Botswana's Okavango Delta is a wonderland of magnificent wildlife and unspoiled territories just waiting to be seen.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is home to some of the largest concentrations of wildlife in Africa and is one of Africa’s ultimate safari destinations. The Okavango is truly a unique ecosystem, where over 16 000 sq km of inland waterways have turned the red sands of the Kalahari Desert into a land of plenty. With such abundance of water and grazing, it is little wonder that the region teams with wildlife, birds, spectacular trees and breathtaking scenery.
At Rhino Africa we specialize in tailormaking African safaris, in close collaboration with you we will create your perfect African getaway.
Speak to one of our travel consultants and get the ball rolling!
Planning your 0kavango Safari with Rhino Africa
Due to the seasonality and dynamic nature of the Okavango Delta we always recommend
talking and discussing your itinerary with your Rhino Africa consultant. As a general rule we recommend spending at least four nights in the Delta. This should be two nights in a land activity or combination camp - and two nights in a water activity camp in order that you might appreciate and experience the full range of activities that the Delta has to offer.
Understanding the Okavango
The Okavango Delta is fascinating. In a country which is 80% arid, the Delta is a permanent life giving swamp. An essential understanding when planning your Okavango Safari is that it is a highly dynamic environment, which changes from year to year and even from month to month.
Rising in the Angolan Highlands, the Okavango River enters Botswana below Namibia's Caprivi Strip. Here, in the so called 'pan-handle,' it is still a wide, fairly swift, flowing river, but due to the overwhelmingly flat landscape and a series of geological faults, it soon starts to meander forming graffiti-like bends that wind sinuously through dense beds of Papyrus. Below the pan-handle, the Okavango River splits into three main channels, each one carrying water in a different direction The headwaters of each of these channels are situated in the permanent swamp (water based camps), but further along their course, each penetrates into what is known as the 'seasonal swamp' (land and combination camps).
Life in the system is governed by two events: the summer rains and the winter floods. Summer rainfall fills seasonal pans and helps keep the channels full, but towards the end of summer the waters recede, only to rise again when the floodwaters from the Angolan Highlands eventually reach the lower delta. The Okavango Delta fluctuates in size according to a complex relationship between the annual flood from Angola and local rainfall. Not all the 13 000km² is flooded and at the driest time of the year, perennial flood plains amount to only 6 000km².
