Although Botswana lies thousands of miles from the ocean, life in this land-locked country is shaped by water, as you will discover on this active journey through some of Southern Africa’s most remarkable landscapes. Forever shapeshifting beneath the sun, the Okavango is Africa’s mercurial wonder, a flooded paradise where rivulets run like cheetahs, oxbow lakes lie still and serene, and islets come and go with the tides. Unlike most deltas, the waters of the Okavango never reach the sea, as if guarded jealously by the land. And what treasures it hoards: from prowling lions and vast herds of wildebeest to hundreds of species of birds, wading and watching from the water’s edge. Explore its patchwork of reserves, crawling with iconic African species, before flying southeast to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. In this vast basin, once a mighty lake, thousands of zebras migrate between December and March to feast on surrounding nutrient-rich grassland – a wildlife spectacle to rival those of the Serengeti.