The miracle of the Okavango is water, an oasis in a country that is 85 percent covered by the Kalahari thirstland—the largest continuous stretch of sand on Earth. 9,000 million cubic meters of water flow annually from rainy highlands of Angola through Namibia in a river. When it hits a depression in northern Botswana formed between two fault lines, it spreads out like a hand, forming an alluvial fan. What makes the Okavango unique is that instead of emptying out into an ocean or lake as other deltas do, all the water here either gets used by plants or evaporates, simply fading out into the bone dry reaches of the Kalahari.

It’s impossible to imagine from where we are now that a vast desert surrounds us. Here in the deep, isolated wetlands, we can see and feel the abundance of water all around us, and the rich biodiversity that water supports.