What was once an expansive and prolific body of water gradually dried up, leaving wildlife like zebras, hippos, elephants and crocodiles dependent on the few pools of formed from occasional rains.
But now, for the first time in decades, rain has fallen in sufficient quantities hundreds of miles in the Angolan highlands, sending a stream of water through to the riverbed. After years of extreme drought, the river has finally returned to its former glory, transforming the landscape.
Fish and dragonflies emerge, frogs appear in their thousands, birds fly and theres instant relief to the hippos. Back from the dead, the Boteti is alive once again.