Botswana is truly one of Africa’s last eden's. It is one of the most peaceful democracyies on the continent of Africa, and the vast majority of tourism is concentrated around the northern areas.
The entire Okavango Delta is a haven for low impact, high yield, eco friendly tourism, The region gained UNESCO world heritage status in 2014.
The Okavango Delta is a mixture of islands, waterways, lagoons and savanna, surrounded by a dry semi arid region, and in that way forms a natural eden for wildlife to find their source of sustenance in this veritable paradise for wildlife and birdlife.
To the north of the Delta are the Savute and Linyanti areas, which form the southern sections of the famous Chobe National Park. These unspoilt regions are arid and open savanna's - a haven for large elephant herds and territorial predators like lion and leopard. Then, in the far north of Chobe National Park is Kasane, Chobe River region, which teems with thousands of elephants, using the Chobe River as their source of water.
The area is a lot busier than the south, and to book the right lodge to enjoy a private, less busy form of tourism is essential. If on a tight schedule, consider a visit to this area, as it is a short day trip away from Victoria Falls.
The most practical form of travel in this region is by small aircraft charters, where you can fly to airstrips at lodges and camps. Many areas are unreachable by land or boat at certain times of the year. The best airport hub in the Delta is in the town of Maun, with flights on larger scheduled airlines. Smaller planes access the Okavango Delta, and beyond into Chobe, as well as into sections of the Makgadigadi Pans, a salt pan system set away from the Delta.
The Makgadigadi Pans are home to large grazing herds of Zebra at certain times of the year, as well as the second largest migration of wildlife outside of the annual Serengeti/Masai Mara sightings.
Kosher, in general in Botswana, is a relatively simple system of Parev and Milchik. Kosher meat imports into the country are banned, due to a strong protection policy in place, to encourage consumption of local Botswana red meat. In simple terms, with a few exceptions, you will most likely only be able to bring in a few beef items in your hand luggage, vacuum packed, and have it prepared on site at a lodge on an open fire.
Generally due to a non-existent Jewish population and great limitations on imports of meat and kosher ingredients, it is costly to bring Mashgichim or Kosher chefs into the Okavango Delta from South Africa, and so, treat Botswana as a fantastic safari destination for 3 -5 nights, and be prepared to eat fish or vegetarian meals for a handful of days.
Is it worth the visit? If you are a wealthier 4 or 5 star client, and happy to see remote safari regions only accessible by plane, yes! It is a highly desirable experience with those who truly appreciate wilderness, peaceful locations and incredible expanses of protected reserves and national parks, with small, non mass tourism, high end safari lodges, designed to blend into the environment.
