Nkasa Lupala National Park

Nkasa Lupala National Park (also Nkasa Lupala National Park, formerly Mamili National Park) is a 320-km² park in Namibia. Mamili is a stunning swampland which, due to its often inaccessible nature, has remained cut off from the human population of the area for many years. As a wilderness experience, it has few equals and although it does not hold the diversity of game that Bwabwata holds, if you get to the park at the right time (usually at the end of the dry season), it can be fantastic.

Understand
The Kwando River runs along Nkasa Rupara’s western border and then changes course to become the Linyanti River, forming the park’s south-eastern boundary. It is the same river but is known by different names in various areas. On the opposite bank of the river is Botswana. The entire area is flat. Most of the park consists of channels of reed beds, lagoons and islands. Nkasa Rupara has relatively narrow, permanently filled main channels of the Kwando/Linyanti River and several periodically flooded channels. The river has its catchment area in Angola and flooding regimes vary considerably. This results in flooding in some years and dry spells during others.

Landscape
Nkasa Rupara National Park contains Namibia’s most extensive wetlands, marshes and seasonally inundated areas. Ecosystem types are similar to the Okavango Delta wetlands and habitats. Periodic flooding drives the park’s ecosystem. Caprivi floodplains dominate. Various trees are found on small islands consisting of old termite mounds (ant hills) known as termitaria.

Flora
Nkasa Rupara is found in the broadleaved tree and wood savanna biome; vegetation type is Caprivi floodplains. Woody vegetation is found on higher islands that are rarely flooded. Examples of common woodland species are knob thorn (Acacia nigrescens), paper-bark acacia (Acacia sieberiana), large-leaved albizia (Albizia versicolor), monkey bread (Piliostigma thonningii), leadwood (Combretum imberbe), sausage tree (Kigelia africana) and silver cluster-leaf (Terminalia sericea).

Fauna
There is a stable population of lions in the park which prey mainly on the huge buffalo herds which inhabit the two islands (Nkasa and Rupara). They are generally quite easy to track down if they are not moving between the islands.

Nkasa Rupara forms a corridor for all large mammal species moving between Namibia and Botswana, particularly African elephant and buffalo. There are about 1 000 buffalo in Nkasa Rupara, the largest concentration in Namibia. Around 560 hippopotami and 500 crocodile occur in the park’s rivers and channels. Rare antelope species include sitatungas, pukus, red lechwe, reedbucks and oribis. Mammals of this park as well as reptiles feature elephants, lions, cheetahs, leopards, spotted hyenas, African wild dogs, roan antelopes, impala, kudus, warthogs, baboons, spotted-necked otters, rock monitor lizards and water monitor lizards.

About 450 bird species have been counted. Several rare, vulnerable and endangered species are found here, such as wattled crane, Pel’s fishing-owl, black-cheeked lovebird and yellow-billed oxpecker. Other birds are Stanley's bustard, rosy-throated longclaw, Dickinson's kestrel, Allen’s gallinule, lesser jacana, black-winged and red-winged pratincole, long-toed lapwing, Luapula cisticola, coppery-tailed coucal and black coucal.

Climate
Rainfall varies from to  per year, and temperatures range from  to.

Get in
The park is about an hour south of Mudumu. To access Nkasa Rupara National Park turn off the B8 Trans-Caprivi Highway, onto the D3511 after the Kongola Bridge. The only entrance track crosses a bridge over a back-channel of the Kwando/Linyanti River, near Sangwali village in Wuparo Conservancy.[4] Rupara Island is reached via a dirt track; Nkasa Island in not reachable because the access is flooded.

Fees and permits
Park fees must be either pre-paid at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) offices in Katima Mulilo, Windhoek or upon arrival.

Get around
At least two all-wheel drive vehicles are needed as the terrain can be muddy and waterlogged.

See
Due to the diversity of habitat in the Caprivi, birdlife in all of the three parks is stunning with over 400 recorded species including specials such as slaty egret, racket-tailed roller and black coucal.

See also Flora and fauna.

Buy, eat, and drink
Nkasa Rupara has minimal facilities. There are no shops, filling stations or other facilities in the park. Visitors must be self-sufficient.

Sleep
There is a community camp-site on the park’s northern border. The Nkasa Lupala tented lodge was built as part of a tourism concession granted by the Namibian Government. It is a partnership with the Wuparo Conservancy. Wuparo Conservancy also runs a community campsite outside the park.

Stay safe
Nkasa Rupara is in a malaria area.

Go next

 * Bwabwata National Park
 * Mudumu National Park