Okavango Delta

The delta's largest island — where Big Five game drives meet mokoro water safaris in the Okavango's heart.

Chief's Island is the largest island in the Okavango Delta, stretching approximately 70 kilometres in length and forming the heart of the Moremi Game Reserve. Named because it was historically reserved as the personal hunting ground of the chief of the Batawana tribe, Chief's Island today hosts some of the delta's most prestigious safari camps and offers what many consider the finest game-viewing in the entire Okavango system. The island's elevated terrain remains dry even during peak flood, making it a critical refuge for large mammals when surrounding floodplains are inundated. This concentration effect produces extraordinary predator-prey dynamics: lion prides specialise in hunting buffalo, leopards patrol the dense riverine forest fringing the island's edges, and wild dog packs use Chief's Island as a denning site during their breeding season (June-September). The island's interface between dry land and flooded delta channels creates a landscape of remarkable beauty and ecological productivity. Game drives and walking safaris on the island are complemented by mokoro and boat excursions through the surrounding channels, providing a complete Okavango experience within a single location.

National Geographic's 'Place of Plenty' — Africa's premier game-viewing and the iconic Mombo Camp.

Chief's Island is the Okavango Delta's largest island at approximately 1,000 square kilometres, situated in the heart of Moremi Game Reserve. Mombo Concession on the island's northern tip is widely regarded as Africa's premier game-viewing location — National Geographic has named it the 'Place of Plenty.' Both black and white rhino have been reintroduced here, making it one of the only locations in Botswana for Big Five sightings. Mombo Camp (by Wilderness Safaris) is one of Africa's most iconic luxury lodges.

Africa's first community-declared reserve — Big Five, wild dog dens, and the Xakanaxa heronry.

Moremi Game Reserve covers approximately 5,000 square kilometres of the eastern Okavango Delta, unique in Africa as a community-declared protected area — established in 1963 by the Batawana tribe to protect the wildlife they saw diminishing due to unregulated hunting. The reserve encompasses a mosaic of habitats from dry savannah and mopane woodland to permanent swamp, seasonal floodplain, and island forest, supporting one of the most diverse and concentrated wildlife populations in southern Africa. Moremi's combination of terrestrial and aquatic environments allows for an extraordinary range of safari activities within a single reserve. The Xakanaxa Lagoon area is renowned for its heronry — thousands of herons, storks, and cormorants breed in the drowned trees of this photogenic waterway. The Third Bridge campsite, set on a narrow island between two channels, is one of Africa's most atmospheric bush camping locations. Moremi is the only formally protected portion of the Okavango Delta, and its game-viewing reliability — Big Five plus wild dog and cheetah — makes it the backbone of most Okavango itineraries. Self-drive visitors can access Moremi from Maun via the South Gate, though most luxury travellers fly into private camps.

Private 180,000-acre concession — walk alongside rescued elephants in the untouched western Okavango.

The Abu Concession is a private 180,000-acre wilderness area in the southwestern Okavango Delta, named after Abu — a famous African elephant who was the foundation of the concession's pioneering elephant-back safari programme. While riding elephants is no longer offered (in line with evolving ethical standards), the concession's legacy of close elephant interaction continues through unique walking-with-elephants experiences, where guests walk alongside a habituated herd of rescued elephants guided by their dedicated handlers. Beyond its elephant programme, the Abu Concession offers a classic Okavango Delta wilderness experience of exceptional quality. The private concession means that only guests of the single camp have access to the area, ensuring maximum exclusivity. The landscape varies from dry palm islands to seasonal floodplains and permanent channels, supporting lion, leopard, wild dog, buffalo, hippo, and an outstanding variety of waterbirds. Game drives, mokoro excursions, boating, and catch-and-release fishing are all available. The concession's position in the delta's western reaches means it floods later in the season, extending the peak water season into September and October.

Crystal-clear channels and mokoro silences — glide past hippos and lily pads in the inner delta's heart.

The inner Okavango Delta's permanent water channels, lagoons, and papyrus-fringed islands are accessible only by mokoro, motorboat, or helicopter. Water-based camps like Xigera, Jao, and Vumbura offer mokoro excursions gliding silently past hippo pods, sitatunga hiding in papyrus, and African jacanas walking on lily pads. The Okavango's crystal-clear water — filtered through the Kalahari sands — supports remarkable underwater visibility and seasonal bream fishing.