Okavango Delta
Hidden away in Southern Africa lies one of the continent’s most awe inspiring, spectacular locations, the largest inland delta anywhere in the world named the Okavango Delta. The aspect that makes the Okavango River different from many other rivers is the fact that it doesn’t flow into the ocean but it does into the inland delta swamp. The Okavango River starts in the highlands of Angola and flows some 800 miles into Botswana into the Okavango Delta, during the dry season. The delta itself is 6,000 square miles of deep-water areas, swamp land and papyrus beds. The climate in the Okavango is opposite to what you might think as the delta floods in the dry season and vica versa in the wet season. The main reason is because it takes several months for the floodwaters from the highlands of Angola to flow down into the delta by which time the wet season has passed and the dry season is in fruition. The reason behind this is because it takes several months before the floodwaters from the Angolan highlands to pass down into the delta, by which point the dry season is already in full swing.
In comparison to reserves such as Tuli on the countries eastern fringes the Okavango Delta has by far the best array of wildlife in the country with 35 million fish from over 80 species that live in the delta and in the dry season the region see’s virtually every animal that lives on the African continent.
Kalahari
The 350,000-square-mile desert incorporates Botswana, South Africa & Namibia and features a number of game rich areas including the Central Kalahari that is not only home to perhaps the country’s most famous animal, the Meer Kat but the region is also home to lions, hyena’s, antelope and a variety of bird and reptile life. Although much of the Kalahari doesn’t receive any rain at all there are areas of the desert that show a little more life receiving more than 10 inches of rain per year, which is crucial for life to survive. The Kalahari Game Reserve is the second largest protected game reserve on earth and is home to the indigenous bushmen who claimed to have lived in this area for over 20,000 years.
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