Okavango Delta
Expert Reviews (18)
Botswana Parks
Lucy is travel writer for a range of publications, including Lonely Planet's guides to Africa, Southern Africa and South Africa.
2 people found this review helpful.
Punting in the Panhandle
Most visitors to the Delta opt for the Moremi Game Reserve or one of the private concessions bordering it, where the Big Five roam (though you’re highly unlikely to spot rhinos) and luxury lodges abound. On a recent trip I had the opportunity to head north to the Panhandle. The wildlife watching here isn’t as abundant, but neither are the wildlife-watchers, making it a quiet and unpeopled place for birding. There are two main ways to experience the Okavango Delta – by plane or in one of the iconic dugout canoes known as mokoros. I opted for the latter, although as someone who gets nervous around wildlife, I perhaps should have gone for the aerial view. Gliding through the papyrus reeds in a mokoro brings you very close to nature. Clichés abound when describing the experience – wonderful, magical, once in a lifetime – and they’re all true. The lack of an engine makes the mokoro an extremely peaceful way to experience the Delta, the only soundtrack the flapping of wings, the birdsong of some of the 400-plus avian species that call the Delta home, and the unmistakable grunting of a pod of wallowing hippos. And you will see hippos, their bodies hidden beneath the waters, their eyes and twitching ears visible. Suddenly the whole head disappears under the water and you wait, unbreathing, to see where the hippo will emerge, hoping it’s not too close to your slightly wobbly canoe. You’ll see crocodiles basking on the riverbanks, red lechwe wading through the waters and herds of elephant bathing, drinking or browsing on the banks. Sit back on your African gondola as an experienced poler punts you through the Delta – truly the most magnificent way to watch wildlife on the continent.
Kim is a travel writer who authored and updated over 15 guidebooks, including Lonely Planet's South Africa and Bradt's Tanzania guides.
5 people found this review helpful.
Oasis in the desert
After the dirt and dust of Botswana’s Kalahari Desert, the Delta is a welcoming green oasis. Stretching over 18,000 square kilometres and encompassing floodplains, lagoons, forest glades and savannah grasslands, this fertile inland wetland is as breathtaking as it is beautiful. Gliding through the reeds in a mokoro (dug-out canoe), may seem a little like a tourist cliché, but it really is a must. Sitting low in the dug-out you really do feel at one with your surrounds. The silence is only broken by the soft plonk of your guide’s oar as it breaks the water’s surface, the gentle rustle of the reeds as you slowly push your way through and the distant grunts of hippos happily wallowing in the shallows. While the rewards are plentiful if you choose either a foot or dug-out safari – particularly for birders with more than 400 species recorded in the region – it’s only by air that you get a true sense of the full magnitude of the Delta’s expanse. It’s also the best way to see the vast herds that roam its wilds.
Stephen is a travel writer and avid conservationist whose work appears in prestigious magazines such as Africa Geographic and Travel Africa.
14 people found this review helpful.
Africa’s Ultimate Water Wilderness
The scenic delta, comprising large expanses of water and a myriad shallow channels snaking their way between innumerable little islands, is not only home to astounding concentrations of wildlife, but is also a twitcher’s paradise with around 500 bird species. It is, however, the huge diversity of plentiful wildlife that wows most visitors. Safari activities primarily revolve around game-drives and escorted mokoro trips – where you sit in the front of a canoe and your personal guide stands in the back poling you through the channels of the shallow delta – but outside the official park areas there is scope for walking safaris on the mainland, boat cruises and fishing trips in the permanent swamp areas, especially towards the pan handle. One of the reasons that the Okavango has developed into such a rich wildlife area is that the floodwaters (which swell the delta) arrive in July and August during the height of the dry season. A wildlife safari to the Okavango Delta will be a memorable at any time of the year, but to watch the life-giving waters spread across a parched landscape, drawing animals from far and wide, is a very special sight indeed.
Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.
5 people found this review helpful.
A natural labyrinth of waterways teeming with wildlife
I first arrived in the delta by light aircraft. From the air is the only way you’ll be able to get a real feeling of size and complexity of this enormous delta. The scenic beauty of it struck me immediately and I got excited when I managed to pick up some elephant backs wading through the water.
