Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta sprawls like an open palm across north-western Botswana. The 1430km-long Okavango river, spreading across the Delta like a lifeline, is Southern Africa's third longest. It rises near Nova Lisboa in Central Angola, flows south-eastwards across Namibia's Caprivi Strip, cascades through the Popa Falls in Namibia and finally enters Botswana near Shakawe in the north-west. The river's annual 18.5 billion cubic metres of water begins to spread and sprawl across the Okavango Delta before being absorbed by the thirsty air and Kalahari sands. Often described as “the river that never finds the sea”, the Okavango disappears in a maze of lagoons, channels and islands covering an area of 15,846 sq km.