Mahango Mokoro Tours is owned and run by Otlhano, known to most as James.
Mahango Mokoro Tours is owned and run by Otlhano, known to most as James.
James grew up in Etsha 6, a village on the banks of the Okavango River in northern Botswana. As a member of the Hambukushu community, fishing and hunting were part of daily life — not recreation, but a means of putting food on the table. From a young age, James took that responsibility seriously, providing for his parents and family through what the delta offered.
I met James as a kid growing up in the same village. We spent our days out on the water together: fishing & hunting. Out of all of us, James always stood out. He simply knew where to find fish when no one else did. That wasn’t luck. It came from years of observation, instinct, and the kind of practical knowledge that only develops when your family depends on what you bring home.
That same understanding of the Okavango — the channels, the seasonal shifts, the habits of tigerfish and bream — is what James now brings to Mahango Mokoro Tours. He’s not a guide who learned the delta from a manual. He’s someone who grew up on it, relied on it, and knows it like few others do.
When James decided to turn this into a proper business, I offered to help with the practical side — the website, the branding, the things that are easier to sort out from behind a laptop than from a mokoro. It’s his company and his knowledge. I’m just glad I can help him share it with more people.
If you want to see the Okavango through the eyes of someone who has lived it his whole life, you’re in the right place.
Floris & Otlhano