The heart of Botswana’s ecosystem is the Okavango Delta and its protected core, the Moremi Game Reserve. Here, travellers move through shallow, reed-lined channels using mekoro (traditional dugout canoes) poled by local guides. This quiet method of transport allows proximity to rare sitatunga antelopes, reed frogs, and high concentrations of African wild dogs and leopards that hunt along the island fringes.

Bordering Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, Chobe National Park is defined by its massive river system. The park’s ecosystem supports immense herds of herbivores that rely on the permanent water source throughout the winter dry season. Boat-based safaris allow travellers to watch large elephant herds swim completely submerged across the deep river channels to reach grazing islands.