North-West District

North-West District is the official name. Everyone calls it Ngamiland. It covers 109,130 km² of Botswana’s top left corner, with just under 200,000 people at the 2022 census, and about 85,000 of them live in Maun. The Okavango Delta sits in the middle of it, a World Heritage Site since 2014. Most visitors fly into Maun, the Batawana capital since 1915, go straight to a delta camp and fly out again, which leaves the Panhandle and the Kalahari beyond it to the few who drive.

Getting there

Maun’s airport has direct flights from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Gaborone, and it is where the light aircraft leave for the delta camps. By road the A3 comes in from Nata, about 300 km of tar to the east, and carries on south-west towards Ghanzi.

At Sehithwa, beside Lake Ngami, the A35 turns north and runs 296 km up the west side of the delta through Tsau, Nokaneng, Gumare and Shakawe to the Mohembo border with Namibia. It is tar in name. The government admits the stretch north of Nokaneng is in a bad state, and in February 2026 the Gumare to Sepopa section was being built half a width at a time, with traffic on gravel bypasses. The minister conceded that parts become impassable in the rains. Buses from Maun take five to six hours to Shakawe.

When to go

The dry months, May to October, are the ones for game. June to August mornings in Maun are freezing, so pack layers. Panhandle fishing is at its best then too, and September’s barbel run is what pulls in the big tigerfish. Lake Ngami is a lottery. It fills from the delta in good flood years, spread to about 240 km² in 2011, and has dried out completely more than once.

What to do

Moremi, Nxai Pan, Tsodilo and the delta concessions have their own pages. What they leave out is the Panhandle, the stretch where the Okavango is still one deep river between papyrus banks. The camps around Shakawe and Nxamaseri are fishing and birding places first, with African skimmer and Pel’s fishing owl on the list. North of Shakawe the 1.2 km Okavango River Bridge at Mohembo, opened in 2022 with pylons shaped like elephant tusks, replaced the old ferry. From it a rough dirt road runs down the east bank to Seronga.

Lake Ngami, which Livingstone reached in 1849, draws pelicans and flamingos when it has water. Far out west, 10 km from the Namibian border, the Gcwihaba Caves (also called Drotsky’s) are a national monument with a campsite and gatehouse opened in 2014. Go in with a local guide.

Good to know

The CDC lists both Ngamiland and Okavango as malaria areas and recommends tablets. British advice rates the risk high from October to May.

Away from the tar this is sand country. Moremi is thick sand from the gate, and regulars let their tyres down and travel in pairs. For the far west the UK Foreign Office advice for remote areas applies: spare fuel and water, and a second vehicle or a satellite phone. Shakawe has fuel and a Choppies supermarket, so fill up there before Tsodilo or the east bank. Livestock and wildlife stray onto the tar, and the government counts stray animals among the causes of A35 accidents, so do not drive after dark.

Park fees are in the tables on the Moremi and Nxai Pan pages.

Last updated 12 October 2026. Sources: Statistics Botswana, 2022 Population and Housing Census preliminary results (Ngamiland East and West area and population, Maun), Botswana Tourism Organisation, Maun (archived copy of 28 September 2026; flights, Maun as a transit point, Batawana capital in 1915), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botswana traveller health (malaria areas), UK National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), Botswana malaria risk areas and months, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Botswana safety and security (remote areas, driving after dark), Botswana Daily News (government press agency), A35 road under construction, February 2026, Botswana Daily News (government press agency), A35 Sehithwa to Shakawe road condition and causes of accidents, March 2025, Botswana Daily News (government press agency), Okavango River Bridge at Mohembo (length, ferry it replaced), Botswana Daily News (government press agency), Okavango River Bridge opens for public use, June 2022, Wikipedia, North-West District (Ngamiland name, Maun as centre, border posts, sights), Wikipedia, Maun (2022 population, Thamalakane River, founding in 1915), Wikipedia, A35 road (length, route from Sehithwa to Mohembo), Wikipedia, A3 road (Nata to Maun distance, route on to Ghanzi), Wikipedia, Okavango Delta (World Heritage listing, 2014), Wikipedia, Shakawe (Panhandle fishing trips, bus time from Maun), Wikipedia, Gcwihaba (name, distance from the border, national monument, 2014 facilities), Wikipedia, Lake Ngami (Livingstone in 1849, seasonal filling), Wikipedia, German (Ngamisee; size in flood years, dry spells, birds, Sehithwa), Wikivoyage, Maun (airlines and routes, light aircraft transfers to camps, bus to Shakawe, cold winter mornings), Wikivoyage, Okavango Delta (Maun to Shakawe bus), Expert Africa, North-west Kalahari and Okavango Panhandle (fishing and birds, barbel run, Gcwihaba guides, seasons), Tracks4Africa, Eretsha (Shakawe supplies and fuel, Mohembo Bridge, road down the east bank, Seronga), Tracks4Africa, how to self-drive Botswana in 10 days (thick sand in Moremi, tyres, two vehicles, no night driving).