programme.