About
In July 2024, our team completed a 300km kayak expedition through the Okavango Delta to document its landscapes, wildlife, and communities.
Echoes of the Okavango continues that mission, using storytelling to raise awareness of how climate change is shaping one of Africa’s most vital wetlands.
Echoes of the Okavango is a creative conservation project born from a journey through one of Africa’s most remarkable landscapes - the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
In July 2024, our small team set out to paddle more than 300 kilometres through this vast inland delta, tracing the flow of life from its northern channels to the gateway town of Maun. Over 14 days, we kayaked through floodplains alive with elephants and fish eagles, camped under skies dense with stars, and listened to the voices of those who call the Delta home.
What began as an idea to experience a wild place became a mission to understand and protect it.
Our Story
Echoes of the Okavango began in 2023, when founder Jay Frain attended the premiere of Olly Pemberton’s film Polers of the Okavango. Captivated by the Delta’s beauty, Jay left the cinema with a dream — to one day explore the Okavango for himself.
A year later, that dream took shape. Planning for the expedition began in November 2024, bringing together a team of filmmakers, photographers, and storytellers united by curiosity, creativity, and a shared belief that storytelling can drive change.
In 2024, the expedition became reality — a 300km journey through the heart of one of the world’s most important wetlands. It was an adventure that tested our limits, deepened our understanding of the Delta, and revealed just how delicately balanced this ecosystem truly is.
Our Mission
Echoes of the Okavango exists to explore, document, and amplify the stories of the Delta - its wildlife, its people, and the urgent environmental challenges it faces.
Through film, photography, and educational outreach, we aim to inspire a deeper connection between people and place, and to highlight the realities of a world where climate change is altering even the most remote and resilient ecosystems.
Projects
Documentary film
Our upcoming short documentary follows the Echoes of the Okavango expedition from the first paddle stroke to the last. It captures the Delta’s extraordinary beauty, the voices of those who live alongside it, and the lessons learned from navigating one of Africa’s final great wildernesses.
Photography series
A curated collection of images taken during the expedition, telling the Delta’s story through the lens of stillness and movement. From the mirror-like floodplains to the faces of those who depend on its waters.
Interviews with locals
Along our route, we spoke with local residents, guides, and conservationists who shared first-hand experiences of a changing Delta. Their insights now shape our ongoing storytelling and outreach work.
Expedition journal
We’re telling the story of Echoes of the Okavango through our Expedition Journal, a behind-the-scenes look at how the journey unfolded. From preparation to paddling, it shares the challenges, lessons, and moments that shaped the expedition, offering an honest account of what it took to bring this project to life.
Educational workshops and talks
We’ll be sharing the lessons of the Delta with schools, organisations, and communities - using the expedition as a platform to discuss conservation, resilience, and the power of curiosity-led exploration.
Lessons from the Delta
The Okavango Delta taught us that nature thrives where balance endures, and that balance is fragile. We witnessed landscapes transformed by flooding, met people adapting to unpredictable seasons, and saw how small changes in water flow can ripple through an entire ecosystem.
The Delta is a living reminder that protecting wild places requires understanding them - listening to both their natural rhythms and the people who depend on them.
Our Future
Echoes of the Okavango continues beyond the expedition. The stories, images, and lessons we gathered are only the beginning.
We’re now working to share them through film, photography, and educational projects that connect people to the Okavango’s story and to the global importance of preserving natural spaces.
Our journey through the Delta may be complete, but the echo continues - in every story we tell, and every person we inspire to protect the wild.
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