Okavango Delta

     Botswana is home to the Okavango Delta, Kalahari Desert, Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve, but the most unique and fascinating area is undoubtedly the Okavango Delta.

     In the north-west corner of this otherwise dry country, and covering some 16,000 square kilometres, is the maze of channels, lagoons and palm-covered islands that make up the Okavango Delta. This is the largest inland Delta in the world, and water levels vary on a seasonal basis with the rains in the Angolan highlands actually contributing more water that the rains falling on the Delta during the November to March period. Thus the annual flooding of the delta, waited for with baited breath, usually starts in April or May, and can continue for some months. The Delta is fed by the Kavango River (renamed the Okavango in Botswana).

     The waters are crystal clear, and are best navigated by traditional mekoro (dug-out canoes), many of which are now made of fibre glass, to preserve the majestic trees in the Delta, that were traditionally used.