Safari in the Okavango Delta and Kaziinkini Game Reserve

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
10
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
5
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
9
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
10
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
9
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
9
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
95 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
4th/454
Top 1%
continent
Africa
country
Botswana
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$270 ($600-$1,400 in 2024 prices)
Time of year visited
September
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
River Experience Safari Wildlife - African Wild Dogs
All Tags
4WD Adventure Boat trip Camping Sunsets UNESCO world heritage site Wildlife - Elephants Wildlife - Leopards Wildlife - Lions Wildlife - Monkeys
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s premier wildlife experiences.  The combination of the traditional savannah-style safari in the Kazikini (a private concession bordering Moremi) with the water-based, world-famous Okavango Delta creates an environment with extraordinary wildlife density.  The result is a far higher chance of seeing predators – lions, leopards, cheetahs and the super rare African wild dogs – than in any other safari destination.

What truly sets it apart, though . . . if you do it right in the Kazikini, you can have an experience that feels remarkably private, immersive and unspoilt, without the crowds or the eye-watering prices associated with places like the Serengeti or Chobe.

It’s rare to find a safari that delivers this level of wildlife, variety and intimacy all at once.  Done properly, the Okavango Delta isn’t just an outstanding safari — it’s one of the very best wildlife experiences on the planet.

 

Safari in the Okavango Delta and Kaziinkini Game Reserve

Table of Contents

Highlights of the Okavango Delta

Okavango Delta - #1 Seeing the African Wild Dogs - one of the chances to see them anywhere in the world, and the highlight of our time in Botswana

#1 Seeing the African Wild Dogs - one of the chances to see them anywhere in the world, and the highlight of our time in Botswana

Okavango Delta - #2 Chilling by the water - the Okavango is a series of channels slowly winding by and invariably with animals drinking nearby. Some of our best moments were just pulling up a chair and watching it all unfold around you

#2 Chilling by the water - the Okavango is a series of channels slowly winding by and invariably with animals drinking nearby. Some of our best moments were just pulling up a chair and watching it all unfold around you

Okavango delta - #2 Chilling by the water - the Okavango is a series of channels slowly winding by and invariably with animals drinking nearby. Some of our best moments were just pulling up a chair and watching it all unfold around you

#3 Seeing the Big Cats - we were fortunate enough to see lions, cheetah and leopards. All very very cool

Okavango Delta - #4 The classic Okavango experience in a mokoro (hollowed-out canoe) - beautiful to just watch everything peacefully drift by

#4 The classic Okavango experience in a mokoro (hollowed-out canoe) - beautiful to just watch everything peacefully drift by

Okavango Delta - #4 The classic Okavango experience in a mokoro (hollowed-out canoe) - beautiful to just watch everything peacefully drift by

#5 - A walk through the bush with a local guide - watching things from the back of the 4WD if very different from walking through! Do it

Okavango Delta #6 Camp Life - pulling up back at the camp for the sunsets, with the constant noise echoing all around you of elephants, hippos, guinea fowl . . . lions

#6 Camp Life - pulling up back at the camp for the sunsets, with the constant noise echoing all around you of elephants, hippos, guinea fowl . . . lions

Okavango delta - #7 Seeing the sharp contrasts - in particular between the water-side Okavango Delta, and the super dry Kaziinkini Game Reserve

#7 Seeing the sharp contrasts - in particular between the water-side Okavango Delta, and the super dry Kaziinkini Game Reserve

Okavango Delta - #8 Catching lazy moments like this . . .

#8 Catching lazy moments like this . . .

Okavango Delta #9 . . . and loud ones like this

#9 . . . and loud ones like this

Okavango Delta – 7 Tips

 

1. Go with Nalange Safaris, run by Tebla Mokgosi.  He has the wonderful combination of knowing the local area, the wider Okavango Delta, speaking perfect English, super smart and genuinely listening to what you want from the trip.  Our trip was x10 because of him (he also organised our trip to the Central Kalahari, getting a deal far better than we could have done). Came to US $960 per person for the 4 days, which when you look at some of the private reserve prices, is a bargain.  His website – Nalange Safaris .

 

2. Tell your guide what you want – if you want generic Okavango Delta, then leave the trip to run its course.  But, if, likely, you’ve already spent some time in other safari spots, you may be looking for something beyond that initial wow of safari.  We, for example, were mad keen to see the dogs.  So our guide made that happen.

 

3. Stay for 3 nights – it may on the surface sound like a lot, but it increases your chances of seeing the animals and allows you to really enjoy the time by the water watching the elephants, giraffes, hippos etc.  It’s a good 2.5 hour or so drive from Maun to Kaziinkini, so makes sense to have the two full days in the middle rather than only one.

 

4. What to “do” – majority of the time will be in the 4WD searching for the animals.  2-3 hours with be on a walk through the park with a local guide; another 2-3 hours in a mokoro (hollowed-out canoe) for the classic Okavango Delta experience; the rest will be chilling by the water watching the animals drink and play, and generally around the camp for meals and by the fire watching the stars and imagining seeing / hearing lions nearby.

 

5. Accommodation and general luxury – two things to be aware of.  Firstly, you’re staying in a tent . . . its a nice  tent, but a tent.  So expect things like a dug out toilet and a bucket shower.  They do make it very comfortable for you though.  Secondly, majority of the day time you’ll be in a 4WD in a part of the world with no roads, so its going to get bumpy.  All part of the fun, but not for grannie.

