Okavango Delta

The Okavango River originates in the highlands of central Angola, then flows south-east across the Caprivi Strip in Namibia before entering Botswana on its north-east border and forming the world's largest inland delta as it hits the thirsty Kalahari.  The water fans out to cover a huge area of mazy waterways, islands and lagoons, creating a quite unique habitat that is home to large numbers of wildlife.

A large area of the central and eastern Okavango Delta is government protected in the form of the Moremi Game Reserve, but there are a series of smaller reserves running to the south, west and north of the Moremi that have been created to protect the full area of the delta.  These concessions typically contain only one or two lodges in each, and are not bound by the legislation governing the Moremi Reserve that forbids walking, night driving and driving off-road.  This means a safari in the non-Moremi Okavango Delta generally offers a greater choice of exciting activity, better game driving (cont.)

due to being able to get off road and up close to the animals, and more isolation from other travellers.

The wildlife in the Okavango is exceptional in terms of variety and numbers, with the big five present plus cheetah, hyena, wild dog (particularly in the northern concessions), elephant, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest.  Although many of the private concessions cannot match the Moremi for absolute numbers, a safari there will still yield fantastic sightings.  When combined with wonderfully peaceful mokoro trips on the waterways, motorboat cruises, walking safaris and night drives, the appeal of a safari here is undeniable.

Generally, the best time of year to visit the Okavango is July - September, when the weather is dry, the skies clear and the water levels fairly high (the waters start to rise here in March/ April as the flood waters from the Angolan source make their way through the delta).  This allows excellent access to the most interesting areas by motorboat or mokoro.