Out of Africa III

Africa plans largest game park

Plans to create the world's largest game park are being finalised at a meeting in Botswana in southern Africa.

The planned conservation area will straddle the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It will include the unique Okovango swamps, Chobe game reserve, the spectacular Victoria fall, Kariba dam and the wild Mana Pools. Some of Southern Africa's greatest wildlife areas.

The proposed Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Park will become a premier tourist destination.

This is not the first transfrontier park in southern Africa. The first was the the 35,000-square-kilometre Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park on the borders of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Remarkable vision was shown in creating this as there were too animals on the South African side in the extremely well managed Kruger National Park and a decimated game area on the Mocambique side. However fences were taken down and the indiginous Mocambique population were encouraged to reap the benefit of tourism and stop hunting with AK - 47's.

The other is the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park between the Kalahari Gemsbok Park in South Africa and the adjacent kalahari desert in Botswana.

The future of wild life and tourism in southern Africa is looking very good. With current game relocation skills, the vast areas that are being set aside for game movement and the buy in by the indiginous populations and the financial benefits they will see, these parks are a winner.