Okavango delta safari is a 3 day safari in Botswana. This African safari in Botswana starts and ends in Kasane Airport. You will be transferred by road to Okavango.

About the 3 Day Okavango Delta Safari

Okavango delta safari is a 3 day safari in Botswana. This African safari in Botswana starts and ends in Kasane Airport. You will be transferred by road to Okavango. The main highlight of this 3 day Okavango delta safari is wildlife.

You will enjoy game viewing by boat, on foot and on safari van. The 3 day Okavango delta safari is for those on short stay in Botswana. Find your 3 day Okavango delta safari below:

Okavango Delta Safari Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer to Okavango Delta

You will be met by our Botswana safari guide at your hotel in Kasane. This can also be at the Kasane Airport upon morning arrival. You will be briefed on this 3 day Okavango delta safari. This is to be followed by transfer to Okavango Delta.

Okavango Delta is about 15 000 square kilometers in size. It is in the sands of the Kalahari. Okavango is called a swamp, but its waters are clear.

In good years, a fraction may remain to flood Lake Ngami. This is in the south and feed the Boteti River. The river runs into Lake Xau in the west. They eventually flow into the huge depression of the Makgadikgadi Pan.

The vegetation includes groves of wild date palm. There are also papyrus, forest and lagoons covered with floating water lilies.

Here there are more than 400 species of birds and about 200 large mammals. Your arrival will be in the afternoon. You’ll explore the surrounding Okavango channels by motorboat.

Expect to see Hippos and Nile crocodiles. You might spot various water birds too. Your dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 2: Game drives in Okavango

Today your 3 day Okavango delta safari will have a full day of game viewing. You will spot birds like the African Fish Eagle, Pel’s Fishing Owl and Crested Crane.

There are also Lilac-breasted Roller, Hammerkop, Ostrich, and Sacred Ibis. Big game here are buffaloes, lechwe, Chobe bushbuck, African Bush Elephant and Tsessebe.

You may see the Sitatunga, Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, Nile crocodile, Lion, Cheetah and Leopard. Hyena, Greater Kudu, Sable Antelope, Black and white Rhinoceros and Plains Zebra are there. Warthog, Chacma Baboon, mongoose, spotted genets, bush babies, wild dog should be listed too.

You will retire for dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 3: Departure

This is the last day of your 3 day Okavango delta safari. You will wake up to the last day with breakfast. This will be followed by departure. It is time to bid Okavango farewell.

You will be heading to Kasane. This will be a road transfer. You will be dropped off at a hotel in Kasane.  For those departing, drop off will be at the Kasane Airport.

——— End of 3 Day Okavango Delta Safari ———

3 Day Okavango Delta Safari Destination

The Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta is a vast and varied ecosystem created as the Okavango River flows into the Kalahari desert in Botswana. Rich in wildlife, this World Heritage Site is a sanctuary to some of the world’s most endangered animals and birds.

The Okavango Delta is a unique pulsing wetland. More correctly an alluvial fan, the delta covers between 6 and 15 000 square kilometres of Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana and owes its existence to the Okavango (Kavango) River which flows from the Angolan highlands, across Namibia’s Caprivi Strip and into the harsh Kalahari Desert.

Each year the Okavango River discharges approximately 11 cubic kilometres (1.1 × 10¹³ litres) of water into the Okavango Delta. Most of this water is lost to transpiration by plants (60%) and by evaporation (36%) with only 2% percolating into the aquifer system with the remainder finally flowing into Lake Ngami.

The Okavango Delta is affected by seasonal flooding with flood water from Angola reaching the Delta between March and June, peaking in July. This peak coincides with Botswana’s dry season resulting in great migrations of plains game from the dry hinterland.

Generally flat, with a height variation of less than two meters across its area, dry land in the Okavango Delta is predominantly comprised of numerous small islands, formed when vegetation takes root on termite mounds, however larger islands exist with Chief’s Island, the largest, having been formed on a tectonic fault line.

The 1000th site to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2014, the Okavango Delta is an important wildlife area protected by both the Moremi Game Reserve, on its eastern edge, and the numerous wildlife concessions within Ngamiland.

An oasis in an otherwise dry environment the Okavango Delta is known for its superb wildlife, with large populations of mammals and excellent birding particularly in the breeding season.

Very much at the centre of Botswana’s safari industry, the Okavango Delta features some of Africa’s premier camps such a Mombo Camp, Duba Plains Camp, Vumbura Camp, Xigera Camp, Abu Camp, Sandibe Camp and many more.

Wildlife in Okavango Delta

The wildlife of the Okavango Delta is varied and plentiful thanks to the rich ecosystems and protection. The Okavango Delta supports large concentrations of animals on both a permanent and seasonal basis. Through careful wildlife management it has become perhaps one of the best places to see wildlife in Africa.

There is a dynamic seasonal shift of animals between the arid region that surrounds the delta and the Okavango Delta itself. During the wet season most large animals move away from the delta to take advantage of the lush grazing that surrounds it. As this grazing begins to die in the winter animals move back to the delta.

Wildlife of the Okavango Delta includes a myriad of species including African Bush Elephant, African Buffalo, Hippopotamus, Lechwe, Topi, Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, Nile crocodile, Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Brown Hyena, Spotted Hyena, Greater Kudu, Sable Antelope, Black Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros, Plains Zebra, Warthog and Chacma Baboon. Notably the endangered African Wild Dog still survives within the Okavango Delta and exhibits one of the richest pack densities in Africa.

In addition to the large animals the wildlife of the Okavango Delta includes over 500 species of birds and 85 recorded species of fish including Tigerfish, Tilapia and Catfish.

The aquatic environment of the Okavango has helped to develop a rich and complex eco-systems with thousands of tree and plant species which support the diverse wildlife found in the Okavango.

The diversity of the Okavango and surrounding areas is quite staggering. From Papyrus lined waterways peppered with lilies to open grass plains dotted with palm trees and wild sage, mopane forrests and the ancient baobab trees and acacia.

Common trees include the Candle Pod Acacia (Acacia hebeclada), Leadwood (combretum imberbe), Jackalberry (Diospyros mespiliformis), Marula (Sclerocarya birrea), Sausage Tree (Kigelia Africana) and the Knobthorn tree.