I got a completely different perspective when we set out by mokoro. Pushing through water lilies, making our way slowly through this vast labyrinth of channels that seemed to close behind us was an unforgettable experience. Back on land, the more conventional safari began and the Okavanga is up there with all the great parks of Africa offering fantastic wildlife viewing.
Dale is a multi-award-winning writer and photographer with more than 500 published magazine articles featured in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa, and CNN Travel.
1 person found this review helpful.
Heaven on Earth
“A nice place for ducks.”
That’s what my first impression was of Botswana’s Okavango Delta as I flew above it in a small airplane. There was water everywhere. The flat expanse of flooded land below was a world of olive-colored islets, pea-green water channels, and sky-blue expanses of shallow lakes and ponds. Animal trails, cut by the millions of antelope, elephants, and other African beasts that call this wetland their home, snaked through the scenery, cutting it up into an emerald mosaic.
Wow! What an incredible place – a 15,000km2-plus region of seasonally inundated wilderness where animals rule and humans have yet to sully.
The Okavango River, the mother to all of this flooding, begins life in the Angolan highlands, but unlike nearly every other watercourse on earth, it doesn’t eventually empty out into the sea. Instead, every year it dumps an average of 11km3 of water into an inland estuary… Water that is sucked down into the thirsty dry Kalahari sands or else evaporates beneath an African sun.
The Okavango is a true oasis in the semi-arid desert that is the Kalahari, and as you can imagine, all that moisture (and subsequent greenery) attracts countless animals like moths to a flame. As you explore the waterways and sandy tracks by car, boat, or on foot, expect to see elephants and lions, hyenas and leopards, as well as large congregations of buffalo, zebra, and antelope. You might even spot a rhino, although admittedly, they are far scarcer than most of the other denizens.
I get super excited whenever I have a trip to the Okavango scheduled because I know I’ll always be overwhelmed by the sheer diversity and biomass of the wildlife I encounter there.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find its equal when it comes to an excellent, all-encompassing safari adventure destination.
Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.
1 person found this review helpful.
The Jewel in Botswana’s Crown
This is my favourite place in all of Africa, a breathtakingly beautiful watery wonderland. It is an expensive trip, with mainly high-end lodges and access by charter flight, but in my opinion worth every dollar. Depending on location and time of year, lodges offer a mix of game drives, nature walks, boat excursions and, best of all, the mokoro canoe trips. Make sure you check which activities are on offer.
It is so magical to be low down on the water, silently gliding through the reeds and lily pads, as the wildlife splashes past. This is a very different experience to being higher up in a noisy vehicle.
The Delta has an abundance of wildlife, including lechwe antelope, lots of other antelopes and large populations of elephants. There are lion, leopard, wild dog and occasionally cheetah, although don’t expect to see predators up close if you’re on a walking safari or in a boat or mokoro.
The Delta is also home to a myriad of birdlife, with the large ginger Pel’s fishing-owl top of every birder’s wish list.
Heather is a British travel / conservation journalist, and has written for publications and broadcasters such as the BBC, Departures, the Telegraph and the Sunday Times.
4 people found this review helpful.
Prolific wildlife, stunning landscapes
The Okavango Delta is probably the best safari destination in Africa – for the sense of wilderness that’s increasingly hard to come by, its stunning waterway-laced landscape, and its incredible wildlife. Predators and prey gather around water sources making it possible to see wild dogs taking down red lechwe and lions hunting buffalo – both of which I’ve seen myself. I’ve also been really lucky with leopards here – on my last stay, I saw three different leopards in three days. The camps here are all small with a light footprint, but they are also the most expensive properties on the continent, part of the low impact, high cost model the government introduced some years ago. Elitism aside, it’s worked to protect the delta and prevent the overtourism experienced by other popular destinations, such as the Maasai Mara and Kruger National Park.
Alan is a travel writer and author of over 20 Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guides to Southern Africa and Zambia & Malawi.
5 people found this review helpful.
Nature at its finest
This watery wonderland, surrounded by a parched, cracked countryside, is a wonder to see flying in on a light aircraft. In fact, flying is how most people get around between the lodges, private concessions and public reserves such as Moremi GR. The delta is indeed beautiful but it is also prolific in wildlife. The Big Five can all be found in good numbers although rhino is not as common. The area is famed for its conservation with authorities putting into place low impact, high-end tourism, meaning there are luxury bush lodges, limited in number and usually with only 10 to 12 chalets or safari tents. If you want bush luxury, plentiful wildlife and guides with high levels of expertise, there is no better place in southern Africa. It’s very good for families too with some lodges catering for kids. A highlight for me was doing a mokoro trip – basically a canoe gliding silently amongst the reeds and around the hippos of the waterways – extremely relaxing and a unique way to experience this watery paradise.
Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.
12 people found this review helpful.
The Most Beautiful Place in Africa
The Okavango Delta, a huge water world of marshes, shifting channels, shape-changing islands and reed shrouded natural canals is, in my opinion, quite simply the most beautiful corner of Africa. To see it from the air, as you fly into a remote dirt airstrip on a light plane (which is how most people arrive) will give you views over shimmering, mirror-like lakes and meandering rivers, a lush green riot of plant life through which, as you get closer to the ground, you’ll quite likely make out herds of elephants or darting lechwe. On the ground, in the early morning light, you’ll sit in a safari jeep watching, transfixed, as hundreds of birds in an equal array of styles and colours flit around the edge of a pond before being disturbed by the lumbering arrival of a mass of buffalo or perhaps one of the deltas prized rhinos. But it’s at dusk, as the sun sets and you sit silently in a mokoro canoe (wooden dug-out canoe - although now many better camps use more environmentally pleasing construction materials) and skim slowly across a pink tinged lake surface that the delta is at its most utterly magical.
Not just is the delta scenically blessed, but it’s also wildlife abundant. After many years of travel all around East Africa I was left speechless after my first trip to the Okavango Delta and the realisation that within two weeks I’d seen probably more elephants than in the previous twenty years of safari combined! On that trip I interviewed well-known Botswanan conservationist Map Ives, who runs the Botswanan government’s rhino programme and is environmental officer for the highly regarded Wilderness Safaris, and he described the delta as “An Ark” and I couldn’t agree more. In a continent where wildlife numbers are so often falling and natural spaces being swallowed by (needed) development the Okavango Delta is serving as something of a repository for wildlife that is under threat elsewhere. The greater region (incorporating all of northern Botswana and parts of neighbouring countries) is home to the largest elephant populations in Africa, a fast-growing rhino population, huge herds of buffalo, wild dogs and big cats. It really is an Ark come to the Garden of Eden.
Combined with stunning wildlife viewing and sublime views are some of the best safari camps and lodges in Africa with superb guides, an air of real exclusivity and a genuine wilderness sensation and the possibility to engage in all kinds of exciting activities including boat rides, horseback safaris and walking safaris. Yes, a safari in the Okavango Delta can (but doesn’t always have to be) eye wateringly expensive but if there’s any possible way you can afford it then I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Christopher is a British travel writer and has contributed to various Fodor's guidebooks and a range of travel magazines.
8 people found this review helpful.
The rare jewel in Botswana’s safari crown
The Okavango Delta is Africa’s largest oasis – each year approximately 11 cubic kilometres of water spreads over 15,000 kilometres of papyrus reeds, countless islands and broad floodplains, forming large lagoons and an intricate web of meandering channels that fan outwards from the delta’s heart.
The Delta is an absolute mecca for wildlife and birdlife alike. There are an estimated 200,000 large mammals in and around the delta when it is at its busiest, though many are not year-round residents, moving elsewhere during the summer rains then returning for winter. When you see big game in the delta, you’ll notice that it often seems to be on the move to somewhere or other. Bird species number more than 400 and include the iconic African fish eagle, Pel's fishing owl, crested crane, lilac-breasted roller, hammerkop, ostrich, and sacred ibis. I never thought birds would really be my “thing” until I first visited the delta.
Contrary to what I had imagined from its worldwide fame, the delta remains a largely unspoilt wilderness, in large part because many of its exclusive lodges can only be accessed by plane, which in itself makes for a truly memorable African experience.
But for me the highlight will always be exploring the calm waters in a makoro dugout canoe.
James is a travel writer and author of many Lonely Planet guides, including senior author of the guide to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
10 people found this review helpful.
