A giant bull elephant 20 metres from my tent. Credit: Alexandra George
🏕️ My Mobile Tented Safari Journey in the Okavango Delta
Set in the heart of Botswana, the Okavango Delta is a spectacular oasis teeming with life. For half the year, this inland delta is transformed into a spectacular inland lagoon – creating a vibrant habitat for wildlife.
For nature lovers and safari travellers, the Okavango is a dream destination. I chose a mobile tented safari over a traditional lodge to connect more deeply with the ecosystem. I wanted a front-row seat to breathtaking encounters with black-maned lions, leopards, painted dogs (African wild dogs), elephants, hippos, lechwes, jackals and countless bird species. These unforgettable moments would later inspire my book of 17 Photo Tales, Nine Days in Eden.
🐘 Greeted by a Giant in Khwai
From the moment we arrived at Khwai and I settled into my tent next to the Delta waters, a handsome bull elephant greeted me in the waters 20 metres away. He remained ensconced in the waters opposite my tent for the three days of my stay. When I rose up at 5 a.m. daily I could feel the venerable giant’s presence in the canopy of darkness amidst the cacophony of sounds – hippo grunts, the frog chorus and the cooing of the Cape turtle doves.
At. 5.15 a.m. we gathered around the campfire for breakfast, an idyllic start to a new day setting off into the wild. Unlike lodge-based safaris, mobile tenting allowed us to move with the rhythms of the wildlife and to experience first-hand the unique opportunities each day offered.
🐆 Once-in-a-Lifetime Wildlife Encounters
Every day I saw wildlife scenes with the power to silence – the disbelief of seeing a young leopard feasting on an impala in a tree on one night drive. Another night we encountered the elusive aardwolf, a nocturnal insect-eater that emerges only after dark, that rests in burrows in daytime on what I call a “Safari Power Ball” day, I watched three black-maned lion brothers rise with the sun and patrol their territory—an awe-inspiring display of strength and unity.
One of three black-maned lion brothers on his morning beat. Credit: Alexandra George
🦁 Clanship and Painted Dogs: Social Lives of Predators
A highlight was watching a pride of 8 young lions – 4 females and 4 males –sleeping peacefully on the open grasslands. Their bodies lay prostrate and intertwined in halcyon bliss as if some invisible cord bound them, a living expression of lion clanship and pride cohesion.
Another high point was spending two days at the painted dog den. Peter Brack of the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust Wild Dog Project joined us. I watched as Alpha Mom waited in anguish for her pack members to return from the morning hunt to feed 15 hungry mouths as that day the dogs were unsuccessful.
Alpha Mom is stressed waiting for pack members to return from morning hunt to feed 15 hungry mouths in the den. Credit: Alexandra George
🐾 Spotted Hyena Matriarchy at Moremi
Perhaps equally thrilling was my encounter with a matriarchy of spotted hyenas. Mom hyena and her two cubs emerge from the den at dusk daily like clockwork. And, at that same instant, in some primeval communal instinct, the hyenas from her clan appear from the forest around. A daily ritual – the den as a social site for the hyena matriarchy so the cubs can interact with their relatives.
It was an awe-inspiring spectacle. Such moments reaffirmed my belief that mobile tenting offers wildlife interactions rarely matched by lodge-based safaris.
One of two hyena cubs who emerged from the den with Mom, Moremi Game Reserve. Credit: Jenny Brennan
🐦 Birdwatching in the Okavango Delta: A Paradise in Flight
The Okavango Delta is also a birdwatcher’s paradise, boasting over 600 bird species. On our mokoro, or dugout canoe, ride a panorama of winged creatures unfolded as we were poled silently through the waters.
African fish eagles soared overhead, their iconic call a symbol of Africa. I was privileged to see a rare wattled crane, one of the largest and rarest birds in Africa, foraging in the Delta waters. Malachite kingfishers perched on reeds just above the waters and pied kingfishers, small black and white birds, soared in the air ready to dive into the water to catch a fish.
A malachite kingfisher perches on reeds. Credit: Jenny Brennan
These encounters are now woven into the pages of Nine Days in Eden, my book of 17 wildlife Photo Tales.
💚 Why Mobile Tented Safaris Are Unmatched
Choosing a mobile tented safari in the Okavango Delta transformed my trip from a simple vacation into an immersive conservation experience. The intimacy of wildlife encounters, of creatures great, small and not so small, the raw rhythm of nature and the chance to truly live in the landscape – all enriched the stories I brought home.
For anyone seeking authenticity, adventure and a deeper connection with Africa’s iconic wildlife and birds, I wholeheartedly recommend the mobile tented safari experience. The Okavango Delta’s dramatic wildlife interactions, breathtaking landscapes and rare species make it one of Earth’s last truly wild spectacles.
The stories waiting to be told are truly unparalleled.