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Mokoros are traditional canoes used in Botswana's Okavango Delta. A mokoro ride is a perfect way to spend a few hours enjoying the tranquil, clear waters of the shallow Delta. While you may not see as much wildlife as on a traditional 4x4 game drive, your backbone will thank you for taking the opportunity to rest. If you time your mokoro ride well, you'll enjoy flowering lilies of many shapes and hues, frogs, fish, hippos, elephants, colorful dragonflies, crocodiles and more.
What is a Mokoro?
A mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe used in the Okavango Delta for centuries, as an efficient means of transport, as well as a fishing boat. Traditionally the canoes were hollowed out of a single mature hardwood tree like mangosteen or sausage trees. Mature trees were preferred for their bouyancy. But these days you are likely to experience your ride in a fiberglass version. As demand has increased, felling many mature trees in this pristine environment does not gel with environmentally-friendly policies that many of the camps and lodges live by, so fibre-glass it is. Some old and damaged mokoros are used by camps to make wonderful tables, lampshades and other fun decorative furnishings.
The mokoro is steered and guided with the use of a long pole called Ngashe which basically digs into the shallow sands, exactly like punting (think Venice gondolier without the stripy shirt). The polers are masters of balance and speed, it's a very wobbly vessel. The makoro is about 6 feet long, so a maximum of two passengers are usually allowed per boat.
The mokoro poler stands on the back of the boat and pushes the vessel along, navigating through the narrow channels of the Delta. Be friendly to your mokoro guide by not moving around too much, it's a difficult balancing act. If you are lucky, your camp may have a few mokoros you can try and pole yourself just to see how tricky it is!
Where Can You Take a Mokoro Ride?
Many camps in the Okavango Delta as well as some in the Linyanti and Savuti areas of Botswana offer mokoro excursions. Typically your excursion will replace a game drive and you'll enjoy a morning or late afternoon ride. depending on the season, you may be able to launch right from your camp, or drive a small way to get to a launch site. Your safari guide will hand you over to a mokoro guide, as it takes quite some expertise to steer and maneuver in the water.
Mokoros are used effectively in the shallow channels of the delta as well as deeper pools. Many channels have been created by hippo, basically you're gliding along "hippo highways". The trick is to avoid any hippos coming the other way!
Because the papyrus reeds can get very tall, you are not as likely to see a lot of wildlife, but do look out for lovely little frogs, plenty of fish and the occasional basking crocodile. I've been lucky enough to see elephants crossing while out on a mokoro ride as well as plenty of hippo. The bird life is spectacular and because the mokoro is so silent the photo opportunities are second to none.
The mokoro ride will usually last an hour or two at most. It is customary to tip your mokoro guide at the end of the excursion (at least $5 per passenger).
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