Bushman Plains Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Bushman Plains

Okavango Delta

Okavango Delta

Overview

The Okavango Delta is one of Africa’s safari jewels.  A one of a kind wilderness that is the world’s largest inland delta.  This wetland area is fed by an annual flood of waters arriving by river from the Angola highlands and then fanning out in the Kalahari sands to form an amazing mosaic of wetland channels, flood plains and dry game drive area.  Here the safari experience is of the highest quality because of the extremely low density of tourists meaning most wildlife sightings are all your own, off road driving and night drives are usually allowed and walking and boating activities add to the diversity of the experience.    

Location

The Okavango Delta is the heart of Northern Botswana.  The safari frontier town of Maun sits on the edge of the Okavango and is the gateway to Botswana safaris.  Some of the best Okavango camps are just a 15 minute bush flight from Maun.

Wildlife

The Okavango Delta is a wilderness paradise for wildlife.  The environment is pristine and a full diversity of species are observed.  Four of the Big 5 are commonly seen (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo) with only the rhino being a rarity.  Rhino had been extirpated but have been reintroduced, they are limited to very specific areas and not seen by most on a Botswana safari.  The Okavango is particularly great for elephants, lions, and has some sensational areas for leopards.  Botswana is a stronghold for the endangered African wild dog and seeing them run through the Delta flood waters is pure magic.  In fact the Okavango is a stunning setting for all wildlife viewing as elephants often frolic in the water and even lions can be seen sometimes wading or swimming through the wetland channels — it is viewing like nowhere else.  Wetland adapted antelope like red lechwe and sitatunga are other specialties of the Okavango.  All the camps we most recommend in Okavango are in private concession areas where off road driving allows for the highest quality game viewing and night drives increase the diversity of species that can be seen.

Itineraries

The Okavango is the quintessential Botswana safari location and a must location for any itinerary. To learn more about possible itineraries, click on one of the sample itinerary links below:

Of Course, we also create custom Botswana itineraries so you can create your own trip that best meets your needs.

Best Times to Go

The Okavango Delta is one of the rare truly special safari destinations that delivers a great experience year round. This is because the Okavango has plentiful water year round so most wildlife is resident with very little seasonal movements although there is still some dispersal of species when rains add surface water.  The absolute peak game viewing is late in the dry season of August through October though October gets quite hot.  November through January is another outstanding time as many species have their calves and this also leads to active predators, it is a time of plenty when all the species look their best.  November through March is also a great value time of year when some of Africa’s most luxurious safari camps have special deals with costs that are from 30 to 60% less than the peak season accommodation rates.  We select the best camps for each time of year always considering the seasonal wildlife.

Accommodations

Most of the Okavango has been divided into large private concession areas.  The owners of each concession (some are community owned while others are government land) tender the land on 15 year leases to safari camps making the Okavango the ultimate low density tourism model.  Here there are usually one to three camps with exclusive use of tens of thousands of acres within each concession area.  Because of the exclusivity (high costs of leasing) the Okavango is almost exclusively high standard luxury tented camps.  Most camps are intimate tented camps with no more than nine units.  Guest tents are usually canvas walled but raised off the ground with hardwood flooring, real beds and other furniture, and ensuite bathrooms with full plumbing.  The majority of camps have small pools, lavish central lounges and high quality levels of food and service.  In the high season of July through October this is one of the most expensive safari locations in all of Africa but November through March it is one of the best value safari options using the exact same camps.   Click a link below for more information on each camp.

 

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