Mokoro safari in the Okavango Delta

The central Botswana town of Maun is the best jumping off point for exploring the incredible Okavango Delta, a vast wetland teeming with animal and birdlife.

The traditional way to get a close look at the Delta is by going on a water-bourne safari in a mokoro - a dug-out canoe made by hand from the trunk of a large tree.

Floating in a canoe through a narrow path in a sea of whispering reeds and grasses has to be one of the most tranquil things you can do in the world.

The reed beds are studded with exquisite water lilies, like an endless Monet painting. Occasionally, a flock of white egrets gave a desultory impression of being startled by our passage.

Brilliantly coloured dragonflies career through the tunnel of reeds in a never-ending dogfight.

There is nothing to do but lie back, listen to the reeds and watch the water spiders skittering away from the prow of the mokoro.

We set up camp under some trees on an island in the river and our guide and mokoro poler, Beati, took us on a walking safari for the remainder of the afternoon.

Leaving the arms of the river behind, we explored the islands and swamps of the Delta, searching for wildlife.

We saw antelope, zebra and elephants and spent about ten minutes sneaking up on a huge African Fish-eagle perched in the bare branches of a tree.

The climax came shortly after we had stopped to look at the enormous skull of an elephant lying in a clearing.

Beati suddenly stiffened and pointed. A tawny lion was crossing the gap between some trees about 500m away. It was gone in a flash and our guide quickly indicated we should follow.

Part of me questioned the wisdom of this, given we were armed with nothing more than a penknife, but we ran after him anyway.

We followed the fresh imprints of the lion's paws in the sand for awhile but didn't catch sight of it again.

Back in camp, the sun was setting in a blaze of colour and Beati dragged a small dead tree into the space between our tents to build a fire.

He kept this going far into the night as we lay in our tents listening to the roar of lions in the middle-distance.

Around midnight there was a tremendous rustling noise behind the tents. We realised in the morning that it had been a herd of elephants going down to the riverbank to drink.

An electrical storm had been building up for hours and eventually, at about 03:00 the irregular and unreliable rains that central Botswana had been waiting months for finally arrived.

The downpour was thunderous and Beati had to pile into our tent to take shelter. Up until that point I had been envious of his bed of straw and blankets under the stars.

For a contrasting viewpoint of the Okavango Delta, take a game flight in a Cessna from Maun airport. An incredible level of detail is visible from the air as the pilot circles and sweeps over the vast reed beds, black lagoons and winding rivers.

There are herds of thousands of buffalo and hundreds of elephants bathing in the lagoons. Massive bull elephants and giraffes stride solitarily across the plains.

Most of the hotels and guesthouses in Maun will set you up with a guide/poler and mokoro, transport into the Delta and supplies. It is a small town so a quick survey of what's on offer should ensure you get a good deal.

Try to ensure that the mokoro safari will not run into other parties of tourists. The Delta is best enjoyed in peace.

Maun has a variety of accommodation available, from guesthouses to hotels. If you are camping, the Sedia Hotel will let you set up your tent in their back yard and even use their swimming pool.

For more information see the website of Botswana Tourism.

Natasha von Geldern