---
type: "Article"
title: "Okavango Delta: on a safari in earth’s largest inland delta"
description: "The Okavango Delta is a one of a kind, must-see phenomenon for anyone traveling to Botswana. It makes any safari lover's heart beat faster. Ours included!"
resource: "https://travelmemo.com/botswana/okavango-delta-safari"
author: "Walter Schaerer"
publisher: "Travelmemo"
photo_count: 16
tags: ["Animals", "Experience", "Landscape", "Nature", "Safari", "Wilderness Safaris", "Botswana"]
entities:
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/botswana"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/africa"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/south-africa"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/wildlife-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/experience-travel"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/landscape"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/nature-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/safari"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/review"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/wildlife-viewing"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/organizations/wilderness-safaris"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer"
generated: { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer", at: 2026-07-04T14:22:27+00:00 }
verified:
  - { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/katja-birrer", at: 2016-07-12T19:07:07+00:00 }
sources:
  - id: photos
    resource: okavango-delta-safari.md#photos
    title: "Original photography by Walter Schaerer"
    author: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer"
    last_modified: 2016-06-04
timestamp: 2026-07-04T14:22:27+00:00
---

# Okavango Delta: on a safari in earth’s largest inland delta

> The Okavango Delta in Botswana is the world's largest inland river delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning 20,000 km² of swamps, channels, and lagoons that supports one of Africa's highest year-round concentrations of wildlife.

## Destination
Okavango Delta, Botswana

## Getting there
Much of the delta is only accessible by small bush plane; the article references arriving at an airstrip and being driven to camp by guide.

## When to go
Wildlife is present year-round, as the delta's pools and channels remain filled with water even during the dry season.

## Why visit
Extraordinary wildlife density including rare leopard sightings, over 400 bird species, and the unique experience of exploring a vast wetland oasis surrounded by desert.

## What to see
- **Leopards** — Rarely seen but surprisingly findable with an expert tracker who reads fresh prints daily; sightings included a mother with cub.
- **Big game variety** — Elephants, giraffes, lions, wildebeest, Cape hunting dogs, baboons, cheetahs, and buffaloes all present.
- **Bird life** — Over 400 species including rare wattled cranes and the Marabou stork; considered a birder's paradise.
- **Aerial view** — A bird's-eye view from a small bush plane reveals the full scale of the delta's swamps, rivers, channels, and lagoons.

## What to do
- **Game drives with a tracker guide** — Expert guides like Kambango read animal tracks morning and evening to locate leopards, lions, and cheetahs with remarkable precision.
- **Mokoro dugout ride** — Glide silently through reed- and water-lily-lined channels in a flat-bottomed fiberglass canoe poled by a guide, similar in motion to a gondola.

## Good to know
The mokoro dugouts were traditionally carved from kigelia (sausage) trees but are now made of fiberglass to protect the trees. Hippos can be encountered on the water. The authors stayed at Tubu Tree Camp.

## Photos

```yaml
photos:
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Botswana-view.jpg"
    caption: "View of Okavango Delta from Chesna flight"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Tubu Tree Camp"]
    captured: 2016-06-02
    credit: "Walter Schaerer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive-birds.jpg"
    caption: "Drinking birds in Jao Concession Okavango Delta"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Marabou-Stork-Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive.jpg"
    caption: "Marabou Stork watching out"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Marabuo stork", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive-Leopard.jpg"
    caption: "Leopard on the hunt"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Leopard", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive-Leopard-cub.jpg"
    caption: "Leoaprd with its cub"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Leopard", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Leopard-Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive.jpg"
    caption: "Leopard in Jao Concession Okavango Delta"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Leopard", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive-Leopard-tree.jpg"
    caption: "Leopard snuffling around"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Leopard", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive-Leopard-2.jpg"
    caption: "Leopard in the Okavango Delta"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Leopard", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Wildebeests-Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive.jpg"
    caption: "Wildebees herd"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive", "wildebiest"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Wild-dog-Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive.jpg"
    caption: "Wild dog relaxing in the shadow"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wild dog", "Wilderness Camps", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Lion-Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive.jpg"
    caption: "Lion relaxing in the sun"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive", "lions"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Giraffe-Okavango-Delta-Jao-game-drive.jpg"
    caption: "Giraffe"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Jao", "Jao concession", "Okavango Delta", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Wilderness", "Wilderness Safaris", "camp", "game drive", "giraffe"]
    captured: 2016-06-03
    credit: "travelmemo.com"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Botswana-Walter-Katja-Mocoro.jpg"
    caption: "Katja and Walter in te Mocoro in Okavango Delta"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Safari", "Tubu Tree Camp", "Walter Schaerer", "mocoro"]
    captured: 2016-06-04
    credit: "Walter Schaerer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Botswana-River-Mocoro.jpg"
    caption: "Mocoro in the Okavango Delta"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Tubu Tree Camp", "mocoro"]
    captured: 2016-06-04
    credit: "Walter Schaerer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Okavango-Delta-Botswana-Sunset-Mocoro.jpg"
    caption: "Sunset Okavango Delta"
    keywords: ["Botswana", "Tubu Tree Camp", "mocoro", "sunset"]
    captured: 2016-06-04
    credit: "Walter Schaerer"
```