The African Gourmet

Botswana’s Okavango Delta or Botswana’s Okavango Swamp

The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s largest inland deltas, and without doubts Africa’s most beautiful oasis. The delta spreads over 6, 500 miles in Botswana’s North Country surrounded by the Kalahari Desert savannah. The Moremi Game Reserve, a National Park, spreads across the eastern side of the delta. The emerald green delta is an astounding phenomenon that evokes wonder. It has customarily been dubbed the jewel of the Kalahari and as the miracle delta. The Okavango delta is Botswana’s lifeline and it is no exaggeration that it is indeed its ‘Garden of Eden’. In these unadulterated lands, all forms of life- man, wildlife, birds, and plants - draw life from its waters. The Okavango delta is both a permanent and seasonal home to a wide variety of wildlife. Types of animals include African Bush Elephant, African Buffalo, Hippopotamus, Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, Nile crocodile, Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Brown, Spotted Hyena, Greater Kudu, Sable Antelope, Black, White Rhinoceros, Plains Zebra, Warthog and Baboon. Notably the endangered African Wild Dog still survives within the Okavango Delta, exhibiting one of the richest pack densities in Africa. The delta also includes over 400 species of birds, including African Fish Eagle, Crested Crane, Lilac-breasted Roller, Hammerkop, Ostrich, and Sacred Ibis. They leave with the summer rains to find renewed fields of grass to graze on and trees to browse, and then make their way back as winter approaches.