A river runs through it Linyanti

The Linyanti Swamps, fed mainly by the Kwando River, is a wetland and wildlife stepping stone between the Okavango Delta in the west and Chobe-Zambezi river system in the east. They lie at the centre of the Kalahari sand basin like great seasonal lakes, connected by the sinuous Selinda and Savute channels. Back in the 1850s, defying what he saw, explorer David Livingstone reckoned they could not flow in both directions – but he was wrong. Due to the deep sand substrate and subtle earthquake activity, the channels can and indeed do flow in one direction and then, seeming without reason, stop and reverse their flow. The contrast between the watery realm of riverine forest trees, reed-lined passages and hippo-filled pools, with the arid mopane savanna beyond, make for a fascinating safari trip. But Linyanti is also a vital migration stop-over for game between the larger waterways and the domain of some of the most thirsted-for Southern African safari lodges.