Can you hear it? It’s Botswana’s Okavango Delta calling your name!
Soon, that gush of water from the distant Angolan highlands will arrive, and the dusty plains will become shimmering lagoons, the channels will swell, and a whole new world will spring to life. Trust me – you want to be there when it happens.
Mokoro Riding on the Okavango Delta’s channels.
When to go?
May to September is your golden window to experience Botswana. This is when you’ll be able to slip into a mokoro and follow the natural flow of the winding waterways. Feel the sun on your skin as you float past colorful waterlilies and hear the gentle swish of reeds as your guide navigates, keeping your eyes peeled for wildlife – rest assured, you won’t need to wait too long or look too hard! There’s plenty of life in and around the Delta.
Hippos peek out from shallows, elephants quench their thirst at newly-filled pools, and the enthusiastic twittering of over 400 bird species fills the air. You may even spot a usually shy leopard (or two), and perhaps even a pack of wild dogs. Oh, and watch out for that iconic splash of red in the distance – it might just be a leaping lechwe or a sitatunga, elegantly poised and grazing just beyond the water’s edge.
Can’t go during these times.
Don’t wait. The animals will still be there.
The channels may not be high but if you are up for anything, just go. I was there in February and I got to ride the mokoro (that is me in the photo above on my Safari - a traditional dug-out canoe), see the dashing sitatunga, capture the leopards, lions, wild dogs, and so much more.
Lion pride. Okavango Delta
Of course, all these encounters will be tailored to your rhythm, featuring those life-changing sunrise coffee/chai tea stops, as well as lazy sundowners, a few bush picnics, and whatever else fuels your sense of adventure.
I’m here to make sure every moment you spend in the Okavango Delta is as wonderful as it is wild. So let’s start plotting your unforgettable African adventure, your way.