Moremi & Okavango Delta Hotels

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River runs onto a swamp in the Kalahari Desert.  It is here where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea. Each year approximately 11 cubic kilometres of water irrigate the 15,000 km² area and some flood-waters drain into Botswana's Lake Ngami.  The Moremi Game Reserve is situated across the eastern side of the delta.  This region of Botswana was once part of the Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that mostly dried up.

 

The Okavango Delta is both a permanent and seasonal home to a wide variety of wildlife.  Species which can be observed in the Okavango Delta in Botswana include the African Elephant, 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.   The endangered Wild Dog still survives in the Okavango Delta.  The Okavango Delta is home to more than 400 species of birds, including African Fish Eagle, Crested Crane, Lilac-breasted Roller, Hammerkop, Ostrich, and Sacred Ibis.

 

The majority of the estimated 200,000 large mammals in and around the delta are not year round residents. They leave with the summer rains to find renewed fields of grass to graze on and trees to browse, then make their way back as winter approaches. Large herds of buffalo and elephant total about 30,000 beasts.

 

Maun in Botswana

 

The name Maun is derived from the San word 'maung' which can be translated to mean 'the place of short reeds'.  The village of Maun in Botswana began in 1915 as the capital for the Tawana people. Maun is the tourism capital of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland.

 

Tsodilo Hills

 

The Tsodilo Hills in Botswana are located in the western Kalahari of Botswana.  The four Tsodilo Hills rise majestically above the surrounding savannah. The four hills form a line and are referred to by the San people as "The Male" - the largest hill which reaches a height of 410 metres above the surrounding plain.  "The Female", which is a smaller hill, about 300m, has an overall area of almost three times that of "The Male".  The next smaller hill is called "The Child" which is located about 2km away from "The Female" .

Moremi Game Reserve Moremi

 

The Moremi Game Reserve Moremi was established by the Batawana tribe and covers more than 4,800 km2.   The Moremi Game Reserve Moremi in Botswana forms the eastern section of the Okavango Delta. Moremi is home to mopane woodland and acacia forests, floodplains and lagoons. It is the great diversity of plant and animal life that makes the Moremi Game Reserve Moremi so well known as a safari destination in Southern Africa.

 

Gchwihaba / Drotsky's Caves

 

The Gcwihaba Caves which are also known as the Drotsky's Caves are one of the wildest and remotest of all tourist destinations in Botswana.  These magnificent caves are located about 50km south east of the Aha Hills and are set in the Kalahari dunes. The enchanting spectacular curtain of stalactites is the first of many wonders inside this fascinating formation.  The caves are a labyrinth of linked passages and caverns, which exist on two levels, one raised several metres above the other.

Aha Hills

 

The Aha Hills which can be seem from the Gcwihabe Caves / Drotsky's Caves (Hills), are about 50km away. They are located in the most isolated, untouched wilderness straddling the Botswana-Namibia border. They form a 245km2 dolomite, limestone and marble plateau, which is 700 million years old.  This region in particular is considered to be the remotest part of Botswana.