hite men like you come here always ask- ing questions and making promises, but nothing ever changes. Elephants still eat our crops and continue to kill our cattle. So much talking but no money… Where is our compensation?’ Bernard Sihela, the elder, or chief nduna, of the Lizauli community, greeted me with these comments at our meeting in Lizauli village on Mudumu National Park’s northern boundary. His village falls within the Lizauli Wildlife Conservancy, one of seven community-supported conser- vancies that, along with Mudumu and Stephen Cunliffe Mamili national parks, comprise the next half-century saw the Caprivi ABOVE The little bee-eater is one Greater Mudumu Complex in Nam- plagued by wars and insecurity, as it of more than 400 bird species found ibia’s . remained the domain of soldiers until within Mamili National Park. Whenever I study a map of Africa, the eventual withdrawal of South this peculiar finger-like sliver of land African forces in the late 1980s. OPPOSITE Buffaloes graze on the always catches my eye. Tacked onto The Caprivi Strip’s linear shape gave woodland savanna of Mudumu the north-eastern corner of , rise to long international borders with National Park. its origins can be traced back to the Angola, and , thereby Berlin Conference of 1884–85, when amalgamating numerous cultures and colonial powers gathered in Germany ethnic groups. The Mafwe and Subia are Compensation and money are two and spent four months carving up the two main indigenous peoples of the words that spill from Sihela’s weathered Africa and ratifying each other’s territ- eastern Caprivi with a remnant Khwe lips regularly. Compensation is alloca- ories. South West Africa, the original San population in the Bwabwata region ted from conservancy funds but, with name of Namibia, was given to Germany, in the west. Interestingly, Lozi or Silozi six communities looking for money and but the country’s representatives des- (a Zambian language) is the lingua fran- upliftment, payments to individuals are perately wanted a link to the Zambezi ca and the only written indigenous lan- always viewed as insufficient. The chief River; the bargaining process that en- guage here. also revealed his unhappiness that sued culminated in their acquisition of conservancy compensation funds are the Caprivi Zipfel (‘tassel’) – ‘a strip of n the chief’s dusty kraal, I sat in centred on wildlife-induced human territory stretching east to the Zambezi, respectful silence as chickens casualties rather than on reimbursing which at no point shall be less than pecked at my feet and smoke from villagers for their losses to crop-raiding 20 English miles in width’. I a misbehaving cooking fire bil- and cattle-devouring animals. The strip remained unoccupied until lowed into my eyes. I waited for my In reality the conservancies are built 1908 when Hauptmann Streitwolf was translator to decode the chief’s musical on a sound community-orientated sent by the German administration in Silozi words into English. ‘Life is tough conservation model that can, and Windhoek to set up a base on the now,’ he said. ‘Wild animals come and does, work. Safari operators purchase Zambezi River. The tiny settlement of finish our crops. Before, we would have concessions and their clients pay Schuckmannsburg was established. Six killed them but this is no longer handsomely for the right to photo- TROPICS years later it had the dubious honour allowed. If we let them eat our crops graph or shoot wildlife within the Namibia’s Mudumu and Mamili national parks are two of southern of becoming the first German territory and kill our cattle, then we must have conservancy. Hunting safaris deliber- to be captured by the Allies at the out- compensation.’ ately target ‘problem’ animals, and  Africa’s smallest and least well-known wildlife areas. these neighbouring re- set of World War I. In 1935 the settle- serves have an enviable location in the well-watered eastern Caprivi Strip as it ment was abandoned in favour of a new ZAMBIA

site at present-day Katima Mulilo. The Kwando • Zambezi juts southwards into Botswana: Mudumu on the eastern bank of the Kwando Katima Mulilo

