BEST OF BOTSWANA’S DESERT & DELTA SAFARI     

The first destination is the Nxai Pan, stopping for a picnic lunch en-route, and arriving at our camp-site in time for sun downers. You will explore the Nxai Pan National Park on safari and there is the option for a day trip to visit Baines' Baobabs; the historical pan and trees made famous by painter Thomas Baines.

A second day for activities from the camp and in addition to guided morning and afternoon safaris one of the trackers can provide a San bushman walk showing you how the San have lived and survived in the Kalahari. Nxai Pan is a large salt pan topographic depression which is part of the larger Makgadikgadi Pans in north-eastern Botswana. This landform is a major part of the Nxai Pan National Park, and is a seasonal home to large herds of zebra and their migration.

Taking a Botswana safari through the Nxai Pans National Park will introduce you to many sights and sounds of the true African wilderness. Nxai Pan and Makgadikgadi Pan are the largest salt pans in the world, offering unique safari experience, with great game viewing and bird watching challenged by spectacular scenic views and natural isolation this African safari is well worth the cost. Open all year round, these parks offer rare safari opportunities particularly in the green season.

Nxai Pan is one of the best places in Botswana for excellent cheetah sightings. The flat expensive landscape is perfectly suited to these swift animals which can outrun any prey in these conditions. There are regular good sightings all year around, but cheetah activity also reaches a peak during the green season. Baines’ Baobabs are thousands of years old and form a dramatic and unusual sight in the middle of the dry saltpan. They are at their best in the green season, when they form a small island of vegetation in the middle of the water-filled pan - an absolute must for photographers.

Possible sightings in Nxai Pan; (The Nxai Pan is a breeding ground for herds of zebra, wildebeest, gemsbok, eland, making it an important nature reserve for any African wildlife enthusiast.  However, spot other wildlife such as lion, giraffe, kudu, impala, ostrich, fascinating birdlife and large number of springbok, together with a good population of jackal, bat-eared fox, spotted hyenas, hartebeests, raptors and cheetahs).

Early rise with tea, coffee and a light breakfast served by the fire. We will then depart in our game drive vehicle/s for the morning, back to camp for a brunch/lunch and then siesta/showers/chill time. Afternoon tea will be served under the Mess tent and then out for an afternoon/early evening drive.

On the last morning in CKGR it will be another early rise as the camp is set down and we move to Maun for 1 NIGHT. The San Bushmen, having been in the Kalahari region for many thousands of years, leading a nomadic existence, applying the art of the hunter-gatherer with exceptional skill, have moved to the outskirts of the region as the CKGR gained prominence as a protected area and National Park.

They do however form part of the attraction here and visitors to the region can be guided by Bushmen and shown examples of their survival skills. The Kalahari can sometimes feel empty compared to regions such as the Okavango Delta, but these amazing people can stand you on one spot and show you the diversity right around you that you never noticed.

The Central Kalahari area is awe inspiring for its vista alone. Whereas in some areas the best time to visit is in the dry seasons of winter, from May to October Kalahari temperatures soar and the ground offers little water for the game, the area however comes alive in the rainy season. Between roughly November and April the rains arrive and provide the region with a spectacular carpet of beautiful flowers and nutritious grasses.

Magnificent cloud formations give rise to dramatic Kalahari thunder storms, giving the photographer amongst you a scenic shot that rivals anywhere in the world. The land is mostly flat and gently undulating covered with bush and grasses covering the sand dunes, and areas of larger trees.

Many of the river valleys are fossilized with salt pans. Four fossilized rivers meander through the reserve including Deception Valley which began to form around 16,000 years ago.

Possible sightings in Central Kalahari Game Reserve;

(The wildlife that guests will experience include; large herds of springbok and gemsbok as well as wildebeest, hartebeest, eland and giraffe, and the legendary Kalahari predators - lion, leopard, cheetah and a host of smaller cats and carnivores).

Botswana’s tourism capital lies on the southern fringes of the Okavango Delta, and still, despite recent modernisations, carries the feeling of a dusty, frontier town. For many tourists, Maun is the point of entry into the Delta, and often into Botswana, with direct flights from both Johannesburg and Gaborone. You will overnight in a mid-range lodge to pass to the delta.

Frequently, the ‘people’ side of the Okavango is overlooked, with tourists merely using Maun as a transit point to embark for the Delta. However, exploring the traditional villages along the western fringes of the Delta, in the panhandle area, is worth the time and effort, and for many tourists, becomes a real highlight of their travels in Botswana.

Spending ournext two nights in the delta camping in Moremi, we explore the surrounding wilderness on game drives during the day. The Moremi Game Reserve forms part of the unique ecosystem called the Okavango Delta and Moremi covers up to one third of the Okavango. The total area of the Okavango covers up to 18 000 square kilometres of which the Moremi Game Reserve is 5000 square kilometres.

The Okavango is a unique ecosystem, an inland delta situated in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the world – the Kalahari basin. This wetland lies like an oasis in an otherwise inhospitable landscape. Where land and delta meet, a mosaic of pans, grasslands, forests and lagoons provide an extremely rich and diverse habitat in which a multitude of animals and birds flourish.

This wetland is one of the natural wonders of the world, and is a fragile ecosystem that remains one of the world’s least spoilt and most beautiful wildernesses, and is home to various unique species. Moremi Game Reserve is situated in the eastern corner of the Okavango Delta. Moremi is one of the most beautiful and varied reserves found on the African continent with huge concentrations of wildlife and incredible scenery. The reserve consists of both swamped areas e.g. Xakanaxa, and dry-land areas e.g. Khwai.

Possibl sightings in Moremi; (It is home to nearly 500 species of bird from water birds to forest dwellers, and a vast array of other species of wildlife including Cape buffalo, Angolan giraffe, black rhinoceros, lion, elephant, hippopotamus, zebra, cheetah, hyena, jackal, impala, and red lechwe).

Following an early breakfast we pack camp and continue our journey to Khwai, stopping for a picnic lunch en-route. The Khwai River forms a boundary between the Moremi Game Reserve and the community area. We spend the last three nights camping at a camp-site in the community area, exploring the Khwai floodplains on game drives both during the day and at night.

Here, you will also enjoy a 2 ½ hour mokoro (dug-out canoe) trip exploring the water ways of Khwai which is the most eastern reach of the Okavango river system. As per the interest of the client, walking activity can be done whereby our expert guide led a walking safari. Walking in the bush with a professional guide is an exhilarating experience.

Exploring after dark with spotlights offers you a unique opportunity to experience some of the nocturnal animals that are rarely encountered during the day such as leopard, Aardwolf and porcupine and honey badger.

 It is important to note that night drives are not permitted within the National Parks and reserves. These activities are conducted outside the boundaries of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Khwai community area.

Possible sightings in Khwai; ( Explore the ‘standard’ morning and afternoon game drives where you can see some of Africa’s best wildlife –such as, lion, cheetah, leopard, wild dog, elephant, buffalo, hippo and giraffe).

Today is your last day in Botswana. Enjoy your final morning activities followed by a leisurely breakfast before being collected at the camp and transferred through to the airstrip for your scheduled flight back to Maun International Airport, where you board your connecting flight back home.