Africa’s Pristine Delta in 360 - Ep. 1 | The Okavango Experience

That first moment sitting by myself on an island in the Okavango Delta was the most profound moment of my life. It is, to me, a wilderness beyond comparison. The Okavango Delta is Africa's last remaining pristine Witkin wilderness. It is an oasis in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, a sanctuary for the incredible wildlife and biodiversity of this region. A vast patchwork mosaic of channels, floodplains, lagoons, and thousands upon thousands of islands.

Here, you can find the abundance of life all around you. The annual flood from Angola creates these rich pastures in the Mambo area for animals like these zebra at the driest time of the year.

"Alright guys, so this is where it starts. Right now is the beginning of the expedition. You've all been preparing, getting our stuff together, getting our minds right, packing, repacking. Our boats are looking great, they're floating, and this is where it all starts. This is the most, most important time to be an explorer, to be a scientist working these last wild places.

What we're doing here on these expeditions are large-scale research transects across the Okavango Delta. We're using things like birds, fish, aquatic insects, aquatic vegetation, the habitats surrounding us, wildlife like elephants and litoris as indicators for change across the entire system.

We're on the water. We have no engines with us. You're incredibly tired, your arms are in pain, shoulders, your feet get very sore, your hands very sore, and you find yourself transcending them. It's like walking on water; it's flowing silent. If you're silent, you're connected.

When I'm on the macaron, I watch every report, every ad; everything has to be explained. Every sound, you're connected to everything around you. But it also connects us to the reality of the water. Everything here is water dependent. There's nothing to grab on; you're just cutting them off. Sometimes we are late or unlucky, and the water is gone, so we have to drag across dry land.

[Applause]

Now, as we go deeper, we go closer and closer to the sanctuary, the central wilderness in the Mambo area. To my 1087, the next few days, please be present. We are going to a place where animals don't know humans anymore. It's a place that people don't go, so we have to respect this place. You have to respect the animals that are there."