Okavango Delta Destination Guide

Okavango’s wildlife and scenic beauty is quite simply the experience of a lifetime. The variety of birdlife to be seen here is spectacular. There’s the African skimmer and Pel's fishing owl that are common in some areas, white backed night heron, wood owl and bat hawk. Visitors marvel at the carmine bee-eater colonies, particularly during the breeding season from late August through October, when the steep river banks host vast communal nests. The narina trogon is visible only during the summer.

Consider yourself especially fortunate if you come across a barbel run. Mid-August and late October is the right time to spot one, though the sighting also depends on the year and flood water levels. Barbels assemble and migrate upstream in large numbers to breed, closely followed by predatory fish like tiger fish, which in turn are chased by flocks of birds.

Thaoge, Jao, and Nqoga, the three main water channels, supply the permanent swamps in the central and the northern Delta. The area is home to a huge, diverse number of aquatic species. The dry season drives out many water-dependent animal species from the arid interiors to the swamps. During this time, there is an enormous concentration of wildlife here.

Come March and the floodwaters transform the landscape. The dusty grasslands and channels buzz with renewed activity and life. In addition to the 3.23 of rainwater which the region has received, the Angolan rivers deliver about 9.43 of water to the Okavango Delta, even as the rest of Botswana dries up at the end of the rainy season.

The waters of the Okavango River are squeezed into a 120 km, narrow, twisting channel known as the Panhandle before fanning out into their familiar delta shape; the Delta thus resembles a giant frying pan lying in the middle of the blazing Kalahari.

The Panhandle is a superb area for fishing, bird watching and water-based activities, although it lacks the profusion of big game that is so characteristic of the Delta. Hippos and crocodiles are found mainly in the open waters while the sitatunga antelope and the semi-aquatic lechwe can be spotted in the quieter backwaters.

Chief's Island, the largest island in the Delta, is isolated from the mainland by wetlands that are mostly inaccessible. Interestingly, this 60 km long and 10 km wide island is an inverted oasis of permanent dry land surrounded by water. Floodplains make way for open grassland; palm stands and acacia forests dot the mainly sandy soil.

The Pans of Makgadikgadi were in former times, the centre of a great lake, but have been dry for over two thousand years. Perhaps the largest saltpan in the world, Makgadikgadi consists of two large saltpans – Ntwetwe and Sowa, apart from a number of smaller pans. Home to large herds of antelope, the grasslands of Makgadikgadi National Park attract a remarkable range of predators.

The abundance of wildlife in the Okavango Delta is breathtaking. The Delta’s seasonal swamps and wetlands support a wide range of animals living in a lush habitat that is awesome in its wild beauty. A number of factors influence game viewing in the Delta. You can see some seasonal movements of large mammals, especially the buffalo and the elephant. During the peak rainy months, some animals move into the remote, wild areas in the south and northeast, away from the Okavango Delta.

Bird watching enthusiasts should plan a visit during summer and the rainy season; the Okavango Delta boasts of over 500 recorded species in a variety of habitats, besides providing a number of ways of observing them. Apart from local bird species, there are also the migratory Palaearctic and intra African visitors; the floodplains, rain-filled pans and dense vegetation are ideal breeding grounds and food sources for wildfowl, waders, crakes and rails, orioles, bee-eaters and cuckoos.

The Chobe National Park, located in the north-west district of Botswana, takes its name from the Chobe River which forms its northern boundary. It is flanked by forests on the Zimbabwe border to the east and by the Okavango Delta and the Moremi Game Reserve on the south-west. The Victoria Falls are just 100 km away from the park’s north-eastern gate.

Blessed with amazing natural diversity in the form of woodland, savannah, rivers and floodplains, Chobe National Park makes for a memorable wildlife experience. The variety of landforms and vegetation complement and contrast with one another, their appearance changing with each season.

The three main divisions of the Chobe Park are the central, open grasslands of the Savuti (or Savute) region, the far northern Chobe River region, the vast maze of woodlands, wetlands and floodplains that make up the Linyanti area, as well as the border regions of Selinda and Kwando, located to the west of Chobe Park.

The rambling Moremi Game Reserve, located on approximately 5,000 sq kms of marvellously beautiful wilderness, is an area that consists predominantly of wetland habitats, criss-crossed by winding streams, permanent rivers, lagoons and hidden swamps. The drier parts of the reserve are supplied with lifelines of water from seasonal rivers, while the dusty grasslands are transformed into glimmering floodplains by the winter floods.

To get a feel of the Delta, lodges located near water offer motorboat trips. These aluminium-bodied boats have a powerful outboard motor and fixed benches. They function as stable platforms that allow viewers to click photographs with ease. Usually these boat rides start during the afternoon and end as the sun goes down on the water. The boat guides are both knowledgeable and helpful and will willingly oblige visitors in their quest to take exciting, action photographs of birds.

An authentic, quietly relaxing way to experience the Okavango Delta is to drift along a quiet channel in a mokoro, with a guide. Poled along the waters in this slender vessel as in a gondola or a punt, you could well be floating down the channel on your own. There’s no better way of getting a first hand view of the Delta.

Walking trails are not allowed in most of Botswana’s reserves and parks; the Delta is an exception to this rule. The countless dry areas and small islands located inside private reserves and concessions offer an excellent opportunity to see the Delta up close. The lodges located around the Chief’s Island have superb walking trails. Early mornings are the best time to walk, as the air is fresh and the light is perfect for photography.