The Okavango Delta, Moremi & Khwai

The Okavango Delta shapes an immense and amazing oasis in the Kalahari desert, that constitues one of the very best all-encompassing safari destinations in the world. Beautifully preserved, the Moremi Game Reserve spreads across the eastern side of the delta, offering a patchwork of ecosystems to the visitor. Adjacent to Northern Moremi Game Reserve, Khwai community area provides a rare experience of a community that lives in harmony with nature and wildlife.

The Okavango Delta

Formation & ecosystem
Water in a desert! The Okavango delta is one of the world’s most amazing mysteries. Ten thousand years ago, the area was covered  by Lake Makgadikgadi, which mostly dried up by the early Holocene. The Okavango delta (or Okavango Swamp) is formed where the Okavango River, flows from the rain-rich Angolan highlands, empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea. Each year approximately 11 cubic kilometres of water irrigate the 15,000 km2 area and some flood-waters drain into Lake Ngami. The world’s largest inland delta gives birth to Africa’s largest and most beautiful oasis of lush water-wilderness. It takes the shape of a hand, with the palm permanently filled with water, and the fingertips seasonally flooded with a blue-green wilderness of fresh water, shaping million of islands and a labyrinth of papyrus-lined canals, water-lily lagoons, shady forest glades and rich savanna grasslands – an incredible source of life in a country that is 80% arid.

Wildlife seen in the Okavango Delta
Sometimes dried out with salt, the islands are inhabited by hundreds of species of birds, while hippos, elephants and crocodiles move from one to another in very pure waters. From the smaller tropical fish to the larger animal, there is always something that will catch your eye and admiration, making a safari to the Okavango Delta’ one of Africa’s top game safari spot. Lions, leopards, elephants and buffalos are regularly seen in the Delta – the White Rhino is more difficult to spot. The Big Five are in good company with a remarkable number of species: 164 mammal, 400 birds, 157 reptiles, 84 species of fish and 5,000 different insects.

Best seasons to visit Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta will fluctuate with the seasons, and change from year to year depending on the rains and flood waters coming from Angola and along the 800-miles long river: the influx start to flood the area in January and peak in May, making the water levels at their maximum by June or July in the Okavango delta.
Many travellers will prefer the drier season (April to October) to visit the delta, as it normally guarantees the best wildlife viewing activities – animals have to get close to permanent water points. Most of the Okavango progressively dries out, apart from permanent rivers in Moremi Game Reserve and other Northern areas.
But the wet season (December through March) offers spectacular highlights as well, with amazing colors from waters, skies, grass and flowers for the pleasure of photographers, and a fertile animal activity – many mammals have babies during the rainy season, and predators are busy spotting the young families.

Moremi Game Reserve

An history of conservation
Moremi was the first wildlife sanctuary to be set aside by a Southern African community on their own land, when in 1963 the wife of Moremi III decided to protect a third of the Okavango delta for the future, and declared the Moremi Game Reserve in the honor of the late Batawana chief. That was 7 years after a goverment department had been formed to administer wildlife conservation, making Botswana one of African leader in this matter. The tribe agreed to vacate the land; the Reserve was later enlarged with the Addition of Chief’s Island in the 1970′s, and further to the Northwest in 1991: the Moremi Game Reserve now covers nearly 5,000 km2, the core of the Okavango Delta.

From this inspiration, the state-run Moremi Game Reserve has been incredibly well-preserved. Together with the natural wonder of the Okavango delta, this exemplary management makes the Moremi Game Reserve one of very best all-encompassing safari destination in the world.

Ecosystem & wildlife in Moremi
The lush and varied ecosystem – a patchwork of lagoons, shallow flooded pans, plains and forests – provides outstanding game viewing activities whether on foot, in game-viewing vehicles or on boat. Among the finest areas are Chief’s Island, that used to be the Batswana tribe’s richest hunting grounds and offers nowadays amazing game viewing opportunities, in particular large herds of buffalos who enjoy grazing the sweet grasses and drinking in the pans. Mobile safaris may also reach the Mopane Tongue, the Khwai River area, Xakanaxa Lagoon and Third Bridge.

Khwai Community Area

Adjacent to the Northern/Eastern parts of Moremi Game Reserve and to the Southern/Western corner of Chobe National Park, Khwaï community area provides the perfect setting of a wilderness area where a community lives in harmony with nature and wildlife, along the Khwaï river.

A San village
Khwai village hosts about 400 Babukahwe, a section of San (river Bushmen) who relocated from the reserve area. They nowadays develop eco-tourism activities and participate actively in the conservation of the environment.

Wildlife seen
The magnificent Khwai river is the hub for some of the most outstanding wildlife viewing both on the Moremi and in the Khwai area. Species to be viewed include elephant, buffalo, zebra, lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, giraffe, eland, sable, hippo, hyena and various other nocturnal species.

Be our guest

Stay at Khwaï tented camp and experience the best of wildlife in Botswana’s iconic Moremi Game Reserve (Northern part of Okavango delta), combined with a taste of culture in the old village of Khwaï.

Explore the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve and the Khwaï area embarked on our Botswana Mobile Safari, or choose one of our safari itineraries including Botswana hotspots.