Where and when: Maun to Nguma Island Lodge, September 2025
After a short pause for some Christmas posts, I am continuing the series about my African Adventure in September 2025. (See here for the previous post on this series and here for the itinerary and highlights).
On the way to the Okavango Delta
0815: This morning, we left Maun and travelled along the edge of the Okavango Delta heading North-West.
The Okavango Delta is a true natural phenomenon—so remarkable that it’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven wonders of Africa. It also comes in at #2 on the latest edition of Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist. And once you start learning how it exists at all, it becomes even more unreal. The river begins its long life high in the Angolan highlands, where it’s called the Cubango. It then slips into Namibia as the Kavango, before finally entering Botswana and unfurling into the Okavango – one of the World’s largest inland deltas.
Unlike most rivers and deltas, the Okavango never reaches the sea. Instead, its waters fan out and simply… disappear. They sink into the thirsty Kalahari sands or evaporate into the fierce African heat, creating a paradise for wildlife in the process.
The delta covers anywhere between 6,000 and 15,000 square kilometres, depending on the season. The entire system is sustained almost entirely by rain that falls over 1,000 km away in Angola. It’s home to over 500 species of birds, 160 mammals, and countless plants, reptiles, and fish.
On the road to Guma Lagoon
As we traveled North, the road got progressively worse, where at times the tarmac completely disappeared.
As we got to the pan handle of the delta we veered off the main road, on to a completely unpaved road. Another 6 or 7 kilometres on, we had to transfer into a large truck – we would be heading into the delta and the terrain is too soft for the mini-bus.
The next few kilometres on the truck was bone rattling, but it was fun ride.
Nguma Island Lodge
By early afternoon, we pulled into Nguma Island Lodge, on the edge of the serene Guma Lagoon – one of the many lakes within the Okavango delta.
The hotel is completely integrated into the jungle. The rooms are canvas tents that stand on stilts above semi-solid ground, linked by elevated walkways.
In the dry season (like now), the ground is not too wet, but in the rainy months the water rises and the walkways become essential.
After days of traveling through hard, sunburnt land, stepping into this lush wetlands environment was a welcome change.
The rooms were more comfortable than you would expect somewhere this remote. There was electricity and hot showers in the tents.
We spent the afternoon by the edge of the water, enjoying the cool breeze from the lagoon.
Lagoon Safari
1630: In the late afternoon we went on a boat safari on the lagoon.
The lagoon is surrounded by beds of tall papyrus reeds which are home to vibrant birdlife. We spotted several Malachite Kingfishers as well as a few other birds.
Large animals roam this area too—especially hippos—but they stayed hidden during our outing. (Although I was pretty sure that there were some hippo grunts emanating from the reed beds). As it turned out, the lack of big wildlife didn’t matter at all. The lagoon sunset made sure of that.
As the sun began its slow slide toward the horizon, the sky caught fire in shades of vivid reds and oranges. Down below, the lagoon—still as glass—became a perfect canvas for the sky.
As the sun drifted lower, the vibrant red and orange became a soft oranges, purples and many other shades I couldn’t even name.
It was one of those sunsets that doesn’t just look beautiful – it’s nature’s reminder to slow down and enjoy the moment.
We headed back to a delicious dinner at the lodge, and turned in for the night.
After a short pause for some Christmas posts, I am continuing the series about my African Adventure in September 2025. (See here for the previous post on this series and here for the itinerary and highlights).
Diary of a Tourist 