Top Ten Southern Africa Classic Adventures

Here's how to get local: Botswana's Bayei people, who live by the Okavango Delta, call a dugout canoe a mokoro—and that's how you want to see this area. Traveling the Okavango in such a craft will give you a unique perspective on these wetlands. You and a guide go out from a central safari camp into the narrow waterways. When you reach an island, you get out and walk. Some days you may see few animals. Other days you'll end up so close to an elephant or lion that you may have to climb a tree for safety. Choose between daily forays from camp, or fly-in camping on a different island each night. A specialty of this area is spotting leopards who have treed their kills in the island forests. They and the other predators are sustained by the delta's great herds of semiaquatic antelope. Crocodiles and hippo are never far away, and the birding is world class.