Maun

Maun is where almost every Okavango trip starts. It grew from a cattle town on the Thamalakane river into the logistics centre for the delta, and its airport handles a remarkable volume of light aircraft ferrying people to camps that have no road access. The town itself sprawls without a real centre: outfitters, lodges along the river, supermarkets for stocking a self-drive, and workshops that keep the safari fleet running. Donkeys and goats share the roads with everything else.

History

Before the Batawana came, Maun was a small Yei village, its name from the Seyei word maung, the place of river reeds, and in 1915 it became the Batawana capital, moved from Toteng. Long a hard-living frontier town of cattle ranching and hunting, it grew fast once the tarred road from Nata was finished in the early 1990s, and in 1993 Conservation International opened an office here for its Okavango programme (Wikipedia, Maun, Botswana).

What to look for

• The airport - one of Africa's busiest for light aircraft, running the delta shuttle.
• The Thamalakane river - lodges and camps strung along the water at the town edge.
• The outfitters - vehicle hire, equipment and supplies for self-drive trips.
• The mokoro trips - day excursions into the eastern delta from just outside town.

When to go

May to October is the safari season and the town is at its busiest. The rains from November to April are quieter and cheaper. Flood levels on the Thamalakane vary year to year.

Things to know

The town has no centre and little charm; it is a base, not a destination. Prices for everything are high because of the safari trade. Vehicle hire should be booked and inspected carefully.

Nearby

The Okavango Delta is north, and Khwai is northeast.

Key facts