Unbeatable wildlife and wilderness
The Okavango Delta is arguably southern Africa’s premier safari destination, offering mokoro (dug-out canoe) trips along its placid waterways, wilderness camping and a full cast of African wildlife. I had many of my most memorable safari experiences here, on a one-week group trip with Bush Ways Safaris. As much as seeing African wild dogs regurgitating meat for their pups, or a leopard dozing in a tree with a freshly caught impala, I will never forget the thrill of spending a week in the bush. Ours was a ‘semi-participatory’ safari, so we had to help set up camp, erecting showers, pitching tents and so on. At night, eyes shone at us from the velvety darkness beyond the campfire, and growls, snorts and roars interrupted our dreams.
Any visit to this 16,000-sq-km network of lagoons, wetlands, channels and savanna is likely to be the experience of a lifetime. Just do some thinking about how you want to tackle it. I had a fantastic time on dry land, but many people rave about mokoro trips and seeing it all from a light aircraft.
Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.
9 people found this review helpful.
Southern Africa’s greatest inland swamp
The 12,000 sq km inland delta created by the Kavango River as it fans out into the Kalahari sands is a unique wildlife destination, not to say a remarkable geographic phenomenon. Part of the delta is officially protected, but much of it is comprised of concessions that effectively function as private conservancies, so that one’s individual experience is quite strongly dependent on exactly where you visit. A wonderful way to explore the central delta is by mokoro, a type of dugout canoe propelled by local polers, but the high density of crocs and hippos means this is not for the faint-hearted. At most concessions, there is also the option of exploring on guided 4x4 game drives, an experience similar to guided game drives in other large African reserves. Our experience is that terrestrial wildlife densities (aside from crocs and hippos) are quite low in the central delta, though elephants and buffalos are plentiful, along with the semi-aqy-uatic sitatunga antelope, and the birdlife is stunning, whether you are a first-time safarigoer set to marvel at the sight of a lily-trotting jacana, or a more experienced birder seeking a glimpse of the near-endemic slaty egret. More outlying concessions offer much better game viewing, with lion, African hunting dog, eland and sable antelope all locally common. But this is one reserve that truly feels like so much more than the sum of its quantifiable parts – incredibly peaceful, very atmospheric, and totally unique.
Mike is an award-winning wildlife writer, former editor of Travel Zambia magazine and author of the Bradt Guide to Southern African Wildlife.
13 people found this review helpful.
Wetland wonders
The Okavango Delta is, without doubt, one of the world’s premier wildlife destinations. However, it is a huge and confusing area, and much of its tourism lies in the many private concession areas that stretch away beyond the borders of Moremi. This is the domain of the exclusive lodge, where you and your fellow guests can have a private slice of the delta all to yourselves. The habitat and wildlife are largely an extension of those you will find in Moremi – there are no borders here – but different concessions are sited in different landscapes, with some being more aquatic than others. Each has its specialities: the Duba Plains region, for example, is famous for its regular battles between lions and buffalo. The Panhandle region in the Northwest is known for its fishing and birding. Many of the most exclusive lodges are clustered to the north and west of Moremi, and accessible only by air.
My own explorations, being undertaken on the cheap, have taken me only a short distance from Maun, yet this was far enough to feel thoroughly lost among the endless waterways, and to enjoy such wildlife highlights as discovering a roosting Pel’s fishing owl, tracking a cohort of bull elephants on foot, finding leopard tracks around my tent in the morning and watching a sitatunga splash across the bows of our mokoro. The Okavango is a magical place, so get there any way you can: just do your homework first – so you know exactly what to expect in the region you visit – and start saving those pennies.
Gemma authored several Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guides to Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.
17 people found this review helpful.
One for the bucket list
The Okavango Delta thoroughly deserves its legendary status amongst safari destinations. The Okavango River, flowing in from Namibia, spreads out once across the border into Botswana into a labyrinth of channels, floodplains and islands. Between July and September, when water levels are highest, the Delta is a watery oasis in an otherwise dry zone; naturally, wildlife and visitors are drawn to it like magnets. Many areas of the Delta are given over to private game reserves, many of which are eye-poppingly expensive, and because of the relative difficulties of access, this whole area is notoriously budget-unfriendly, although bargains can be found, particularly outside high season.
I’ve always loved taking to the waters of the Delta in a mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) or motorboat and camping on the various islands. I’ve had my fair share of EXTREMELY close wildlife encounters here too; including a hyena in our kitchen tent and elephants pushing down trees within meters of where I was sleeping. It’s important to respect the directions of your guide.
Emma is an award-winning travel writer for Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Travel Africa magazine and The Independent.
9 people found this review helpful.
