Xugana, Okavango Delta, Botswana 9/19 -- 9/22/2026 [Xugana Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]

The Okavango Delta is a massive, lush inland wetland in northern Botswana formed where the Okavango River empties into the sands of the Kalahari Desert.   It is one of the world's largest inland deltas and does not flow into any sea or ocean.  The Okavango is formed by seasonal flooding. The Okavango River carries water from the summer (January–February) rainfall from the Angola highlands and the surge flows 1,200 km (750 mi) in around one month. The waters then spread over the 37,500 km2 (14,500 sq mi) area of the delta over the next four months (March–June), peaking in Botswana's dry winter months (June to August) and tripling the delta's permanent size.  Xugana Island (pronounced "coo-gana") is a densely wooded island situated on the Xugana Lagoon, widely considered one of the most spectacular permanent water sites in the northern Okavango Delta of Botswana.

Getting there ...

We continued our African trip from Chobe National Park and flew from Kasane Airport by light aircraft to Xugana Island.  The flight plan was totally customized by the today's passengers' destinations.  It's like a shuttle where it drops off and picks up passengers based on today's route.  Our destination, Xugana Island Lodge, was the 4th stop on today's route, so we had to experience 4 take-offs (video) and 4 landings (video, video) before reaching our destination. 

[Victoria Falls] [Chobe, Botswana] [Xugana, Botswana] [South Africa]

Day 8 (9/19) ...

• Xugana Island Lodge
  Xugana Island Lodge is a premier water-focused safari destination located on a private concession in the northern Okavango Delta, Botswana. Following a comprehensive upscale rebuild, the lodge elegantly fuses its deep historical legacy with modern, unpretentious luxury. It accommodates a maximum of 22 guests, ensuring an intimate and highly personalized wilderness experience.  Because it faces a permanent lagoon, the area does not dry out seasonally. It offers a maze of deep-water channels, floating water lilies, and papyrus beds that remain lush year-round.

• Canoe
  After a late lunch, we had our first excursion,  mokoro (traditional dugout canoe).   Historically carved from the straight trunks of large trees, modern mokoro are molded from eco-friendly fiberglass to preserve the region's old-growth forests.  The boat accommodates two seated passengers while a skilled guide "poler" stands at the stern, using a long wooden pole to gracefully punt the craft through water. We glided in near-absolute silence to explore the shallow, reed-filled channels of the Okavango Delta.  The sunset lighting over the water channels was just amazing.
  

Day 9 (9/20) ...

• Morning Walking Safari
  We took the boat across the lagoon and complicated water channels and landed at one of the islands to begin our guided walking safari.   Walking on foot in an environment shared with lions, leopards, hippos, and elephants is a totally different experience than a typical jeep safari.  We had 2 guides per group (6 guests) and one of the guides was armed with a rifle.  We were walking in a strict, quiet, single-file line and we were told "never run".  We first encountered a small pride of lions (about 5-6 lions).  It was quite an adrenaline feeling when you faced lions at eye level with only about 50 meters away.

• Afternoon Boat Cruise
  Xugana Lagoon and its surrounding private concession in the Okavango Delta are widely considered an absolute birding mecca, home to over 400 distinct avian species.  So far we have seen squacco heron, green-backed heron (little heron), Hadada ibis, white-fronted bee-eater, Africa fish eagle, yellow-billed stork, Marabou stork, pelican, etc...

Day 10 (9/21) ...

• Morning Walking Safari
  When we were on our way to our morning walking safari in the boat, a huge elephant jumped into the water channel from nowhere.  It walked in the water just about 10 meters in front of our boat, and it occasionally turned around to look at us.  This type of intimate encounter is a thrilling experience you won't have from a typical safari tour.

When we were back to our boat and ready to leave, it started to rain hard.  We put on the rain poncho and we had to hide under the poncho entire way until we reached the dock at the lodge.

• Afternoon Boat Cruise

Next (9/22) ...

We had a relaxed morning on the final day at Xugana.  We took our last boat ride at 10AM to the airstrip for our flight to Maun, and then took the commercial flight from Maun (at 2:30PM) to Johannesburg (4PM) for our final destination, South Africa.

[Victoria Falls] [Chobe, Botswana] [Xugana, Botswana] [South Africa]

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