I initially started this piece with a hypothetical question, a headline asking if the Delta is Africa’s top safari destination. But that’s unfair, and way too simple for such a multi-layered destination.

It’s very difficult to make a ‘mistake’ when choosing a safari destination. Whether a veteran or virgin safari-goer, it is possible to have a superb wildlife experience in many countries. Top of mind, amongst my favourites are walks between camps along Zambia’s Luangwa river, pushed hard by Mana Pools in Zimbabwe.

I’m guided in my thinking by a sense of place, interaction with wildlife, magnificent trees, small camps and vistas. Namibia stands alone in the sense of landscape, while its Caprivi strip region – growing in popularity, offers an intimate, less-crowded Okavango experience without the Botswana price-tag. For now.

South Africa stands out because of the compelling alternatives offered in a variety of different landscapes – forest, beach, mountain and savannah – and good road network. So no, I cannot answer my question above – because over the decades I’ve had remarkable experiences everywhere (and I haven’t even mentioned Tanzania’s Katavi and Ruaha national parks, and Rwanda’s Akagera).

What I can say, with conviction, is that there is literally, geographically, no place like Botswana’s Okavango. It’s the world’s largest inland delta, a remarkable journey of water rushing down from the Angolan highlands before stretching out, as the fingers of a hand, into what is essentially desert.

How far those fingers reach differs every year, impacting the landscapes they touch. Where words like lush and arid hold hands, where wild and birdlife play hide ‘n seek and elephants travel vast distances, depositing the seeds of trees en route, speaking termite mounds and dung-beetles into existence.

It’s possible to experience the Delta in a number of ways.

Up Close and Personal

If an experienced camper, with time and the right vehicle (very important) on your hands, then you will probably say camping in a national park like Moremi is the ultimate bush adventure. The night-sounds live so close that you can reach out and touch you – by day you’re seeking out the wildlife in your vehicle.

Most safari lodge owners, especially those raised or grounded in the bush, will choose camping as their favourite holiday. Mobile camping operations fulfil that need for those who don’t have the vehicles.

Me, Choose me !

My clients, Richard and Susan of Calgary, Canada, chose me to guide them. It was the generous word of mouth from the cruise director on a Rhine riverboat that led them to me. They gave me a blank canvas – ‘we don’t need to see the gorillas or Victoria Falls’ was their only instruction (I corrected their thinking on the latter, putting them in an exquisite camp on an island in the middle of the Zambezi, an hour upstream of the Falls).

As Richard wrote: “We made it clear that we wanted to get a feel for the people, their history, (anthropology, archaeology, political and social history) as well as to fully experience the geology, geography, botanical history as well as to encounter wildlife in all its forms on land, in the air, on the ocean coast and in the deltas. I wanted help with my photography, and visits to responsible wineries as well! It was a tall order that required specialist knowledge”.

After traversing much of South Africa and Victoria Falls, we ended up in Botswana for the iconic wildlife destination. Mana Pools and South Luangwa National Park had come into my thinking, but we only had time for one of the countries. Anyway, as first-timers to Africa, I felt it only right to opt for the Okavango, because it satisfied the McCowans genuine interest in both wildlife and culture.

As it turns out, they felt that maybe their best wildlife experience was in the Chamabonda section of Zambezi National Park, just outside Victoria Falls.

Astonishing Bushmen rock art

I’ve visited rock art sites from Zimbabwe’s Matobos to South Africa’s Cederberg and Drakensberg (where Game Pass cave stands out). However I don’t believe anyone can think of a better, more satisfying San / bushman rock art experience than that at Botswana’s Tsodilo Hills, a little west of the delta’s Panhandle.

Not many get to visit Tsodilo. It’s well over an hour’s hop in a Cessna Airvan, plus another 90 minutes in a a vehicle and boat, from the hub of Maun to Nxamaseri island lodge – fro where it’s another hour plus to Tsodilo Hills. And, unless you’re a fisherman, just not as sexy as the wildlife in the Delta proper.

Hippos are heard in the wide channel on which the lodge is sited, and elephants move between Nxamaseri Island lodge (where we stayed) and the Hills, where I noted ellie dung on the tracks beneath the rock art. But that’s not the reason you go there.

This location is about the San bushmen, and a profound, deep history. ‘We don’t use the word San, it’s a white word’, I was told a few times by Bushmen on this trip. It’s also about isolation, from other vehicles and people, and sharing the Southern Cross and other constellations with your clients from the north. And learning about the Big Dipper from my new North American friends.

Just as Adam, our Nxamaseri guide, says he is of the Hambukushu tribe (originally from Angola), so the Bushmen refer to themselves according to their clan and language. The matriarch of the villagers who came to dance and sing a hunt for us, Tsetsana Xixae, says that their language is Ju!hoasi, and that clans in the delta, like the Bayeyi (the river people) will often not understand the language of the clans in the Delta panhandle. Travel is such a happy gateway to learning.

“Perhaps”, wrote Richard “it would be simplest to say that Angus designed and blended together into one visit what most people would need 5 or 6 visits to Southern Africa to experience”.

What were the camps like?

Sedibe Sa Rona: Contemporary, beautiful design with all the expected modcons, situated on one of the channels. Wifi in the rooms only (great idea), Excellent service, as expected from a community partnership where the sense of part ownership is inherent. Faultless cuisine.

The airstrip opposite the lodge was waterlogged in May, meaning a long (1 hr 45m ) transfer to another Khwai strip. I wonder how much the airstrip will impact the lodge experience when it’s back in service, although the convenience of alighting from the plane straight into your lodge is the flipside. The Khwai community concession can get busy.

Nxamaseri Island Lodge: Remote, classic rustic luxury, excellent food and service. Not another soul or vehicle in sight. We didn’t see another boat either. For my clients, moving through / past villages on road and water – including fishermen in their mokoros, was a highlight.

Nxamaseri‘s Tsodilo Hills sleep-out: Brilliant idea and execution, bell tents under local reed roof on a wooden deck. Excellent ablution and shower outside. San Bushman villagers come to dance and sell the crafts they make.

*If you are interested in a Storytelling safari to southern Africa, and like what you read and see, please enquire on the site about my safari design and private guiding. Likewise if you are a lodge owner or CMO, and wish to enquire about distinguishing your safari destination from the pack, and featuring on one of my safaris.

Useful links: Both of my below ten-minute inserts give insight into the passion attached to the Okavango Delta.

1. My mini documentary on Dr Steve Boyes, one of the driving forces behind having the Delta declared a World Heritage Site.

2. The story of a man’s remarkable relationship with elephants. He was killed by wild elephants in a tragic incident in the Okavango in 2024.

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