Into the Okavango

April 18, 2018

The Okavango – one of the world’s greatest spectacles 

This month we’ll be going to the world premiere of Into the Okavangoa National Geographic documentary, that will show at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York from April 22 – 28th. Centered around recent studies that suggest that Botswana’s Okavango Delta could well be shrinking, the documentary charts the journey of a group of intrepid scientists who embark on a four-month, 1500-mile journey to the Okavango’s source, to investigate why.

Botswana’s Okavango Delta is a place like nowhere else on earth and both a phenomenon and a conundrum. For this unique wetland system, the largest inland delta of its kind in the world does not empty into the sea but into an arid desert where it is trapped to create a vast labyrinth of lagoons and more than 150 000 islands that cover an astonishing 10,563 miles of floodplain.

The phenomenon is set in motion in March and April every year when the rains in the highlands of Angola flood the Cubango River. Described as ‘the river that never finds the sea’, the Cubano-Okavango River then flows south for miles, gathering more and more water until it reaches Botswana’s arid Kalahari Desert between June and August. Here the trajectory of the river is determined by a set of fault lines deep below the surface, that force the waters to split into several channels thus forming a vast, fan-shaped alluvial plain. This miraculous occurrence during the dry season means that the Delta attracts around 260 000 mammals as well as 530 species of bird, to make it the world’s premier wilderness area. So much so, in 2013 it was voted one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa while in 2014 it became the 1 000th destination to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Into-the-Okavango Neil-Gelinas 3

There is no better way to grasp the extent of this natural phenomenon than by air when you fly into the Delta from Maun. A classic Okavango trip will take in a stay at one of the many luxurious bush camps and lodges that are situated on the Delta’s island where access to spectacular game viewing and water activities is a given. As is a life-changing experience in a place considered to be the world’s premier wilderness area.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to see Into The Okavango at the Tribeca Film Festival, showing April 22, 23, 25 and 28. And for more information on a tailor-made Okavango itinerary to suit you, please email welcome@roarafrica.com

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