How to Get to the Okavango Delta from Kasane to Maun
The route to the Okavango Delta took us on the road from Kasane to Maun. It was a six-hour drive in August, and the road was edged with parched glass, low shrubs and trees, and is home to free roaming cattle, horses, elephants, buffalo, and the occasional ostrich.
We passed several cyclists braving the heat and our driver tells us this is the new “thing” for extreme sports people, to cycle the 600km from Maun to Kasane.
It’s not without its dangers, he tells us, given there are few places to sleep on the route, and the threat from this wildlife is ever present.
Our driver and guide are sharing the responsibility of driving our mini bus of eleven adventurers.
We pass the time watching out of the windows hoping to spot a pack of “Painted” Dogs, otherwise known as Wild Dogs. These are incredibly rare and listed as endangered wildlife, but are known to live in the area.
Wildlife and Scenery on the Road to the Okavango Delta
Along the route as it passes through mile after mile of national park, our guide tells us a story of animal ingenuity.
Kasane is in The Kalahari Desert so water is scarce. To provide fresh water to remote villages, the government had built a huge pipeline which we could see running alongside the road.
At regular intervals there are manholes used to service the pipe. The manholes have huge concrete lids, but many have been thrown aside or are smashed to pieces.
He told us that elephants can smell water from miles away, and soon discovered the fresh water running beneath the ground. To get to it, they have lifted the lids weighing hundreds of kilos, and just tossed them aside.
As we travelled, we saw many elephants helping themselves to the fresh water, proof I suppose, that nature will always find a way.
What to Expect in Maun: Gateway to the Okavango Delta
We finally arrived at Maun, which in the language of the San People (or Bushmen) means A Place of Reeds. This is the gateway to the lower Okavango Delta.
It has a population of 55,000 people, eighty five percent of which are involved in tourism.
Our first night was spent at Crocodile Camp. This was to enjoy a night with a real bed and bathroom and to recharge our batteries, (quite literally) as the following morning we are to be off grid for two nights of bush camping.
No electricity, no running water, no bathroom, no phone signal and just a dome tent and camp bed to call home.
What Is Bush Camping in the Okavango Delta Like?
I hadn’t camped for 25 years, but how often these days do you get the chance to truly disconnect, so I was looking forward to it, even if a little apprehensive.
The first part of our journey involved a 2 hour off road drive in a large open sided 4×4 vehicle, with a trailer carrying all our bags and supplies.
We were travelling over sandy tracks and rickety bridges, with wooden supports so narrow that they almost brushed the sides of the vehicle.
We see other bridges but they are marooned, landlocked, waiting for the flood waters to arrive, and turn the whole area into a thriving wetland.
What Is a Mokoro Safari in the Okavango Delta?
Finally, we arrive at a small beach on the river bank where local guides and their mokoro boats are waiting to take us on the next leg of our journey.
A Mokoro is a long, narrow, wooden boat similar to a canoe but propelled by a skilled local with a pole, and it’s traditionally used for fishing.
We board the boats in pairs and push out into the delta. Everything we need to feed and house the group and our local guides is packed onto the boats.
It’s a rocky start for those of us not used to traveling this way. The boats sit low in the water and must be manoeuvred through narrow reed channels made by the resident wild hippos.
The air is still and quiet but for the sound of wildlife, and our laughter as we all try not to topple our “polers” who are standing bravely at the rear of the boats trying to keep them balanced.
We are reassured that even if the worst should happen, the water is no more than a foot or two deep.
The journey is around 45 minutes of breathtaking scenery surrounded by an endless horizon of reeds and water lilies.
Bush Walk in the Okavango Delta: What You Might See
When our boats touch land again there is only an empty river bank, no camp in sight, and our guides explain this is because each time they leave the site, they remove all signs that they were ever there, in order to lower their environmental impact.
So, to give them time to prepare, we are taken on a two hour bush walk while our hosts get the camp ready.