Tranquil waters
The Okavango Delta has featured in so many books and television documentaries that I felt I already knew it long before I visited for the first time. I’ve always found the fact that it floods in Botswana’s dry season delightfully quirky. Torrential rain on the mountains of Angola causes the waters of the Okavango River to surge southward, but they never make it as far as the ocean – instead, in July and August, they fan out over the northern Kalahari to be gradually sucked dry.
The result – a huge, seasonal expanse of sparkling streams, lakes and islands – is every bit as beautiful as the books and documentaries suggest. The best way to experience it is, of course, from a mokoro – the Batswana answer to an Oxbridge punt. As you’re paddled along channels lined with waterlilies and reeds, you can enjoy sightings of malachite kingfishers, painted reed frogs, elephants and hippos in blissful peace and quiet.
Brian is an award winning travel writer, author of safari books and regular contributor to magazines such as BBC Wildlife and Travel Africa.
32 people found this review helpful.
Africa’s Magical Everglades
What an amazing river is the Okavango. It rises in the mountains of Angola and then flows across Africa for 1,000 miles, gathering strength as it goes. But once it has entered northern Botswana its mighty floodwaters falter. In vain they fan out through the papyrus swamps, seeking a way over the Kalahari, only to sink into the desert sands or evaporate under the tropical sun. But before it dies, the Okavango spreads out to create Africa’s biggest oasis: 10,000 square miles of reed-choked lagoons and golden floodplains braided by a maze of crystal channels. Marooned in the reeds are a million islands – some little more than ancient termite mounds, others the size of Greater London. Together they add up to one of the world’s most beautiful places, a paradise for visitors and a refuge for all kinds of wildlife, from the swamp-dwelling lions of Duba Plains to the rare and elusive fishing owls that haunt the wooded banks of the Okavango Panhandle.
Only when you fly over the Delta does its sheer size sink in. Not long after leaving Maun you see your first animals: elephants feeding under the palms; herds of red lechwe antelope plunging through the shallows. And later, once you have touched down at some idyllic camp to explore by 4WD or mokoro (the traditional Okavango dugout canoe), you’ll see the rest: the leopards and wild dogs, crocs and hippos, frogs, dragonflies and the fish eagles whose wild yodelling cries are the true voice of these timeless waterlands.
Anthony is a photographer and writer for travel magazines and Lonely Planet, including the guides to Kenya and Botswana & Namibia.
19 people found this review helpful.
The Okavango Delta: Africa’s Watery Heart
There is a reason why so many of the best wildlife documentaries are filmed in the Okavango. One of the world’s largest inland deltas, the Okavango boasts the Big Five, all of them in abundance except the rhino. The lions and leopards of the Okavango have been made famous by National Geographic, and their daily battle with elephants and buffalo adds further drama to this most dramatic of landscapes. The delta is home to some of Africa’s most exclusive lodges, and the experience of flying into a remote and luxurious tented camp surrounded by wilderness is one of Africa’s greatest safari experiences. Whether you’re in a luxury lodge or staying in more modest accommodation, I suggest a combination of ways to see the delta – a game drive or three, a night drive, a walking safari and exploring by mokoro (a dugout canoe punted by a poler). In recent years, Chitabe has become one of the best places for abundant wildlife. To the northwest, the Okavango Panhandle is far better for fishing and birdwatching than for other forms of wildlife.
Mark is a travel writer who grew up in Africa and has written over 700 titles for Condé Nast Traveller, Travel Africa, BBC Wildlife and others.
8 people found this review helpful.
Africa's greatest waterborne safari venue!
I spent two weeks living on the Okavango Panhandle, near the point where the Okavango flows into Botswana from Namibia's Zambezi Region. I was working on a scientific study, collecting data on the Okavango's outrageous crocodiles. We would go out at night in a boat with spotlights and catch crocodiles (big ones with a noose, babies by hand...very quickly!). Apart from lechwe and sitatunga (and the big hippo pods) the crocs are probably the great highlight of this area. Seeing a 6 metre croc rise out of shallow water alongside your five metre boat is an unforgettable experience!
The scientists on the study estimated that should you try to swim the 40-metre width of the river at this point your chances of survival would not be as good as 50-50. One of the most surprising and pleasantest sightings I had in this area were of the otters that came floating down the river past our camp almost every morning!
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