Things to do in Botswana

Trips by mokoro and on foot: on safari in the Okavango Delta

Seeing big game is always special too – being on foot gives you a completely different perspective of the size of these animals….

By Keitumetse 'KT' Mogale

Guide at Camp Okavango

Among the lagoons, channels, woodlands and islands of the Okavango Delta, we’re blessed with some of the most incredible wildlife-spotting in Botswana, and visitors will find several different ways to experience the region.

Among the most popular activities are the walking safaris; motorboats take guests to one of the islands to embark on a hike with an armed ranger. As you cruise along the river you might spot hippos, crocodiles or occasionally the rare sitatunga antelope, and the morning light on the papyrus plants and water lilies is always beautiful.

Once on the island, you follow the guide in single-file, stopping to see wildlife while learning about the medicinal properties of the plants. When I’m guiding these walks, I love showing guests the smaller things that might have been overlooked on a game drive, like the foam nest frog, which produces this fascinating nest in the tree. You can learn so much from even a pile of dung; you can see what the baboons have been scratching at and what the dung beetles have been busy at. This always intrigues me and is worth getting a bit of dirt on my hands for.

Seeing big game on foot is always special too – it might be an elephant, a buffalo, a giraffe or even a lion. Occasionally you might be lucky enough to see a full pride, which guests can find a bit scary at times but is always a memorable moment! Being on foot gives you a completely different perspective of the size of these animals.

But the highlight of the delta for many is heading out on a mokoro trip – you’re ‘poled’ through the shallow waterways in a traditional wooden canoe, gliding through reeds and waterlilies as you pass elephants, hippos, crocodiles, fish eagle birds and other wildlife. Guests always love this, and it’s a really peaceful way to see the channels.

At the end, guests are surprised with sundowners in a remote spot, paddling in a shallow bit of the water where it’s really clear (and there are no hippos…) Watching the sun set over the water is one of my favourite sights in the delta – however many times I see it, it never gets old, and it definitely doesn’t feel like work! I love guiding here, and teaching guests more about the delta – I’ll never tire of exploring these scenic waterways.

Available in these itineraries…

Itinerary

Best of Botswana and Victoria Falls
by Adele Jones

Length11 Days

Price range£6,895 - £9,675pp

Alfred & Keitumetse 'KT' Mogale

Keitumetse has been guiding for 12 years. He grew up in the village of Mogotho in the Okavango Delta and began his career as a tracker. He now leads walking safaris and game drives at Camp Okavango and enjoys sharing his stories with guests from all over the world.

Plan your holiday withAlfred&

Your journey will start with one of our UK team – someone like Louise, who's travelled extensively in Botswana. They’ll shape your ideas into the trip of a lifetime. But they won't do it alone. They'll draw on the expertise of our contacts on the ground, connecting you to the people who'll make your holiday one you'll always remember - the rangers who'll ensure you'll spot the best wildlife in Chobe, the village chiefs who'll give you an insight into local life and the helicopter pilots who can land you on an island in the Delta never visited by humans before.

Louise Dean

Africa Expert for Alfred&

When it comes to Africa, Louise is well versed. She’s flown into an empty Namibian beach to eat lunch on the aircraft wing, experienced Tanzania’s Great Wildebeest migration and listened to stories of the Anglo-Zulu War on the battlefields where it happened over a centennial ago. While she’s witnessed vast, incredible game including the last two northern white rhinos, it’s the people who she finds most inspiring; the native Maasai women whose lives are deeply rooted within the Olare Motorogi Conservancy and the local guides - resilient, highly knowledgeable, and ever smiling.
Harrison Mangwegape

Guide at Camp Xakanaxa

Harry was born in the Botswanan village of Thamaga, near capital Gaborone. He loved wildlife growing up and trained at the Okavango Guiding School in Maun to pursue his passion. He started working as a guide at Desert & Delta’s Savute Safari Lodge in 2010 and later joined Leroo La Tau in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, before moving to Camp Xakanaxa.
Keitumetse 'KT' Mogale

Guide at Camp Okavango

Keitumetse has been guiding for 12 years. He grew up in the village of Mogotho in the Okavango Delta and began his career as a tracker. He now leads walking safaris and game drives at Camp Okavango and enjoys sharing his stories with guests from all over the world.
Florence Kagiso

Senior Guide at Chobe Game Lodge

Florence grew up in a farming family in the Okavango Delta and has been a guide at Chobe Game Lodge for 17 years. When she joined in 2004, she was the first female guide at the camp - she now mentors a team of 17 women. Her work was recognised in National Geographic Traveller’s recent Reader Awards 2021, where she won The Innovator award.
Andrew Baker

Founder and Managing Director of Helicopter Horizons

Andrew grew up in Zimbabwe before moving to the US to train as a pilot. Botswana had always held a place in his heart, so he began his aviation career as a fixed wing pilot in the Okavango Delta. He founded Helicopter Horizons in 2004, offering photographic flights - without doors - for organisations such as the BBC and National Geographic. The company now offer scenic flights for tourists in the Okavango Delta, Linyanti region and the Makgadikgadi Pans, as well as transfers between safari camps.
Ollie Maitapiso

Guide at Leroo La Tau

Ollie grew up in the village of Xaxaba in the Okavango Delta and began his career as a trainee poler in 1999, taking guests out on mokoro trips. He started guiding in 2004 and joined Camp Xakanaxa in the Moremi Game Reserve in 2007, before moving to Leroo La Tau in 2014.