The Okavango Panhandle is an 80 km strip along the Okavango River before it enters the Delta and fans out, stretching from Mohembo at the Namibian border to Seronga. The river along this section is contained between two parallel faults. The lower reaches of the panhandle are lined with palm trees and one finds dense stands of papyrus in this area.
The Okavango Panhandle is a very beautiful area and offers activities such as birding, boating and fishing with several lodges that offer mokoro trips into the northern Delta.
Lodges in and around Shakawe at the top of the Okavango Panhandle mostly offer birding, fishing and trips to Tsodilo whereas Lodges closer to the Delta such as those around Guma Lagoon and at Seronga offer mokoro trips into the higher reaches of the Okavango Delta as well as boating trips, fishing, birding and trips to Tsodilo.
The Okavango Panhandle offers you a more affordable way of seeing the Okavango Delta compared to the areas accessed from the south and east, though the wildlife experience cannot be compared. Types of wildlife that can be seen in this area include elephant, sitatunga, hippo and crocodile and the birding is excellent.
The Okavango Panhandle may be included on a Botswana itinerary that includes Caprivi and northern Namibia.