Travel tips for Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta may be one of Southern Africa's last wildernesses but it is a remarkably safe and easy destination to travel around in.

• With a population of between 50, 000 and 60, 0000 the most abundant large mammal in the Delta is the red lechwe, an antelope perfectly adapted for life on the floodplains.
• The dry season sees up to 260,000 large mammals concentrated in and around the Delta.
• Nearly 60% of visitors to the Delta are from outside Africa.
• 70% of the estimated 150,000 islands in the Delta began life as a termite mound.
• The 9.4 cubic litres of water that arrive each year in the Delta from Angola could cover an area of 100km by 120km with a metre of water.
• Hippos act as the Delta's dredgers, path builders, and through their dung, fertilisers.
• The real fan palm (Hyphaene petersiana) is one of the Delta's most common trees - it is used in the production of palm wine and woven baskets.
• The tall, straight jackalberry/African ebony (Diospyros mespiliformis) is one of the most popular trees from which to carve a mokoro - the local version of a canoe.
• The most sought-after bird in the Delta is the nocturnal Pel's fishing owl, a huge ginger bird that spends most of the day hidden in thick foliage.
• The shy sitatunga antelope has widely splayed hooves to enable it to move over floating beds of vegetation.

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