River, Mamili to the south where the Kwando curls and snakes eastwards to pro- ANGOLA •Kongola NAMIBIA Lake Lizauli Liambesi duce a wetland paradise in the Linyanti Swamps. Perennial water and fertile soils Kavango BOTSWANA attract wildlife and humans alike. But now an ever-expanding human population • Camp Mudumu NP o • is placing increasing pressure on the wild animals that traditionally migrated be- to Rundu Divundu Kwando Bwabwata NP C49 Lianshulu yond the borders of these sanctuaries. Stephen Cunliffe travelled to the Caprivi Lodge Linyanti Greater in an attempt to gain some idea of what lies in store for this lush region. Mudumu N Complex Mamili NP TEXT BY STEPHEN CUNLIFFE wilderness safaris U

54 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC • APRIL 2010 www.africageographic.com 55 in reality the conservancies are built on a sound community- orientated conservation model that can, and does, work

and, barely 10 metres from a basking ABOVE An elephant, lured into crocodile, the place where he bathed as a the Kwando River by dense stands boy. He indicates a large jackalberry: ‘My of tasty Phragmites reeds, pauses grandfather is buried under that big to sniff the air for signs of danger. tree. This is the place of my ancestors.’ Sylvester Makata, 56, has lived and LEFT Mudumu lies at the heart of worked for safari operators in this area an ancient migratory corridor that for his entire adult life. Unlike his chief, links northern Botswana to Angola he is positive about the park and what it and Zambia. has done for his people. ‘Nature conser- vation has helped many people like me OPPOSITE, BELOW Chief Bernard by giving us jobs. I tell my people that Sihela. the money that is feeding them comes wilderness safaris (2) from the wildlife. The wildlife is our generate funds to compensate the local National Park in the western Caprivi saw ccompanied by James Kashiri, a future.’ community for their losses. indigenous groups being permitted to knowledgeable wildlife guide, He talks enthusiastically about the lodges, At 65 years of age, the chief has lived remain within the new protected area and Sylvester ‘Madala’ Makata, which provide the bulk of employment through many changes in the area, and to share in its benefits. an ex-Hippo Pools resident, I opportunities in the region. ‘Local people including the traumatic ordeal of being The chief’s wisdom was needed else- return to Lianshulu Lodge in the heart of are still allowed to collect firewood, evicted from his former home. He spoke where and our meeting was adjourned Mudumu. On the way, we visit the Hippo thatching grass and reeds. The lodge own- heatedly about times gone by when he abruptly, setting off a cacophony of Pools area, one of the park’s most produc- ers buy these materials to build and ren- and his people inhabited the Hippo Pools squawking chickens and yelping dogs. We tive game-viewing zones. We watch as ovate their camps and this provides even region of Mudumu. ‘It was a very good bowed politely, clapped our hands in the colonies of southern carmine and white- more people with work and money. Lian- area with so many fish to catch and wild traditional manner and deferentially took fronted bee-eaters explode from their nest shulu Lodge also gives uniforms and books fruit to eat. We were forced to leave when our leave. While driving back into the holes in the riverbank, hippos grunt as to our school and brings our children to they made our home a wildlife park. We park I reflected that, aside from a lack of our arrival intrudes upon their siesta and the park to show them the animals.’ were given some money but the people money (and people will always want more a shy vanishes into a dense Makata is referring to Wilderness Sa- did not want to move.’ of that), any lasting solutions to human– stand of Phragmites reeds. The grassy flats faris’ Children in the Wilderness Trust, Thankfully, the Namibian government wildlife conflict will have to come from are peppered with skittish herds of im- which educates local children about ani- has moved away from this autocratic way within the community. Communities palas; and a dazzle of frisky plains zebras mals and conservation. With poaching of proclaiming a national park, and in must drive the process if they are to gallop along the water’s edge. Makata figures at an all-time low, it appears that 2008 the establishment of Bwabwata embrace and support the ideas. points out where his hut used to stand the programme is having a positive  stephen cunliffe

