Into the Wild

When it comes to safaris, Botswana has the market cornered. Melissa Twigg checks in at a luxury retreat amid the teeming wildlife of the Okavango Delta

obert Redford and Meryl Streep would approve of the arrival at Belmond Eagle Island Lodge. After taking off in a tiny propeller-driven plane from Maun Airport in northern Botswana, you fly so low over the swamps of the Okavango Delta that you can spot the herds of elephant splashing in the water, the kudu and impala anxiously checking out their surroundings, and even the badly behaved vervet monkeys fighting in the treetops. As you step out into the hot air on the Eagle Island airstrip, right next to the camp, all you see is a cluster of palm trees and dark woods leading to a vast expanse of water.

Growing up with South African parents, I’ve spent a lot of time in the bush. I have loved my many trips around Africa, but the holiday I always hark back to is the one we took to the Okavango Delta, and I’m not alone; Africa experts, travel guides and game