Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s largest inland water systems. Water comes from the rainfall in Angola western highlands. Millions of years ago the Okavango river use to flow into a large inland lake called Lake Makgadikgadi (now the Makgadikgadi Pans). Tectonic activity and faulting interrupted the flow of the river causing it to backup and form what is now the Okavango delta. This has created a unique system of water ways that now supports a vast array of animal and plant life that would have otherwise been a dry Kalahari savannah.
Rains in Angola start in October and finish around March and April. The floods only cross the border between Botswana and Namibia in December and will only reach the bottom end of the delta (Maun) sometime in July.
Taking almost nine months from the source to the bottom. This slow meandering pace of the flood is due to the lack of drop in elevation, which drops a little more than 60 metres over a distance of 450 kilometres. The delta’s water deadends in the Kalahari – via the Botetle river, with over 95 per cent of the water eventually evaporating.
You will probably have a mokoro trip (local canoe used in the Delta) during your stay in the Okavango Delta. It is a fantastic and tranquil way to experience the wonders of the Delta. Myriad of sounds and sights will come from this unique habitat and all your senses will be in alert.
Mokoro trip at Pom Pom
Most of the camps also offer game drives (depending if there is enough land over the water) next to the camp. But almost all of them will give you the opportunity to enjoy a guided walk, the best way to experience the African bush.
Luxury safari at Khwai River Lodge
Wildlife at Mapula Lodge
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