The Magic Of The Okavango Delta

SheWhoMustWearKevlar and HeHooMustBeObeyed are pretty good travel agents in their own right, but when you get Debbie Ewing from Experience Africa into the equation, one has an absolutely formidable Team!!

Debbie managed to get the family into Khwai Leadwood Camp at Moremi Game Reserve on the Okavango Delta, at a moment's notice - (our family needs to be renamed to 'Last Minute.Com'!!)

Now people who are familiar with the Okavango refer to it casually as 'The Delta', after all one must sound as though this is one's most visited area in Africa, because in reality, it should be !!

The Okavango Delta lies in the north west of Botswana and is part of the Great East African Rift Valley system. The Delta is formed as the Okavango River flows into the Kalahari Desert from the Angolan highlands, creating a unique wetland, a huge oasis that sets the region's rhythm with its annual pulses.
There is less than 2 metres variation in height across the entire 250 kilometre length of the Delta: it is this almost complete absence of topographical relief that leads to the formation of the myriad waterways that make up the Delta.

The vast quantities of water flowing into an almost flat desert results in a maze of winding channels, oxbow lakes, islands and floodplains. The water is finally stopped in its lugubrious progress by a fault line. It really is a landscape unlike any other.
Approximately 11 cubic kilometres flow into the Delta each year. The water flows continuously into the Delta and drains the summer (January to February) rainfall from the Angolan highlands. A surge, that flows a staggering 1200 kilometres in a month, occurs in Botswana between March and June. It is during this time that the Okavango Delta is at its largest.

The Okavango is in fact the world's largest inland delta, but unlike most river deltas that flow into oceans or seas, this Delta never reaches the sea. Instead, it spreads across the Kalahari Desert, creating an intricate network of channels, lagoons, and islands.

We got to the Delta just days before the fabled flood waters arrived at our lodge in Moremi Game Reserve in Eastern Okavango, a phenomena we neighbours in Zimbabwe were totally unaware of strangely, considering that this is one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.
Residents of Maun and surrounding villages watch for the 'surge' with great anticipation, and the locals gather in their hundreds to witness the beginnings of 'The Surge' as its flood fingers relentlessly creep through the captivating terrain.

'The Maun Flood Arrival' plays a big part in the magic and fascination of this incredible Delta'.

If you need to whet your appetite - watch 'Surviving Paradise' on Netflix and then contact Debbie Ewing at debbie@experience.africa