On the water
No engine and no roof, only the push of a pole and water whispering against the hull as the Delta’s floodplains open ahead of you.
A mokoro safari is the Okavango Delta at its quietest. You sit low in a slim canoe while a poler stands at the stern and pushes you along with a long pole, steering through channels barely wider than the boat. Mokoros were traditionally carved from the trunks of ebony or sausage trees; most are now fibreglass, which spares the old trees and handles just as well. What you notice first is the scale: painted reed frogs clinging to papyrus at arm’s length, water lilies opening in the morning sun, a malachite kingfisher on a reed stem almost close enough to touch.
It is not a game drive on water. Big mammals are seen from a respectful distance, if at all, and a good poler gives elephants and hippos plenty of room. The reward is detail, silence and the craft of polers, many of whom grew up in villages on the Delta’s edge and, as Botswana Tourism notes, learned to handle a mokoro as young as seven. Because the canoe needs water, the experience follows the flood, so your camp and your month decide how much of it you get. Our Okavango Delta guide explains the difference between water, land and mixed camps.
Mokoro Excursions
We match your Delta stay to your travel month, choosing a camp with enough water for mokoro outings when you are there.
At the launch point, your poler shows you how to sit and stows your camera bag low in the hull.
You recline on a padded seat while the poler stands behind you, pushing off the sandy channel bed and steering through reeds and lily pads.
Many outings pause on an island for a short guided walk to read tracks and learn the plants; see walking safaris in Botswana for how walks work.
You glide back to camp as the light changes, usually two to three hours after setting out.
Mokoro Excursions
Where to go
Botswana’s flooded heart: papyrus channels, palm islands and small fly-in camps where the safari happens on the water as well as by vehicle.
Explore
The Okavango’s famous public reserve — Chief’s Island, the Xakanaxa lagoons and Big Five country — explored from a fly-in lodge or a private mobile camp.
Explore
Moremi’s northern neighbour: a community concession on the Khwai River with night drives, guided walks and superb dry-season elephant.
ExploreSafaris
Victoria Falls · Kasane · Chobe Riverfront · Khwai · Okavango Delta · Maun
First-time visitors who want Victoria Falls and Botswana’s finest water country in one trip, without rushing either
Maun · Makgadikgadi Pans · Nxai Pan · Central Kalahari · Okavango Delta
Return visitors, photographers and the Kalahari-curious, happy to trade some certainty for solitude
Kasane · Chobe Riverfront · Okavango Delta · Makgadikgadi Pans · Maun
Families with children roughly 12 and older who want variety, activity and a little adrenaline
Maun · Okavango Delta · Northern Delta concessions · Makgadikgadi Pans
Couples who want privacy, water and wilderness rather than a resort-style honeymoon
Maun · Okavango Delta · Moremi Game Reserve · Linyanti, Selinda & Kwando · Savuti · Chobe Riverfront · Kasane
Returning safari travelers, photographers and anyone with two weeks to see northern Botswana properly
Good to know
A mokoro is a narrow canoe propelled by a poler who stands at the stern and pushes a long pole against the channel bed. They were traditionally carved from ebony or sausage-tree trunks, and most are now made of fibreglass. A mokoro typically carries one or two passengers plus the poler.
Polers work channels they know well, keep to shallow water that hippos tend to avoid by day, and read the signs of animals nearby. The rules for passengers are simple: stay seated, stay quiet and follow your poler’s instructions.
Roughly May to September, when the flood from the Angolan highlands fills the seasonal floodplains, although levels vary each year. Camps on permanent channels can pole for much longer, so outside those months choose a water camp rather than a land camp.
Yes, when the flood has reached the southern Delta. A day trip involves a transfer each way and busier water than the inner Delta, so if the mokoro matters to you, two or three nights in a water or mixed camp gives a far richer experience.
Experiences
On the water
Watch elephant herds drink, swim and cross the Chobe River from a boat, the riverfront’s signature way to see its wildlife.
Share when you can travel, who is coming and what you most hope to see in Botswana. A specialist will shape a private route around it and walk you through every choice before anything is booked.
Plan My Botswana Safari