I don’t think I’ve been to a wilderness in Africa comparable to the Okavango Delta. This is a place where humans are so rare, the animals don’t know how to handle them. Jeeps are open bare not next to leopards, but, more importantly, next to baboons. Try that in South Africa where even the bins are locked because baboons will try to open them and scavenge for food.
OK, so I wrote about birdwatching, but that is not the be-all and end-all of the Okavango. This is a great place to spot all animals and my photo essay below is an homage to its wildlife.
[click on image to enlarge]
Let’s start with the antelopes.
Impalas are not as plentiful as in South Africa.
Tsessebe are more common in the Okavango than anywhere else.
A family of kudu
Continue with the predators..
We saw a pack of wild dogs hunting an impala and tearing it to pieces.
Crocodile trying to surreptitiously attack a heron
Spot the leopard
And let’s end with some of the other characters of the Okavango
Curious hippo thinking that we can’t see him behind the water lilies.
Mother and baby baboon
Giraffes in the morning mist
A reminder why African sunsets are the best.
Monkey against the sunset. No filter, no Photoshop.
Leopard waiting for the sunset to go on the prowl.
Finally a hint on how you move around in the Delta:
Small Cessna six-seaters are the only way to move in the Okavango. They land in makeshift airstrips trying not to hit straying wildlife.
The snaking Okavango river
I travelled in the Okavango Delta courtesy of Expert Africa and Wilderness Safaris. A version of this article first appeared in the magazine Travel Africa.
That was a great article, i had a good time reading through.After reading this article i’m so going to Okavonga Delta. Thank you so much. Sometime last year i visited Kruger National Park South Africa, it was awesome,next in my bucket list is definitely Okavonga delta.