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The Floodwaters of the Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta
Without doubt, the Okavango Delta is one of Africa prime wildlife safari destinations. The Kavingo River hits the deep sands of the Kalahari Desert and form one of the world’s largest inland deltas and the waters sustain an incredible amount of wildlife. Within the Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta is an oasis for the wildlife, but knowing where to stay at different times of the year is key to maximizing your Okavango Delta safari experience.
The Okavango Delta is a vast wetland with floodplains, rivers, channels, marshes and islands. Staying at luxury safari camps in the middle of the Okavango Delta can mean limited wildlife viewing as the animals prefer areas where there is enough land for them to survive on. The animals of the Okavango Delta have adapted to living in a semi-aquatic landscape and so often have to cross rivers and floodplains to move between islands, but generally they prefer the edges of the Okavango Delta or the larger islands. Therefore, knowing where to stay is so important. If you choose a camp that is predominately focused on water activities, your game viewing will be limited. For this reason, we hand select the best safari camps at the various times of the year when we know you will get the best Okavango Delta safari experience.
How does the flood waters of the Okavango Delta work and how does this affect game viewing? This is an important question as this determines what safari camps are best to stay in during your Okavango safari.
Botswana’s rainy season starts in mid-November and lasts until the end of March. During this time Botswana’s northern areas receive thunderstorms and downpours that last 30-45 minutes before the storm passes over. The rainwater from these storms is not responsible for fulling the Okavango Delta. Instead, the water from the storms fills the shallow pans and seasonal waterholes. At the same time Botswana is experiencing its rainy season, so is the Angolan Highlands which is the catchment area for the Okavango Delta. Due to the distance the water has to travel from the Angolan highlands to reach the Okavango Delta, the flood waters only start to push through from around March/April time. For the next 4 months (March through to June) the floodwaters continue to push through from the Panhandle finally reaching its highest point around May/June time. At this point the floodwaters have reached Maun, its furthest point before the deep sands of the Kalahari start to soak it up.
It is at this point that the Okavango Delta is at its highest point. All floodplains are covered by water, the channels and rivers are flowing, and lagoons are fill. The rising waters push the animals to edges of the Okavango Delta where they can stay dry. At this time of the year the water-based camps are only able to offer mokoro and speedboat activities and game viewing is at its lowest. During the Okavango Delta floods, it is best to stay in camps on the northern edge of the Okavango Delta where the safari camps can still offer walking safaris, game drives as well as mokoros and speedboat activities.
From June the floodwaters start to soak into the desert sands and the floodplains start to recede exposing fresh grazing for the wildlife, drawing them back into the Delta moving from island to island crossing rivers and channels. As the floodwaters recede, some Okavango Delta Safari Camps are no longer able to offer water activities and then rely on game drives and walking safaris. At this time of the year, it is important to choose camps that can still offer mokoros and speedboat activities.
Our top Okavango Delta Safari camps include Shinde, Kanana, Duba Plains, Gomoti Plains, Splash Camp and Kwara Camp. Most of these camps are located on the edge of the Okavango Delta and are able to offer year-round land and water activities.
Without doubt, the Okavango Delta is one of Africa prime wildlife safari destinations. The Kavingo River hits the deep sands of the Kalahari Desert and form one of the world’s largest inland deltas and the waters sustain an incredible amount of wildlife. Within the Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta is an oasis for the wildlife, but knowing where to stay at different times of the year is key to maximizing your Okavango Delta safari experience.
The Okavango Delta is a vast wetland with floodplains, rivers, channels, marshes and islands. Staying at luxury safari camps in the middle of the Okavango Delta can mean limited wildlife viewing as the animals prefer areas where there is enough land for them to survive on. The animals of the Okavango Delta have adapted to living in a semi-aquatic landscape and so often have to cross rivers and floodplains to move between islands, but generally they prefer the edges of the Okavango Delta or the larger islands. Therefore, knowing where to stay is so important. If you choose a camp that is predominately focused on water activities, your game viewing will be limited. For this reason, we hand select the best safari camps at the various times of the year when we know you will get the best Okavango Delta safari experience.
How does the flood waters of the Okavango Delta work and how does this affect game viewing? This is an important question as this determines what safari camps are best to stay in during your Okavango safari.
Botswana’s rainy season starts in mid-November and lasts until the end of March. During this time Botswana’s northern areas receive thunderstorms and downpours that last 30-45 minutes before the storm passes over. The rainwater from these storms is not responsible for fulling the Okavango Delta. Instead, the water from the storms fills the shallow pans and seasonal waterholes. At the same time Botswana is experiencing its rainy season, so is the Angolan Highlands which is the catchment area for the Okavango Delta. Due to the distance the water has to travel from the Angolan highlands to reach the Okavango Delta, the flood waters only start to push through from around March/April time. For the next 4 months (March through to June) the floodwaters continue to push through from the Panhandle finally reaching its highest point around May/June time. At this point the floodwaters have reached Maun, its furthest point before the deep sands of the Kalahari start to soak it up.
It is at this point that the Okavango Delta is at its highest point. All floodplains are covered by water, the channels and rivers are flowing, and lagoons are fill. The rising waters push the animals to edges of the Okavango Delta where they can stay dry. At this time of the year the water-based camps are only able to offer mokoro and speedboat activities and game viewing is at its lowest. During the Okavango Delta floods, it is best to stay in camps on the northern edge of the Okavango Delta where the safari camps can still offer walking safaris, game drives as well as mokoros and speedboat activities.
From June the floodwaters start to soak into the desert sands and the floodplains start to recede exposing fresh grazing for the wildlife, drawing them back into the Delta moving from island to island crossing rivers and channels. As the floodwaters recede, some Okavango Delta Safari Camps are no longer able to offer water activities and then rely on game drives and walking safaris. At this time of the year, it is important to choose camps that can still offer mokoros and speedboat activities.
Our top Okavango Delta Safari camps include Shinde, Kanana, Duba Plains, Gomoti Plains, Splash Camp and Kwara Camp. Most of these camps are located on the edge of the Okavango Delta and are able to offer year-round land and water activities.
