A guide to the Okavango Delta with details of the Delta's Lodges
Botswana's Okavango Delta has to be one of the most incredible places to view wildlife in the world. As a wetland paradise, containing roughly 95 percent of Botswana's surface water located within the arid Kalahari Desert, this unique eco-system is an area of unbelievable natural beauty. Each year flood waters from the Angolan highlands come down in 2 main thrusts ending in the Kalahari desert spreading over a vast area creating a wetland paradise that supports a huge diversity of flora and fauna including swamps, reed beds, flood plains, vast papyrus beds and long stretches of clear water, filtered by the sand so that it is fine to drink. The heart of the Okavango Delta is the Moremi Game Reserve, an area of land that is mostly dry throughout the year. On its circumference however are hundreds of palm fringed islands truly untouched and deserted offering some of Africa's last pristine game viewing environments. Many of the islands scattered around the Okavango Delta are big enough to allow for lengthy walking safaris and when the flood recedes the vast floodplains fill with animals instead of water and game drives are possible in their wake. The true Okavango Delta experience however is in a makoro, a dug out canoe in which people calmly punt around the surrounding waterways and channels in complete silence, providing the best opportunity to see the wildlife undisturbed. It is not only this beautiful wetland habitat that attracts people to the area but the vast quantities of game residing in the area throughout the year. The birdlife in the Okavango Delta is unsurprisingly superb with many of Africa's rarest birds taking residence in this waterland paradise. The variety of larger game however is staggering; large herds of elephant are common along with buffalo, giraffe, kudu, sable, impala, tseessebe, zebra, hippos and crocodiles . Predators follow the herds with water going lion and good numbers of leopard ever present and even cheetah when the floods recede. Click here to download video of the Scenery of the Delta (.wmv file) Click here to download video of the Wildlife of the Delta (.wmv file)
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