As you float upon translucent water moving at the timeless pace of Africa, you can see Kalahari sand sliding beneath darting shoals of fish, and hear the grunt of hippos lurking in deeper pools of the river. Elephants congregate at the water's edge, while red lechwe dance through the shallows and a host of antelope graze on the floodplains beyond the river channel's hedge of papyrus. Fish eagles cry out above you, while African jacanas balance precariously on the lily pads floating around your traditional dugout canoe, known as a mokoro. Those who have been there will instantly recognise this tranquil, verdant scene - the Okavango Delta. The Delta is a tourist's paradise and a conservationist's dream: a UNESCO World Heritage site and a RAMSAR wetland that hosts critically important populations of mammals, special wetland birds and innumerable fish and amphibians. As one of the largest tracts of relatively intact wilderness areas in Africa, the importance of the Okavango Delta cannot be overstated.