Crammed with every conceivable species of bird and beast, the delta is an Eden of excess offering amazing game viewing and birding in a scenic and tranquil African wilderness. The quintessential delta experience: gliding in silence through the waterways on an African-style gondola carved from a single tree.
Access into the Okavango Delta is difficult, getting around is difficult, carting supplies in and waste out is difficult. These are all good things for this vast wildlife wilderness is utterly picturesque and devoid of human influence.
If constant close-ups of elephant, buffalo, lion, giraffe, hyena, jackal and plenty of large and small antelope start to grow old, there's always the...
Crammed with every conceivable species of bird and beast, the delta is an Eden of excess offering amazing game viewing and birding in a scenic and tranquil African wilderness. The quintessential delta experience: gliding in silence through the waterways on an African-style gondola carved from a single tree.
Access into the Okavango Delta is difficult, getting around is difficult, carting supplies in and waste out is difficult. These are all good things for this vast wildlife wilderness is utterly picturesque and devoid of human influence.
If constant close-ups of elephant, buffalo, lion, giraffe, hyena, jackal and plenty of large and small antelope start to grow old, there's always the chance encounter with cheetah, leopard, wild dog, and red lechwe to spice things up.
Birds rightly favour the delta's abundance of supply and the delta favours an abundance of birds. Distinct riverine and woodland habitats attract a wider diversity of birds and some of the rarities you might see include Pel's fishing owls, narina trogons, white-backed night herons, African skimmers, bat hawks, wood owls and carmine bee-eaters.
Moremi Game Reserve, Chiefs Island the Moremi Tongue cover most of the delta and protect most of the wildlife. Safaris in the Okavango can be entirely on water, entirely on land or a combination of both. July to September is high water season in the delta and this period coincides with the Botswana dry season, making for the best game viewing and the best scenery.
Talk to your Travel Expert about your land- and water-based Okavango Safari - we know where to go and when to go for the best of both worlds.
The Formation of the Okavango Delta
A kink in the Kavango River, rising several thousand km away in the Angolan highlands, diverts the river from its natural course towards the Indian Ocean via the Zambezi into the flat sand basin of the Kalahari in Botswana.
Here the river fans out into a palm-shaped network of river scouts that year after year seek a path to the sea. Not to be, as the Kalahari snuffs out their attempts as the water drains into the earth to form the world's largest inland delta spanning 15,000 sq km at its peak.
The Kavango River takes several months to reach its destination and when rivulets begin to fill the the seasonal channels, Botswana's wildlife is on full water rations. Trekking for many days, elephant, buffalo and large herds of plains game leave their rapidly drying hinterlands and head for the communal wetlands in the dry winter months from July to September.
High water is a time of plenty for the herbivores in the delta but their concentrations make for easy pickings. High water is also a time of plenty for the predators, who previously ranged far and wide during the wet season in search of their dispersed quarry.
The design of Camp Maru is a deliberate return to the authentic safari camps of days gone by and, with just 6 luxurious tents, it offers one of the most ...
Chief's Camp has 12 palatial bush chalets with thatched roofs, elevated wooden floors and sumptuous furnishings. En suite bathrooms have twin vanities, two showers (one out in the open); a ...
Tip-toeing along that delicate line between a five-star pampering and an exciting wilderness adventure, Nxabenga Okavango Tented Camp makes it look easy.
Accommodation at Nxabega (pronounced in-ta-BE-ga) is in nine enormous ...
Okuti makes stylish use of traditional design and adds a generous dollop of luxury in the Moremi Game Reserve inside the famous Okavango Delta of Botswana.
The architecture is an ingenious ...
Sanctuary Stanley's is a classic tented camp with just ten tents built under an imposing African Ebony tree on a private concession overlooking the Okavango floodplains.
From the swimming pool, watch ...
Camp Moremi has a well-deserved legacy in the Botswana tourism industry for being able to deliver the classic African safari experience. Completely rebuilt in 2018 as a modern luxury safari ...
Xugana Lagoon is widely recognised as the most spectacular permanent water site in the entire Okavango Delta, which itself is Africa’s largest and most awe-inspiring oasis. The Okavango River rises ...
To ensure a peaceful and genuine safari experience, Camp Okavango accommodates just twenty-four guests. There are eleven intimate Safari suites and one Family suite consisting of two bedrooms and ...
For a taste of luxury under canvas in the African bush, Machaba Camp offers a glorious location under the trees next to the River Khwai on the edge of Botswana's ...
Overlooking a secluded lagoon in the northern Okavango Delta, Kwara offers the ultimate Delta experience. Its location allows access to the permanent waterways of the Delta as well as expansive ...
