The small town of Maun, Botswana, on the edge of the Okavango Delta, holds little of interest. Few visitors go beyond the souvenir stalls outside the airport gates before they board the five-seat connecting flights to Okavango Delta, Moremi Reserve or Kalahari Desert destinations.
These flights are a great introduction to what's to come—the pilot usually flies low enough so that you can pick out huge elephant herds or, occasionally, a large antelope dashing through the brush. For drivers and their vehicles, Maun is a place to rest. The town has curio, souvenir and art shops, some of them very good.
On the outskirts of town are Maun's only attractions, the Okavango Swamps Crocodile Farm and the small Maun Game Sanctuary, with walking trails through the last of the natural habitat that once surrounded the town. Bordered by the Thamalakane River, the sanctuary has quite a few animals and some good bird sightings.
Maun lies 355 mi/575 km northwest of Gaborone.
