An extension of the Great African Rift, the entire region
lies in what is called the Kalahari basin. Graben faults
of which there are four major types, have trapped the
Okavango River on its journey south, giving rise to one
of Botswana's greatest gems.
Lying
within an extension of the Great Rift Valley, the northern
part of the country is prone to earth shifts. Seismic
studies indicate that these shifts occur once every two
days. The strongest such shift occurred in 1952 and measured
6.7 on the Richter scale.
The
Okavango Delta occupies 15 000-sq. km. of the surface
area of Northern Botswana.
The
source of this great alluvial fan stems from the northern
provinces of Angola, where the rains gather to form a
mighty river that floods into the Delta on an annual basis
and eventually runs dry in the Kalahari Desert.
Into
the permanent swamp of the Okavango Delta, flows on average
11 billion cubic meters of water, this is enough water
to suit the needs of an industrialised nation.
The
region is extremely flat, the gradient varying a mere
35 meters from the Panhandle in the north, to Maun in
the south. It is so very flat it is rumoured that the
very large termite mounds are the highest landmarks in
the Okavango Delta.
It
is said that termite mounds are the starting points of
the Delta Islands. Through evaporation and transpiration,
salts are deposited on the periphery of the mounds base.
Over a period of thousands of years, the process is repeated
and in so doing, an island is born.
An
estimated 97% of the water that enters the delta is lost
under the hot Botswana sun through evaporation and transpiration.
LIFE ON THE LILY PADS
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The
Blue water lily (Tswii) is common in the waterways of
the Okavango, and turns the Xaxaba lagoon white/pink.
This plant has Many medicinal uses - bladder problems,
asthma, blisters, diabetes, infertility and skin problems,
to mention but a few. Closely associated to the water
lily, is the African Jacana or lily-trotter. This bird's
foot distributes its weight perfectly so that it can walk
on the floating lily leaves and stems. The Jacana is one
of two birds in the region that are
polyandrous; this is to say that the male tends the eggs
and young. The female courts many males, lays the eggs
and then moves on.
THE FLOODPLAINS
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The
mixed marginal floodplain woodland and the surrounding
semi-permanent flood plains are primarily home to Cape
buffalo, bushbuck, red lechwe, baboon and Sitatunga. This
does not, however, mean that other species do not occur
in this area, for at certain times of the year it is not
uncommon to have an elephant outside your tent.
MOREMI GAME RESERVE
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The
Moremi Game reserve was originally established by the
Batawana in 1965, its total area is 4 209-sq. km. The
Moremi Game Reserve is protected Tribal land. The Moremi
Game Reserve was named after the BaTawana king "Moremi
III".
The
Khwai River is an extension of the permanent swamp channel,
the Maunachira, which forms the northern boundary of the
Moremi Game Reserve. The Maunachira channel flows into
the Xakanaxa lagoons before becoming the Khwai River.
As with the word Xaxaba, "Xakanaxa" is river
bushman meaning for "Place of Big Water."
The
annual flood of the Okavango Delta influences the Khwai
too. The water diverted to the most westerly finger of
the alluvial fan, takes much longer to reach the Khwai
and so the water is only seen at Lodge in August, unlike
Eagle Island Camp, where the waters arrive in June.
Very
close to Khwai River Lodge, is the Khwai Village. This
village is one of the last remaining River Bushman communities
in the delta.
THE BORO CHANNEL
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The
principal channel is called the Boro. The Boro channel
borders Chiefs Island and also forms the south-western
boundary of the Moremi Game Reserve.
It
is said that the Boro channel also boasts one of the highest
concentrations of African Fish Eagle in Southern Africa.
In this stretch of water, one would find +/-12 nesting
pairs of African Fish Eagle.
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
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The Chobe National Park was the first national park in
Botswana, declared in 1967, after the passing of the National
Parks Act that same year. This National Park is protected
State land and within the heart of this great wildlife
area, lays the Savuti Elephant Lodge.
Chobe
National Park is the second largest national park covering
11 000 square kilometres. The largest protected area in
Botswana and second largest in Africa, is the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve totalling 52 800-sq.km.
The
Chobe National Park was named after the Chobe River which
runs along Botswana's northern border.
SAVUTI
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Savuti is the name of an extinct channel that last saw
water in 1982. The channel once fed the Savuti Marsh,
now a vast grassland, some 100 sq. km. The channel source
was from the elbow
part of the Kwando River known as Linyanti.
The
Savuti Channels' ability to flow and stop flowing, stems
from tectonic movements deep below the Kalahari sands.
TSODILO HILLS
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Tsodilo
Hills are located to the west of the Okavango Delta, are
not the highest point in Botswana as they are situated
in a low- lying area, however, if one measures from the
foot to their peaks, they hills are the tallest.
The
3 000 odd rock paintings at Tsodilo Hills are proof of
long gone habitation. Excavations in these hills suggest
that cattle had arrived in the area by AD 550.
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