This is difficult and requires the backing of a couple of 4WDs. The Kalahari sand can be slow going, and there is only one decent road through the park. The driving is also very heavy on fuel – so remember that this is available only at Sesheke or Katima Mulilo in the south, or Senanga and Mongu to the north.

If you intend to explore this area independently, then get a scout from the National Parks and Wildlife Service office at Sioma to guide you. Even the scouts probably won't know the park that well, but their presence will make exploring much safer and more productive.

The main route through the park is the track that comes from the northwest, keeping close to the Kwando from Shangombo. A little north of the Namibian border, this turns sharply left and heads northeast through the middle of the park. Around the park's eastern boundary, at Ngwezi Pools, there is a poor track southeast to the Zambezi, via Cholola, and another track leading northwest, roughly along the park's boundary – as well as the continuation of the original track which leads directly to the Zambezi at Kalabolelwa. You may need local assistance to find these, but there are villagers in the area who can help. There are no specific campsites within the park, but a scout will show visitors good sites for camping.

When to go

The best time to visit Sioma Ngwezi is probably just after the end of the rains – whilst the dambos inside the park still have a little water and are attracting the game. Alternatively, spend time beside the Kwando later in the year, when it's the only water source around.

Permits

These are available from the National Park office at Sioma Falls. Rates are currently US$15 per vehicle per day, US$5 per person per day, or US$60 per person per day if filming. There's also a US$5 per day charge for hiring a game scout, plus his food.

Security note
Note that there is a lot of cross-border movement of local people over the Kwando River, and a lot of guns in the area. There's even comment that the precise location of the border is questionable – as pre-1970s it used to be the eastern edge of the Kwando floodplain. Then Zambia 'moved' it to the middle of the river. Wherever it is, you don't want to stray over it accidentally.

Zambian villagers living beside the Kwando suggested to one party of visitors driving here (in '99) that that they could go across the river into Angola, to stay in a hunting camp – as there was nowhere quite as comfortable on the Zambian side. They described the camp's owners as very friendly, and only later, in passing, mentioned that the owners were 'usually armed with AK47s'. Whilst that Angolan could have been very helpful and courteous, travellers with expensive 4WD vehicles and equipment should ponder the wisdom of taking these so close to the border, given Angola's present state of lawlessness. None of the lodges on the Zambezi drive far into Sioma Ngwezi, if at all, despite the claims that some make in their literature.