The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s largest inland water systems. It's headwaters start in Angola’s western highlands, with numerous tributaries joining to form the Cubango river, which then flows through Namibia (called the Kavango) and finally enters Botswana, where it is then called the Okavango.

Millions of years ago the Okavango river use to flow into a large inland lake called Lake Makgadikgadi (now Makgadikgadi Pans).
Tectonic activity and faulting interrupted the flow of the river causing it to backup and form what is now the Okavango delta. This has created a unique system of water ways that now supports a vast array of animal and plant life that would have otherwise been a dry Kalahari savanna.

Amongst the Delta’s many species are elephant, leopard, lion (in the Moremi Wildlife Reserve) hyena, eland, kudu, giraffe, zebra and buffalo. The north eastern part of Delta is home to the rare sitatunga, an agile and shy swamp antelope, which, when frightened, hides in the water with just its nostrils above the surface. Red lechwe, reed buck and impala also thrive here. The hippopotamus is a ubiquitous sight along the channels of the Delta, although they do spend most of the day grazing below the water before moving onto the shores in the evening to graze on the land.