The Okavango Delta in 5 days
A river that rises in the Angolan highlands dies in the Kalahari sands without ever reaching the sea, spreading into up to 15,000 square kilometres of channels, islands and floodplains. You travel it standing in a poled mokoro canoe, at eye level with water lilies and elephants.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- Morning
The channels by mokoro2 to 3 hA flat-bottomed dugout, now moulded in fibreglass to spare the trees, poled from the stern along channels opened by hippos.
Day 2
- All day
Moremi Game Reservea full dayCreated in 1963 by the Batawana people to stop poaching; lagoons, mopane forest and floodplains with elephants, lions, leopards and wild dogs.
Day 3
- All day
Khwai Community Areaa full dayRun by Khwai village on Moremi's north-east edge, where, unlike the reserve, off-road driving, night drives and guided walks are allowed.
Day 4
- Several days
Chief's Islandseveral daysThe delta's largest island, about 70 kilometres long, once the Batawana chief's hunting ground; wildlife gathers here as the flood rises.
Day 5
- Morning
A guided bush walk2 to 3 hTwo to three hours on foot at dawn behind an armed guide and a tracker, reading fresh tracks, burrows and elephant-stripped bark.
- Afternoon
Maun and the Thamalakane Riverfree · about 1 hThe gateway town strung along the Thamalakane, where donkeys cross the main road and light aircraft leave for the camps every morning.
- Late afternoon
A scenic flight over the deltaabout 1 hForty-five minutes to an hour in a small Cessna from Maun, the only way to grasp the delta's fan of channels, islands and green floodplains.
Further afield (over 130 km from the base hotel), best as a separate stop: The Panhandle and Shakawe.
Where to sleep in the Okavango Delta
- Maun Lodge · €75 a night
- Sedia Hotel · €85 a night
- Three Tree Hotel · €45 a night
- Cresta Riley's Hotel · €110 a night
- Thamalakane River Lodge · €130 a night
- Island Safari Lodge · €100 a night
- O Bona Moremi Safari Lodge · €380 a night
- Xaro Lodge · €500 a night
- Mogotlho Safari Lodge · €300 a night
Plan this trip
Hotel prices per room per night, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.