Situated on the southern edge of the Okavango Delta in northwestern Botswana, Maun is a laid-back safari town known as the gateway to one of Africa’s most remarkable wilderness regions. Dusty streets, scattered palms, and the slow-moving Thamalakane River give the town a relaxed frontier atmosphere, where safari vehicles and small bush planes are part of daily life. Travellers come to experience mokoro excursions through reed-lined delta channels, scenic flights above shimmering floodplains, and wildlife safaris into nearby game reserves. While Maun itself is functional rather than polished, its blend of local culture, open landscapes, and close access to untamed wilderness makes it an atmospheric and rewarding base for exploring the Okavango region.
Situated in the northwestern corner of Botswana, the Okavango Delta is a World Heritage Site as it is the largest inland delta in the world. The magnificent Okavango River sprawls out over the dry sands of the Kalahari Desert forming this flourishing waterlogged oasis featuring countless meandering waterways and crystal clear lagoons studded with water lilies, as well as fertile floodplains and reeded islands inhabited with abundant wildlife. The Okavango Delta stretches over an impressive15000 square kilometres. Visitors can enjoy a number of wonderful activities such as game viewing, fishing, bird watching or taking an authentic guided Mokoro excursion through this wetland paradise in a traditional dugout canoe. Commonly spotted animals include: lion, rhino, leopard, giraffe, hippos, elephants, crocodiles and countless species of bird.
Adventurous travellers seeking a truly remote African safari will be thrilled to discover it in central Botswana. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the second largest game reserve in the world and one of the least visited, nothing can prepare you for the sheer wonder of exploring this vast reserve with its wild, untouched beauty. The landscape is dominated by sand veld, acacias, and Kalahari apple-leaf, interspersed with grasslands and dotted with occasional sand dunes, pans and fossil river valleys. While the reserve is home to an impressive variety of wildlife, there is one animal that is rather obviously absent, the human being. It is this lack of human traffic, combined with the park’s lack of infrastructure, that makes for a challenging and marvellously authentic African experience. Visitors need to be entirely self-sufficient but those willing to make the effort will be richly rewarded.
