ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
7-Day Panhandle to Delta Safari

Botswana - Fly-in safari

7-Day Panhandle to Delta Safari

Duration
7 days
Countries
Botswana
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 12,380

The journey

Updated on 23 August 2026

Every drop of the Okavango arrives through the Panhandle, a hundred-kilometre corridor of papyrus and deep permanent channel in Botswana's north-west, and almost no safari ever goes there. This one starts there. Nxamaseri Island Lodge is an unpretentious river lodge on its own island, the country's best base for tiger fishing, birding that runs to Pel's fishing owl, and the boat-and-4x4 excursion to Tsodilo Hills, the UNESCO site whose quartzite faces carry over four thousand rock paintings. Then you follow the water south, flying down the river's line to where it loses itself in the sand and becomes the delta. andBeyond's Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp sits in that fan among wild date palms, with mokoro, motorboat and game drives working a 25,000-acre private concession. River first, delta second: the trip has the logic of the water itself. June to October is peak; the green season brings barbel runs, carmine bee-eaters and softer rates.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

To the River

From Maun a 55 minute flight tracks north-west up the wetland's rim to the Panhandle. Nxamaseri Island Lodge sits under big riverine trees on its own island, reachable only by boat. The afternoon is a slow cruise through the papyrus channels, jacana and malachite kingfishers at arm's length, hippo announcing the bends.

Stay 2

Tiger Fish

A fishing day on water that never dries. Tiger fish hold along the papyrus edges and hit lures and fly with the violence they are famous for; everything is catch-and-release, and the skippers know every eddy by name. Non-fishers take a birding boat for Pel's fishing owl and the carmine bee-eater colonies in season.

Stay 3

Tsodilo Hills

Boat and 4x4 take you to Tsodilo, where four quartzite hills lift out of the flat Kalahari and more than four thousand rock paintings mark some 24,000 years of human attention. A local guide walks the Rhino Trail past eland, giraffe and dancing figures. You are usually the only visitors on the mountain.

Stay 4

Down the River to the Delta

The morning flight follows the river's silver line south for 45 minutes until it frays into the delta fan. Nxabega's nine tents stand among wild date palms on a private andBeyond concession. The water is shallower here, made for mokoro, and your first outing is exactly that, poling out as the afternoon cools.

Stay 5

The Delta Proper

Morning game drive on the concession's drier tongues, where lion and leopard work the tree islands and elephant cross between them at a swaying jog. The afternoon takes the motorboat down winding channels to a hippo pool, with sundowners on a white sandbank while the sky does its full delta performance.

Stay 6

Islands and Channels

The last full day mixes registers one more time: a long mokoro morning through the lily fields, brunch back at camp, then an afternoon drive that stays out late enough for the spotlight on the way home, picking up genet and springhare in the beam. Dinner is under the palms with the frogs at full volume.

Stay 7

Delta to Johannesburg

Coffee at first light, a short game drive to the airstrip, and the 30 minute hop to Maun for the early-afternoon Johannesburg connection, landing in time for evening international departures. You have followed the Okavango from its single channel to its thousand endings, which is the whole story of the place.

Safari highlights

  • Three nights at Nxamaseri Island Lodge on the Panhandle
  • Tiger fishing on permanent deep-water channels
  • The rock paintings of Tsodilo Hills, a UNESCO site
  • Three nights at andBeyond Nxabega in the delta fan
  • Mokoro through the wild date palm islands
  • Pel's fishing owl and four hundred bird species

What is included

Included

  • 6 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Return regional flights Johannesburg-Maun in economy class
  • Light-aircraft sectors Maun-Nxamaseri, Nxamaseri-Nxabega and Nxabega-Maun, with airstrip taxes
  • All meals, house wines, local spirits, beers and soft drinks
  • Boating, fishing, mokoro and game drives as each camp offers
  • The guided Tsodilo Hills excursion
  • Private concession fees, government levies and VAT
  • Botswana Tourism Development Levy of USD 30 per person
  • Laundry and emergency medical evacuation cover

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Visas and entry permits
  • Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
  • Premium spirits, champagne and imported wines
  • Gratuities for guides, boat skippers and camp staff
  • Items of a personal nature, curios and telephone calls

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 7-day Panhandle and Okavango safari cost?

From USD 12,380 per person sharing, rising to about USD 16,480 in peak season. That includes six nights at Nxamaseri Island Lodge and andBeyond Nxabega, all meals and house drinks, fishing and boating, the Tsodilo Hills excursion, three light-aircraft sectors and return Johannesburg-Maun flights. International flights to Africa are excluded and quoted separately.

What is the Okavango Panhandle?

It is the river before it becomes the delta: a straight, deep, permanent channel about a hundred kilometres long, hemmed by papyrus, between the Namibian border and the top of the alluvial fan. Because the water never dries, it holds hippo, crocodile, tiger fish and specialist birds year-round, and its fishing villages see a fraction of the delta's tourism.

When is the best time for tiger fishing?

September to November, when the barbel runs push baitfish along the papyrus edges and tiger fish hunt them in earnest; hookups on lures and fly peak then. Fishing is catch-and-release and closed in January and February on the Panhandle. Game viewing at Nxabega is strongest June to October, so early October is the sweet spot for both.

Is Tsodilo Hills worth the excursion?

Yes, and not only for the paintings. The four hills rise a thousand feet out of dead-flat Kalahari sand, carry more than 4,000 rock images made over some 24,000 years, and remain sacred to the Ju/'hoansi and Hambukushu people whose guides walk you through them. It is the closest thing southern Africa has to an open-air cathedral, and most delta itineraries drive straight past.

Are international flights included?

No. International flights to and from Africa are booked separately, normally via Johannesburg. The price covers the return Johannesburg-Maun regional flights of about 1 hour 40 minutes each way and the three light-aircraft sectors inside Botswana. Light aircraft limit luggage to 20 kg per person in soft-sided bags; fishing tackle can be hired at Nxamaseri.

Is the Panhandle a malaria area?

Yes, the Panhandle and the delta are both malarial, with the highest risk from November to April. Prophylaxis is recommended year-round and worth arranging with a travel clinic about six weeks before departure. Lodges provide screened rooms and repellent. A yellow fever certificate is required only if arriving from a country with transmission risk.