Moremi Game Reserve

Everything you need to know about Moremi Game Reserve

Located in Botswana, Moremi Game Reserve is situated in one of the largest inland deltas and premier wilderness areas in the world, the vast and virtually untouched freshwater wetland of the Okavango Delta. Covering most of its eastern sector, the reserve stretches across several thousand square kilometers, comprising of stunning landscapes of floodplains, lagoons, grasslands, forests of acacia trees, savannahs, islands, and dense mopane woodlands.

Regarded as the beating heart of the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve is the only proclaimed wildlife reserve in the Okavango Delta and boasts the most diverse habitat and wildlife populations in Botswana, it is also home to some of the best luxury safari lodges in Botswana.

**Interesting fact: The reason why Moremi was elected as a game reserve instead of a national park was to still allow the native Bushmen and people of Batswana (native to the land) to stay within the Moremi area in 1963, which made the Moremi the first protected reserve of the Okavango Delta.

In the 1970s, the royal hunting grounds, known as Chief’s Island, was added to the reserve, which increased its capacity by 70 x 15 kilometers (44 x 10 miles) and became a protected area for wildlife.

Best time to go

July to October (Best wildlife viewing)

High Season

July – October (High season rates may apply)

Low Season

November – June (Low-season rates may apply)

Size

5,000km² / 1,931mi²

Altitude

935-976m / 3,068-3,202ft

Location

Botswana | Okavango Delta

Dry Season

April – October

Best Weather

May – August (Mild – moderate day-time temperatures)

Wet Season

November – March

Worst Weather

October (It gets extremely hot)

Moremi Game Reserve Wildlife

Extending into the immense Okavango Delta, the Moremi Game Reserve preserves the heart of Africa’s finest game viewing region. Well protected, the reserve provides refuge for an abundant and diverse population of African game as well as several rare and endangered wildlife species. Some of these remarkable species include, the endangered African wild dog, the Black-maned Kalahari Lion, Brown Hyena, African Skimmer, the rare Sitatunga, Puku and Red Lechwe antelope.

Endangered African Wild Dog

Due to the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve’s vast, vibrant, and varied landscapes, habitats, and eco-systems, it supports an abundant diversity of wildlife, including the renowned African Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino). While sightings are relatively rare (making it all the more worthwhile when you do spot them) Africa’s critically endangered black rhino and near threatened southern white rhino have both been re-introduced into Moremi Game Reserve.

Mother & baby Black Rhino

Other equally incredible wildlife species that can be spotted in the Okavango Delta region and Moremi Game Reserve include, hippo, crocodiles, blue wildebeest, giraffe, cheetah, spotted hyena, greater kudu, sable antelope, plains zebra, warthog, as well as huge herds of impala and tsessebe. And that’s merely scratching the surface of the range of exceptional wildlife this pristine Okavango Delta wilderness gem has to offer.

Nowhere else in southern Africa will you find such a glorious and vast diversity of wildlife as that of Moremi Game Reserve.

*Unique wildlife sighting: While each wildlife sighting is exceptional, the graceful lechwe antelope is not only unique to the region, but entirely native to Africa. They are particularly notorious in marshy areas where water is prominent – hence their thriving presence in the Moremi Game Reserve and Okavango Delta region. Nowhere else in southern Africa will you find such a glorious and vast diversity of wildlife as that of Moremi Game Reserve.

Moremi Game Reserve Birdlife

Besides being one of the most sought-after wildlife and safari destinations in Africa, Moremi is a renowned bird lover’s paradise, boasting a vibrant and varied population of both woodland birds and waterbirds.

Avid birders travel from all corners of the globe to witness Moremi Game Reserve’s unrivalled and gloriously diverse birdlife, which consists of over 400 of the Okavango’s bird species, including the African fish eagle, crested crane, and sacred ibis.

Notable birds in the Moremi Game Reserve include:

African fish eagle (common)
African skimmer (common)
Green-winged pytilia (common)
Southern carmine bee-eater (common migrant)
Slaty egret (rare)

Birding specials & real treats for avid birders in Moremi Game Reserve include:

African pygmy goose
African red-eyed bulbul
Black coucal
Black-chested snake eagle
Bradfield’s hornbill
Brown firefinch
Chirping cisticola
Coppery-tailed coucal
Fulvous whistling duck
Greater swamp warbler
Lesser jacana
Martial eagle
Pel’s fishing-owl
Rosy-throated longclaw
Senegal coucal
Slaty egret
Swamp boubou
Wattled crane
White-rumped babbler

Best time for bird watching in the Moremi Game Reserve

Boasting great birding year-round, the best time for bird watching at the Moremi Game Reserve is during its wet season from November to April. This is the time of year when summer migrant birds make the reserve their temporary home. The month of April is a particularly great time for bird watching in Moremi, as well as the best compromise, as from January to March several areas of the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve become inaccessible and various lodges close down to visitors.

Best way to experience birding in the Moremi Game Reserve

All guides at Moremi Game Reserve are avid and enthusiastic bird watchers, which helps keen birders not familiar with the area navigate their surroundings in search of the very best Moremi birdlife sightings. While guided bush walks and walking safaris are considered one of the top ways to spot ample bird species, unfortunately walking is not permitted in the reserve.

Going on a traditional Mokoro (dugout canoe) trip in the Moremi Game Reserve is undoubtedly one of the best, and definitely the most thrilling, ways to not only explore everything Moremi and the Okavango Delta region has to offer, but enjoy spectacular bird sightings as several bird species tend to let you come very close when gliding on the water. Moremi’s most sought-after birding special is the rather ordinary-looking slaty egret, as well as the gracious wetland bird species, the wattled crane.

Moremi Game Reserve Scenery & Vegetation

Covering most of the Okavango Delta’s eastern sector, the Moremi Game Reserve stretches across several thousand square kilometers, comprising of stunning landscapes of floodplains, lagoons, pans, grasslands, forests of acacia trees, savannahs, islands, and dense mopane woodlands. Moremi’s unique and diverse landscapes and ecosystem, characteristic of the Okavango Delta, allows for a vast and varied spectrum of wildlife and birdlife to thrive.

Moremi Game Reserve offers visitors the very best of both worlds within the Okavango Delta with regards to game viewing and safari adventures and experiences. Its large wetland areas with papyrus-lined channels and floating water lilies, are perfect for bucket-list worthy Mokoro safaris, whereas Moremi’s big tracts of land are ideal for game drives and open vehicle 4×4 safaris. Its mosaic of lagoons and islands, boasting all kinds of habitats, from grassland to thorn scrub and mopane woodlands, makes exploring Moremi Game Reserve’s array of landscapes, scenery, and vegetation a real adventure.

Best Time To Go To Moremi Game Reserve