Okavango Delta

The large inland Okavango Delta produces one of the world's great game viewing spectacles. The delta includes part of the Moremi Game Reserve as it extends into the eastern side of the delta. The area was once part of the vast, now largely dry, Lake Makgadikgadi.

Annual flooding comes through the Okavango River which carries seasonal rainfall from the Angola highlands some 1,200 kilometres away. The flood waters reach the delta around March, continuing to flow for the next four months. Water levels subside principally through evaporation in high local temperatures.

The peak of the flood comes in Botswana's dryest months to attract huge numbers of animals. The concentration of plains game, elephant and buffalo draws a spectacular array of predators - lion, leopard, brown and spotted hyena, cheetah and wild dog. Total migratory numbers reach some 200,000 with an equally impressive bird life of around 400 species.

A feature of the flat landscape is many thousand palm islands that rise just above the waters of the delta. Most of the islands have been created by trees taking root in termite mounds. Accumulated sand grows more trees and grasses until increasing salt levels create barren central patches.