A river rises in mountains and dies in sand. And in its
dying it gives birth to a jewel at the edge of the vast wasteland of the
Kalahari Desert. The jewel is Botswana’s Okavango Delta. After the Okavango
River, swollen with rain from Angola’s distant highlands, crosses into
northwestern Botswana from Namibia, it fans out to become the world’s
largest inland delta. This unique fresh water system is the pulsing heart of
northern Botswana’s wilderness. It grows with the October to May wet season
and shrinks as dry weather returns. This region is some of the best preserved
wilderness in the world. It is often called ‘old Africa’s last refuge’.
Wattle
Cranes thrive
Northern Botswana shows signs of a past that is near; rock
paintings made by Bushmen who lived in harmony with the land for millennia of
both constancy and change. Largely unsettled, this pastiche of wetlands and
rivers, dry woodlands and savannahs covers one-third of a country which is
bigger than France. Within its wilds live some of the continent’s last great
free-roaming herds of Cape buffalo, zebras, antelope and above all, elephants.
At a population of 60,000, this is probably Africa’s largest herd.
Government polices which decide the future of the wilderness and its wildlife
may deliver Africa’s best hope preserving this precious treasure.
Impalas
slake their thirst
Beds of fast growing papyrus dominate the permanent swamps
of the waterways of the Okavango River. Swamps are home to the Nile crocodile
which breeds mainly in the river’s northern section. Hippos, half submerged
in the water, shatter the silence with their occasional roars. Stepping
gracefully on slender legs, wattle cranes feed on tubers and frogs in shallow
water. Many species are exclusive to this region. This is a vast sweet water
delta, far from the sea. Yet it is a shallow shadow of water, sustained by
rains. Months later, the features of the land can differ.
Huge forests of acacia and mopani lie between the wetlands.
Grassy savannahs stretch across the horizons, and here herding animals graze
the land. Herds of zebras and giraffes search for water on a thirsty
continent. In the last flush of the setting sun, impalas and wildebeest pull
tighter together and drift toward deep cover before nightfall. Hyenas cry all
night. The big cats are feeding on the day’s kill and will not share.