56 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC • APRIL 2010 www.africageographic.com 57 ‘I tell my people that the money that is feeding them comes from the wildlife. The wildlife is our future’ Sylvester ‘Madala’ Makata, wildlife guide

wilderness safaris

58 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC • APRIL 2010 www.africageographic.com 59 impact on the younger generation. Julia and anti-poaching in the old Caprivi lambs. The Greater Gaedke is researching local community Game Reserve (now Bwabwata). I press Mudumu Complex supports attitudes for her PhD and her findings him about the communities’ complaints good populations of these seem to support this premise. ‘Although about lack of compensation and he herbivores. human tolerance for wildlife species in laughs ruefully. ‘Money, money, always the study area is very low in general, money. There is also a shortage of money interviews reveal that the younger age for our work. Over the past three years groups tend to be better informed and we have reintroduced giraffes, blue wilde- more willing to find ways to coexist with beest, sable and eland to Mudumu, but This young lioness is part of a the animals.’ she says. (See ‘Human– this was only possible because Lianshulu pride that inhabits the disputed predator conflict’ below.) provided us with support and materials territory of a human–predator We visit Matambo Singwangwa, a to build bomas.’ conflict zone on the outskirts senior ranger who’s received a Heart As we leave the senior ranger’s office, of Mamili. Award for his services to conservation large raindrops start to drum noisily on the corrugated iron roof, and we are caught in a deluge as the parched Kalahari sands thirstily soak up the sea- son’s first rains.

he Caprivi experiences an an- nual rainfall of up to 700 milli- metres and, in relation to the rest of Namibia, could be des- cribed as tropical. At Mudumu, wide mopane belts and silver terminalia wood- lands sprinkled with huge wild syringas dominate the inland areas. They shelter herds of roan, sable and kudu, and pro- vide secluded den sites for the resident hyaenas. Elephant damage scars the trees, although we see very few of the gigantic pachyderms. ‘Mudumu lies on an ancient migratory corridor that enables elephants to trek north seasonally from northern Botswana to Angola and Zambia,’  stephen Cunliffe (2) Human–Predator Conflict hroughout Africa, increased pastoralism in close proximity already emerged. De Wet explains: ‘At least six villagers have Tto protected areas combined with the growing success of been attacked or killed by lions within the study area, although numerous community-based conservation programmes has lions appear to account for just 25 per cent of the known live- resulted in a steady rise in Human–Predator Conflict (HPC). The stock losses. Spotted hyaenas are responsible for as many as Greater Mudumu Complex is no exception, with a continual battle 70 per cent of the goats and cattle killed. Other predators have between predators and some of the most marginalised people in a negligible impact.’ the developing world. ‘The local villagers retaliate against the losses by placing Francois de Wet and Julia Gaedke, in collaboration with gin traps in the bush, setting up shotguns on baits or leaving Namibia’s Wildlife and Community Development Fund (WCDF), poisoned carcasses out for scavengers,’ Gaedke adds. ‘Human have embarked on an ambitious seven-year project to research tolerance for predators is very low, although younger generations and mitigate HPC in the community areas around Mudumu and seem prepared to find ways to coexist with potentially taxing large Mamili parks. ‘HPC is arguably the single greatest threat to the carnivore species. However, this is reliant upon communities be- survival of Africa’s large-carnivore populations,’ explains De Wet, nefiting from their wildlife through the broader sharing of revenue ‘and considering the current human population growth rate, the generated by tourism and hunting.’ increasing demand for resources and the ongoing need for ‘I believe that we will see some very positive community-based access to land, it is clear that this conflict will not be resolved conservation changes over the next 10 years,’ De Wet says. in a hurry.’ The project staff have found evidence of five large carnivore The WCDF Caprivi HPC Project receives ongoing support from species (, lion, , and spotted Working Abroad, a volunteer-based organisation that offers hyaena) within the region, and preliminary research suggests hands-on conservation volunteer experiences such as helping that the availability of both habitat and prey is adequate to sus- with fieldwork and surveys. Applicants do not need any special tain viable populations of all the large carnivores. Although the skills. Go to www.workingabroad.com for further details and project is only two years old, insights into the HPC problem have www.wcdf.na for information on the WCDF.