Away from the river, the land is parched, and temperatures around 30 degrees. The open grassland is brown and yellow as far as you can see.
Some areas are black where a bushfire has taken hold. This is the lower delta, and it’s August, there should be water, but it appears summer has arrived early and much of the game has migrated in search of something to drink.
We met a lone elephant on our walk and a family of giraffe and zebra.
What Is It Like to Stay in a Remote Okavango Delta Camp?
When we return, the guides have worked wonders in our absence. Dome tents are up, a camp fire is heating a kettle of hot water for tea.
Surrounding the fire are chairs all facing the delta water, with an insulated box full of ice drinks and cold beer.
The bush toilet was an experience. It consisted of a three-sided canvas screen set a little away from camp, with a hole in the ground and a frame with a seat suspended over the hole.
The open side with no canvas looked towards the surrounding bush, so you were able to keep a lookout for a stray hippo or elephant heading your way.
There was a toilet roll and a spade leant against a nearby tree, and if they weren’t there, you knew the toilet was engaged, and to wait your turn at a discreet distance.
You would use the spade to throw some dirt down the hole once you were finished.
The bush shower was thankfully an upgrade on the toilet. Closer to camp, it had four sides and a bag for water with a shower head.
The guides could quickly fill this with hot or cold water depending on your preference.
Evenings in the Okavango Delta: Food, Wildlife and Stargazing
One of our guides had been a chef in a previous life, so there was no compromise on the food, even though it was cooked on the fire.
We ate dinner under a huge star filled sky, a perfect way to disconnect from our normal lives and bond with the rest of the group.
Our shady spot also appeared to be home to some cheeky hornbills who always had their eyes on our food.
Things to Do in the Okavango Delta: Bush Walks and Mokoro Safaris
Our first full day at camp started with an early morning bush walk, then a restful day of relaxation, food, time to read, or just watching the hornbills play.
We then headed out again on the most beautiful mokoro ride to see a hippo pool and watch the sun go down, beer in hand, on a little island in the middle of the delta, before sailing back for dinner.
Wildlife Encounters in the Okavango Delta: What You Might Experience
At the end of our two nights of bush camping, we headed back towards our waiting vehicle in our Mokoro.
We were now quite adept at balancing in these little boats, so looked forward to our final ride, enjoying the calm stillness of the delta and the morning sunshine on the water.
But this is wild Africa and things don’t always go according to plan.
Out of the long reeds on the left bank came a female hippo moving towards the water. Our “polers” adjust their course to avoid her, but with each of their manoeuvres she adjusts her own, running straight at us.
Now this is not a good thing since she weighed around 1,300kg, and more people are killed in Africa by the vegetarian hippo than by any other animal.
A shout goes up from the “polers” and they change gear, pushing the boats rapidly through the water, showing us why they jokingly call the Mokoro boat, the Ferrari of the delta.
Thankfully as they push towards another channel, it takes us out of the eyesight of the angry hippo and she loses interest.
But we are told it’s lucky she was a female, as a male may have given us a harder chase.
But the excitement isn’t over, because as we get back to our vehicle, there is a helicopter waiting to end our amazing delta experience by showing us the breathtaking view from the sky.
A patchwork of colours from dry savanna to vast pools of water, with herds of elephants roaming the plains, is a sight I will never forget.
Best Time to Visit the Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta is a seasonal destination as you need the water to fill the channels for the Mokoro.
Levels begin to rise from May, with peak flow usually being July-August, and waters receded again September-October.
The delta is fed by water from the highlands of Angola which fill the upper delta and works its way inland 250km towards the Kalahari Desert.
We were visiting the lower delta in August, but as conditions had been unseasonably dry, much of the water had already receded.
As the animal herds follow the water, and the lion prides follow the herds, there were very few animals in the area when we visited.
With the unpredictability of weather these days, for the chance of seeing the delta at its best, I would try to visit higher up the delta next time around Moremi.
Though I know this usually proves more expensive, I believe it would be worth the extra money.