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EAGLE ISLAND LODGE an Orient express luxury property in the Okavango Delta - How do you describe such luxury and beauty? For the ultimate birding safari deep in the Okavango Delta. A safari with a helicopter allow your a bird-eyes view of the big game of the Okavango Delta.
CAMP OKUTI: Located on the edge of the Okavango delta in Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve: This lodge allows you to enjoy a luxury safari in open vehicles or by boat in the Okavango Delta.
KHWAI RIVER LODGE Orient Express - our favourite at the Okavango Delta. One of only two lodges with air-conditioning. This lodge is in an excellent game viewing area of the Moremi Game Reserve.
XAKANAXA CAMP: Friendly people, excellent service and superb game viewing! This camp offers a luxurious accommodation and safaris in the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve.
GUNN'S CAMP: Overlooking Chiefs Island and bordering the Moremi Game Reserve, Gunn's Camp is one of the last few remaining luxury, vintage safari camps and one of the most affordable in the Okavango Delta.
DELTA CAMP: In the heart of the Okavango Delta
OKAVANGO DELTA AND MOREMI NATIONAL PARK
The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s largest inland water systems. It's headwaters start in Angola’s western highlands, with numerous tributaries joining to form the Cubango river, which then flows through Namibia (called the Kavango) and finally enters Botswana, where it is then called the Okavango. This is where you will find one of the last really unspoilt game reserves of Africa - Moremi National Park.
The Delta environment has large numbers of animal populations that are otherwise rare, such as crocodile, red lechwe, sitatunga, elephant, wild dogs, buffalo, wattled crane as well as the other more common mammals and bird life.
The best time for game viewing in the Delta is during the May-October period, as the animal life is concentrated along the flooded areas and the vegetation has dried out.
The best time for birding and vegetation is during the rainy season (Nov - April) as the migrant bird populations are returning and the plants are flowering and green.
During the peak of the flooding the delta’s area can expand to over 16,000 square kilometres, shrinking to less than 9,000 square kilometres in the low period. As the water travels through the Delta, the wildlife starts to move back into the region. The areas
surrounding the Delta begin to dry out (the rains in Botswana occur approximately the same time as in Angola) and the wildlife starts to congregate on the edge of the newly flooded areas, May through to October.
Safari activities by water are the primary specialities of the Okavango - the Mokoro - a dugout canoe which is 'poled' along by your guide is the most exhilirating way of exploring the numerous waterways. Motor launches travel on the main waterways and lagoons.
Traditional 4x4 game viewing vehicles are used on the main islands, with night drives available in the private concession areas - though not allowed within the National Park. Walking safaris are available from most camps and lodges - perhaps the most exciting way of viewing game - stalking and tracking wildlife with an expert guide.
Game viewing flights are available by both light aircraft and helicopter, but hot air ballooning is not allowed. Perhaps the most marvellous way of exploring the Okavango is on the back of an elephant at Randall Moore's famous Abu Camp.
Rainfall is not heavy in the Okavango - it gets less than half of the rainfall than over the entire Kruger Park area. A variety of accommodation is available in the Okavango Delta and the Moremi. This include luxury loges or hotels. These safari camps offers safari from open vehicles, by boat or even by helicopter.
Moremi Game Reserve is a National Park in Botswana. It rests on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta and was named after Chief Moremi of the BaTawana tribe. Moremi was designated as a Game Reserve, and not a National Park, since when it was created. The BaSarwa or Bushmen that lived there were supposed to be allowed to stay in the reserve.
In the 1960s, the government changed its mind and burned the Bushmen village and forced the villagers to move outside the park. They relocated on the other side of the Khwai River and named their new village Khwai. Within the village there is still a strong distrust towards the national government as there has been talk about moving the village once again.
The Moremi Game Reserve covers much of the eastern side of the Okavango Delta, and combines permanent water, with drier areas – making for some startling, and unexpected contrasts. Prominent geographical features of the Reserve are Chiefs Island and the Moremi Tongue. In the Moremi one can experience excellent savannah game viewing by 4x4, as well as bird-watching on the lagoons. There are also thickly wooded areas, which are home to the shy, and rare, Leopard. To the northeast lies the Chobe National Park which borders the Moremi Game Reserve.
Although just under 5 000 square kilometres in extent, it is a surprisingly diverse Reserve, combining mopane woodland and acacia forests, floodplains and lagoons. Only about 30% of the Reserve is mainland, with the bulk being within the Okavango Delta itself.
The Moremi Game Reserve, although not one of the largest Parks, presents insights and views even for the most experienced of travelers. Home to nearly 500 species of bird (from water birds to forest dwellers), and a vast array of other species of wildlife, including buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyaena, jackal, impala, and red lechwe. African Wild dog, Lycaon pictus is resident, and has been the subject of a project run in the area since 1989; thus this species is often seen wearing collars emplaced by researchers. The Moremi area contains one of the most significant extant habitat areas for L. pictus.
The Reserve offers the opportunity to explore not only in 4x4's but on foot and by mokoro - a dug-out canoe, hewn from either ebony or sausage-tree, and poled by your personal Guide. Although, today most of the mekoro (plural of mokoro), are made from fibre glass, thus helping to preserve the magnificent, and old, trees of the delta.
Game viewing is at its peak from July to October, when seasonal pans dry up and the wildlife concentrates on the permanent water. From October until the start of the rains in late November or early December, the weather can be extremely hot.
Malarial mosquitoes are prevalent throughout the Reserve and it is strongly recommended that visitors should take precautions before, during and after a visit.
Botswana has been able to develop its tourism without the urgent need for revenues that face many other African countries. An eco-tourism policy of high yield, but low impact, has resulted in visitors being able to experience an Africa at its most natural, unspoilt and stunningly beautiful. Thus the Reserve itself has very few lodges, and only four areas set-aside for camping (at South Gate, Third Bridge, Xakanaxa, and Khwai). There are a number of Lodges on the outskirts of the Reserve, whose guests visit on daily game drives.
Travel between Lodges is accomplished by light aircraft transfers, as most lodges have their own airstrips. Therefore, you can easily combine a number of lodges in a variety of areas.