60 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC • APRIL 2010 www.africageographic.com 61 the Caprivi experiences an annual rainfall of up to 700 milli- metres and could be described as tropical

Kashiri explains. Nomadic pass through here and Kashiri takes me to an old wild dog den. Lions swim across the Kwando River and a pride has recently moved here from Botswana and made Mudumu their home. The Kwando forms the park’s western boundary and is its lifeblood. Its banks are densely lined with stands of papyrus and reeds that filter the river to produce trans- parent water. As Kashiri expertly pilots us downstream, I watch bream, tigerfish and even crocodiles glide beneath the alumi- nium boat. Weeping wattles dripping with Infotravel stephen Cunliffe yellow flowers and groves of mangosteen – a favourite habitat of – over- When to go Wildlife disperses during the wet summer season (late October to hang the river. As we add to our list of early May), but birding is at its best then, with numerous migrants and breed- birds seen here (there are 430 potential ing species on display. Game viewing is best from July to October. species), I realise that this is a place I never want to leave. How to get there Caprivi’s nearest international airport is located across Mamili lies barely 60 kilometres south of the Zambian border in Livingstone. Transfers to Mudumu can be arranged Mudumu but, in stark contrast, the park through the safari lodges or Tutwa Tourism & Travel (www.tutwa.com). Air is essentially a flooded wetland with two Botswana offers a direct flight from Johannesburg to Kasane every Monday, large sandy islands. Just 320 square kilo- Wednesday and Friday, cutting out the extra few hours of road transfers from metres in size, it has undergone an offi- other international airports. Alternatively, fully equipped 4x4 vehicles can be cial name change to become the Nkasa- rented in Livingstone, Katima Mulilo or Windhoek. The Trans-Caprivi Highway Rupara National Park, taking its new from Rundu to Katima Mulilo is paved and in excellent condition. (Katima, name from the islands. It’s taking a while which lies 140 kilometres from the park, also offers the nearest reliable to catch on though, and the name petrol supplies.) Lianshulu and Namushasha airstrips cater for private and ‘Mamili’ has stuck. The park is home to chartered aircraft. huge herds of buffaloes, red and an inordinate number of warthogs, as Where to stay Accommodation at Mudumu National Park varies from rustic well as over 400 bird species. Our visit campsites to sophisticated lodges. There are three park-administered camp- coincides with exceptionally high water sites in stunning locations on a Kwando River backwater, and Lianshulu Lodge levels in the Kwando–Linyanti river sys- (www.wilderness-safaris.com) offers riverfront chalets. Camp Kwando (above, tem and, with 80 per cent of the park www.campkwando.com), also on the Kwando, has a variety of accommoda- being inaccessible, we find it a challenge tion options. Other places to stay in Caprivi include Susuwe Island Lodge and to explore. Mamili is seldom visited, and Ntwala Island Lodge (www.islandsinafrica.com), or go to www.safariadventure wildlife continues to thrive within its company.com or www.namibialodges.com. Camping in Mamili is not advised. wetland paradise. Both these sanctuaries may be small Precautions Malaria is prevalent throughout the Caprivi Strip. Consult your and have villages on their doorsteps, but doctor or a travel clinic about health precautions prior to travelling. people like Kashiri, Makata and Sing- wangwa, who have an overwhelming AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL offers tours or will help you to arrange a trip to commitment to the wildlife and people Mudumu, the Caprivi Strip or other destinations in Namibia. Contact our help- of the area, help me to believe that the ful travel assistants on tel. +27 (0)21 762 2180, e-mail info@africageographic. Greater Mudumu Complex truly has a com or visit www.africageographictravel.com bright and promising future. 

62 AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC • APRIL 2010