Travel to the Okavango Jao Flats

the most impressive floodplains in the Okavango

At around 1350 square kilometres, the Okavango Jao Flats Concession is a truly prime private safari area.

The concession is restricted to just 68 guests in six small camps which are all under the same ownership. That equates to around 20 square kilometres per person, which is a very low visitor density.

This concession is mainly comprised of open floodplains, which is surprisingly unusual in the Okavango Delta, where most areas are a mix of different wet and dry ecosystems. Here we see vast open grasslands, dotted with pretty islands of hardwood and palm trees.

This focus on floodplains makes the Jao Concession one of the very best places to be during the May-Aug flood season, but can be a disadvantage at other times of year.

When visiting during the flood season, we particularly love the fact that the vehicles have to do so much wading through quite deep water, sometimes for considerable distances, to get around, which is all rather exciting. During high water, some of the camps become only accessible by motorboat.

A major highlight at this time is the huge herds of semi-aquatic lechwe antelopes that gather on the plains, accompanied by large numbers of lions and other predators. The hunting behaviours in water are remarkable to witness, especially at night, when hunts are coordinated primarily by the sound of splash patterns.

All six of the camps on the Jao Flats Concession are operated by a single safari company. Five of them are premium-priced, the exception being the relatively well-priced Pelo Camp.

We are also concerned that the quality of the safari guiding here is not quite up to the standards of other areas. This is most clearly illustrated by the fact that they no longer have trackers on the front of their vehicles, which we feel is a major loss.

However, we do feel this area is very special and it may be worth putting up with these issues during the flood season.

When it comes to trip shapes and durations in Botswana, most visitors combine 2, 3 or 4 lodges by light aircraft over 6-12 nights, one or two of which will usually be here in Okavango Delta, combined with the Linyanti Waterfront and/or Makgadikgadi areas.

These trips are often done in combination with further nights at the Victoria Falls and/or down in the Cape.

The usual stay duration in the Jao Flats area is 3-5 nights.

Seasonality

The Jao Flats Concession is particularly good during the flood season, not quite so strong at other times.

The May-Jun flood season is generally considered to be a great time to visit. Temperatures can drop towards freezing during the night, but this has little adverse effect on safari and most camps are significantly discounted during this period. During the high flood camps in the wetter areas are usually able to offer boating activities. The other camps continue to be able to offer vehicle safari, largely on Hunda Island, where leopard sightings are famously reliable.

The Jul-Sep dry season is the classic time to visit the Okavango Delta and is considered to be the best time for wildlife viewing. On the Jao Concession, the floodwaters recede and open up more dry land for vehicle safari, improving the reliability of sightings. There usually remains enough water for all camps to continue to offer boating activities, although this can start to become seriously limited into September.

The Oct-Dec hot season represents the transition to the start of the rains and temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high in advance of the rains. With the floods having receded in most areas, the wildlife tends to become very concentrated around the few remaining water sources, making for very strong wildlife viewing. Boating activities are now only possible in the limited network of permanent deepwater channels.

During the Jan-Apr main season, the bush is verdant and beautiful, the animals are well-fed and there’s lots of wildflowers and baby animals around. The camps are significantly discounted and become increasingly attractive as the conditions improve through the period.

Getting there

The camps in the Jao Flats area can only be accessed by light aircraft into the nearby Jao Airstrip, which has daily flight connections with all other camps in Okavango, Linyanti, the main airport at Maun (for connections to Central Kalahari, Nxai, Makgadikgadi and Johannesburg) and north to Kasane (for connections to Livingstone and Victoria Falls).

From the airstrip it is a short five minute drive down to the water and a further ten minutes by motorboat into the lodge.

a magical waterworld during the May-Aug early flood season