The Okavango Delta of the Republic of Botswana is a large wetland which is surrounded by the Kalahari Desert. Millions of years ago tectonic activity and faulting interrupted the flow of the river causing it to backup and form what is now the Delta... This has created a unique system of waterways that now supports a vast array of animal and plant life that would have otherwise been a dry Kalahari savanna.

It's headwaters start in Angola’s western highlands, with offshoots joining to form the Cubango River. The water then flows through Namibia (called the Kavango) and finally enters Botswana, where it is then called the Okavango. Instead of flowing into the sea, the annual flood of fresh water flows inland, spreading over 15 000km² of the Kalahari sand into a maze of lagoons and channels.

The Okavango Delta’s floods are fed from the Angolan rains, which start in October and finish sometime in April. The floods only cross the border between Botswana and Namibia in December and will only reach the bottom end of the delta (Maun) sometime in July, taking almost nine months from the source to the bottom. This slow meandering pace of the flood is due to the lack of drop in elevation, which drops a little more than 60 m over a distance of 450 km. The Delta’s water ends in the Kalahari – via the Botetle River, with over 95% of the water eventually evaporating.

The best time for game viewing in the Okavango Delta is during the period between May and October period, as the animal gather along the flooded areas as the vegetation has dried out. The most impressive month is August, when the champagne-coloured water is at its deepest. The best time for birding and vegetation is during the rainy season when most of the young are born. This is the time between November and April, as the migrant bird populations are returning, and the vegetation is lush and green.

The Okavango Delta presents a unique ecosystem with countless islands that emerge from its waterways. The environment has large numbers of animal populations that are otherwise rare, such as crocodile, red lechwe, sitatunga, elephant, wild dogs, buffalo, wattled crane and the water supports many kinds of fish and more common mammals and bird life. Conservationists have taken a great interest in the preservation of the Delta, as it is such an exceptional area.