Mahango Game Reserve - Namibia

  

We crossed from Botswana north into the narrow stretch of Namibian land that extends east to Zambia and Zimbabwe.  After an uneventful border crossing, we travelled west along the Caprivi Strip (apparently much more interesting when scattered with waterholes after the rains) until we reached the Okavango River.  The Okavango forms part of the border between Namibia and Angola before running south crossing the Caprivi Strip into Botswana where it empties into a basin known as the Okavango Delta (see earlier post).  Having experienced a little of the Delta already, it was wonderful to see the source of these waters all the way up in Namibia, feeding and cleaning other communities and animals before it arrives in Botswana.  The photo above was taken from our campsite on the edge of the River, at which we were visited and scared to death by one of the local residents, a hippo, grazing at the waters edge.

The German Namibian (or Namibian German?) manager of the camp where we stayed recommended we visit the Mahango Game Reserve that borders Botswana and runs along side the River.  Having been a German colony from 1884 until the end of the First World War, Namibia is home to a large number of Namibian Germans and German is one of the official national languages (alongside English and Afrikaans).  We took his advice and enjoyed the morning at this sweet little reserve.  We especially enjoyed the birdwatching (above a Southern Carmine Bee-eater we spotted) as well as watching large herds of rare antelope walking down the dry floodplains to the water.  

The Sable are stunning; with their white bellies, masked faces and exquisite long curved horns.

 The Roan Antelope are just as gorgeous and rare to see. We were lucky enough to see a large herd of Roan following the Sable on their walk to the water.

These were some of the homesteads on our way to the game reserve.  One of the first things we noticed that was unique to Namibian traditional homes, at least in our limited experience, were the reed fences with the grass heads on top.  These seemed to act as a wind protection, privacy screen and a little decorative touch (nb. we forgot to ask anyone about these fences so this is just a guess).

Life beside the Okavango River...