Of the only five permanently flowing rivers in Namibia, the northern region of Namibia has three, namely the Kavango (Okavango), Kwando and Zambezi. There are two other rivers in the Caprivi that are often regarded as rivers in their own right, the Chobe and Linyanti, how-ever, both of these are extensions to the Kwando and Zambezi respectively. The beautiful wetlands created in the area by the seasonal flooding of these rivers, teem with fish, birdlife and the most wonderfully diverse vegetation, with many areas abounding in wild game.
All the rivers have their own seasons of tranquility at low water through to their turgid flood periods after the rainy season. The Kavango and Zambezi Rivers rise and recede at the same time. The Kwando River, however, rises around July/August. The rainy season begins in December and lasts until the end of March.
The catchment area for the Kavango/Kwando Rivers is in Angola, while the catchment area of the Zambezi is in Angola and Zambia. The catchement areas of the Kavango, Kwando and Zambezi rivers is equivalent to the size of Namibia, with very high rainfalls, and it is said that at full flood these rivers could fill all the dams in Namibia within an hour.
Chobe is quite different, being a small tributary of the Zambezi during the low water season, while in the flood time it is pushed back by the Zambezi, resulting in the river flowing west to east in the low water and east to west in high water.
We associate river floods in the drier south of Namibia and Southern Africa in general with heavy local rain followed by a huge increase of muddy water, almost like a flash flood. Not so the rivers of the Caprivi, which are quite diffe-rent, having a gradual increase, seldom dirty, yet rising over a sustained period, to peak after the rainy season and then slowly receding.
All the rivers have floodplains to a smaller or greater degree, which are flooded when the ri-ver overflows its bank. The Zambezi has a vast flood plain reaching a distance of up to 72 km on the Namibian side at its widest point. During the period when the river is in full flood the river overflows its banks and flows into small rivers and then floods the area in general. The flood plains are relatively flat and so once the water has moved into the flood plains it covers huge areas of land. When the small rivers recede after the floods, they leave behind pans or “Malapas” and with the soil being almost impervious, the water stands in these Malapas sometimes until the following year’s flood. This is wonderful for animals, both wild and domestic, and some really amazing birdlife can be seen in the dry months.
This year, 2007, the Zambezi reached the high-est recorded level of the river for that time of the year (mid March) - normally this happens around mid May. It was very early peaking at 7.28 m above low water. This is a nightmare for the lodges, but ecologically wonderful for the area. Almost all the lodges in the areas are based along the rivers, and most have the problem of bringing in guests during the flood period. This year, with its exceptionally high floods, forced many lodges to close on a temporary basis. However, all the lodges organize a safe place where guests can leave their vehicles, and then they boat their guests into their Lodge.
Some lodges have to travel a fair distance by boat with their guests, which is a really wonderful experience, giving guests an exciting free trip through the floodplains - often one of the major highlights of their tour in Namibia. Visiting the area during its time of flooding, offers visitors to Caprivi the rare and special privilege of seeing Nature at work, rejuvenating, replenishing, and recreating.
Perhaps more people might avail themselves of this opportunity if there was better understanding of what occurs in the area and of what exceptional sights may be seen at this time, that are not seen at any other times. When the water is high the fish go right into the floodplains to breed. All the Malapas are filled with water and fish, water lilies appear seemingly from nowhere and vegetation flourishes. It is generally a time of plenty for all.
The local folk, and especially the fishermen, generally have two homes. They live and fish on the river banks during the low water and once the water rises they return to their permanent homes on higher ground, where they keep their cattle and cultivate their lands.
This year, however, with the extremely high water levels of the Zambezi, it made it very difficult for the locals as many of them had their permanent homes flooded as well. The Namibian Government did a sterling job making sure that the people in the flooded areas were evacuated and those without shelter were housed in tents.
Regarding the roads: During the flooded times in these regions, the Main B8 Caprivi Highway, which stretches from Rundu to Ngoma Border Post (the Border with Botswana) is not affected at all, no river runs close to the main highway. The only roads that might be affected are the gravel roads in the rural areas which are not usually used by Tourists.
About tourism in general: Despite the problems that the Caprivi encountered a few years ago, the area has become a popular destination for visitors from all over the world, as it provides links to popular attractions in Botswana (Chobe National Park), Zambia (Livingstone and various national parks), and Zimbabwe having one of the seven wonders of the world (Victoria Falls.) On average a tourist will spend three or four nights in the Caprivi, which includes more than one destination in the area. These tourists generate a substantial income for Namibia, it being estimated that around 40000 visited the Caprivi region in early 1997, (this being about ten percent of all visitors to Namibia) and that since then the Caprivi has become much more popular with a substantial growth rate of about 40 percent over the last few years, which is faster than the growth rate of Tourism to Namibia as a whole.
Success is never final, and failure is never total. It’s courage that counts. After all, for life to be meaningful you must have a challenge! A delightful challenge is presented by visiting the Caprivi in the flooded times.
Compiled by Val Sparg
Kalizo Lodge
www.kalizolodge.com