 

Okavango delta - #6 Camp Life - pulling up back at the camp for the sunsets, with the constant noise echoing all around you of elephants, hippos, guinea fowl . . . lions

 

6. Staying in Maun beforehand – you’ll almost certainly be staying in maun before and after an Okavango Delta safari.  It’s not too bad a town, but TIA so expect a few slightly dodgy bits.  The Waterfront Hotel was nice and would recommend, if a touch on the pricey side.  Food-wise, we liked the Okavango Craft Brewery and Marc’s eatery.  Both very relaxed and good food.

 

7. Many people will want to drive through Botswana.  I’d really recommend including the Okavango Delta visit with the Kalahari Desert to the South (see Central Kalahari Game Reserve with the San People tips) and part of a bigger loop that includes nearby Namibia.  For tips and the itinerary for a Namibia trip – see Driving through Namibia’s highlights.

 

An example loop driving route covering the highlights of Namibia and Botswana – a casual 46hr / 3700km drive!  But wonderful to do the Okavango Delta as part of this

A Personal Story

Wanted to share, as made the two of us chuckle, but also had our guides in hysterics.
So you are told repeatedly to be on your guard in the Botswana National Parks, have the right gear and in particular avoid the Big 5 / keep your distance if not in a vehicle.  In prep for our walks through the Kaziikini Game Reserve and Okavango Delta we had it hammered into us – closed shoes, long pants, no black, blues or bright colours (black and blue attracts the tse tse fly, bright stands out), plenty of water, hat, sun glasses, stay very alert. If the Big 5 want to remove you as a threat, they will.
On Day 3 we met our local guide, Eric, who would be taking us for a long day walk. Eric turns up with black singlet, black shorts, flip flops, no hat, no sunglasses, not carrying anything, has a quick tea with us (with 9 sugars … yes, 9) and wanders off into the bush with us trailing.
“So are you from here Eric?”, we ask so as to make conversation and get a feel for how well he knows the area / will we die.
“No, no, not here” replies Eric.
“Ah” we reply, raising our fear level to 10 … bear in mind the day before we had seen super close to lions, leopards, painted wolves, cheetahs and, the far more dangerous, elephants, buffalo and hippos. “How far away?”, clutching for some hope he’s not from Brixton.
“15km North”. Excellent.
Trying to learn a little: “So what should we look out for?” Eric ponders this while playing with some warthog dung between his fingers.
“Do what I do and walk in single file. If elephant, stand ground – they will test you. If we surprise them, problem. If lion, sit down. If buffalo, problem. Hippo only problem sunset”, and walks off.
That’s a lot to take in and, as we’re seriously questioning whether either of us would have the balls to sit near a lion and especially when I know I can run faster than my girlfriend, we hear elephants on the side and making the noise we have been told is a warning … a very loud one at that. We nearly shat ourselves. Eric makes zero changes to his direction, walks past and up to the nearby “blue red apple tree” (which we assume is the scientific name) to show us how to brush our teeth with its roots. To be fair to the guy, what is an elephant trampling vs the need for good dental care with 9 sugars per tea.
Anyway, we had a very funny moment with Eric that, as I say, I wanted to share:
So we are out in a hollowed out canoe making our way through the delta. Beautiful, calm setting with birds tweeting, antelope drinking by the water, the occasional butterfly sitting on our heads, and Eric pushing us along in true Okavango gondolier style (just like that Walls Cornetto advert but less Italians and more hippos). The day is cooling as the we approach late afternoon, and we approach very slowly a part of the channel where 6 elephants, with a very very young baby, are eating the river grass and generally being merry. Eric pushes up, closer and closer, until we are say 30m from the group. Telling us it’s fine because they know we are here.
Suddenly a loud crash comes from our right hand side. A bloody giant great bastard bull elephant has stormed around the nearby bushes, facing us directly and starts aggressively flapping its ears (not a good sign).
Eric calmly, but with obvious worry in his voice, “nobody move”.
What feels like 3 days passes before Eric slowly lifts his gondolier pole and very slowly pushes us back through the reeds and up the channel. Very slowly. Maybe a couple of feet every 10 seconds or so. Very slowly. It is tense. Bull elephant still looking straight at us.
Only noise we can hear is the occasional push on the pole, the baby elephant splashing in the water and captain bringer-of-death giant-bastard-bull-elephant could-snap-all-of-us-with-one-swipe grunting occasionally.
“Ohhhhh look!” says Eric in a very different tone.
“What?” I ask to Eric, not taking my eyes of the bull elephant (did I mention it was massive?).
“Frog” says Eric rising in excitement.
“ ….. What?” I turn to him and ask.
“Frog. Small one. Left hand side”.
“What??!!” We both ask in a WTF tone.
“Smal frog. Pretty. Red line on head”.
In a very pleasant English tone (the same one we reserve typically only for asking someone if the train seat is taken, knowing full well it is not and someone has rudely got their feet on the seat), “what about the elephant?”
“Ah yes, no move. Important”.
The dug out canoe (called a mokoro, 20 feet long, an elephant could pick up with its trunk alone and shatter into a million pieces) is still slowly moving backwards, which is good, but the bull elephant is still looking at us and hasn’t moved, which is not.
Suddenly, Eric starts speaking calming words to the elephant. Low tones. Soft, repetitive tones. Letting the elephant know we are moving and maybe some ancient communication style man has developed over 10s of thousands of years with these intelligent animals. Good, at least he is engaged and doesn’t want to die.
We make another 20 feet or so away. I turn to Eric. He’s on his phone … yes, he’s on his phone … I swear it was a Nokia 3310, the one with Snake. Those calming tones were him trying to make a payment through his phone banking.
Anyway, we didn’t die.

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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