Discover Botswana

Today your Botswana safari and Okavango adventure begins in earnest. This means a bush breakfast followed by a game drive. You’ll have met your private guide the day before. These guys are pros. Think about them like bush ninjas. They know how to sound out a lion from 20 kilometers away, track down the craziest of all the delta creatures, and listen to wildlife calls from different antelope to echo-locate leopards and cheetahs. Watching them in action is an almost religious experience, and you’ll want to make sure cameras and binoculars are at hand and ready for the duration of the game drive.

Following the game drive, it’s mokoro time. A mokoro is a traditional dug out wooden canoe that has become a symbol of life in the Okavango Delta. And there is no better way to explore the lush flood plains of the delta. Your experienced poler and guide takes you down river where’ll you get the chance to get up close and personal with some stunning wildlife.

A luxurious floating lunch will be served along the way. This water top culinary festival delights the senses, and the chef savors in pairing an excellent cold white wine with one of her signature dishes. This also has the effect of making a hot afternoon far more manageable.

Following the mokoro, there may be time for an evening game drive.

By now you’ve reaching Safari level expert. You have no doubt seen at least three of the big five, and you’re beginning to get comfortable in the bush. Time to take it up a notch. Following breakfast and a morning game drive, your personal pilot magically reappears, and you once again board a private flight.

You’ll be heading to wilder lands now and after a 20-minute flight you arrive in Kwando. This is unchartered territory. The heart of the African wild. Sparse woodlands and ancient floodplains. This place, it pulsates with life and it bleeds beauty from the open veins that make up the meandering tributaries of forgotten river systems. This place is a secret. This place is the truth.

Here you’ll be staying in Lagoon Camp, a luxurious lodge built along the banks of the Kwando River. This lodge is often described as the most remote and most luxurious camp found anywhere on earth. The attention to detail is immaculate and the service is outstanding. The luxurious tents are expansive, elegant, and insanely comfortable.

And the wildlife is simply spectacular. Giant herds of game including thousands of elephant and buffalo migrate past the lodge. Large predators are abundant, and a Wild Dog pack regularly dens close to the lodge. It’s as wild as it gets.

And because you’re now a safari level expert, you can do as you choose. Simply tell your private guide whether you’d like a game drive, a mokoro ride, an informative talk on regional flora or fauna, or even ask him or her to take you fishing. You’re also welcome to sit back in camp with a book, a pair of binoculars, and a Bloody Mary.

Today is what we might call a day dedicated to you. You’re now in paradise, and you get to decide how to structure and how to spend the day. Your private guide is on hand and should you wish to take a sunrise game drive, all you need to do is let him or her know. You’re free to spend the morning lounging by the pool and catching up on some reading. Or you can spend the day on a mokoro or motorized safari boat, viewing game and taking in the majesty of the surrounding plains.

The food at camp is simply superb, and so is the service. Enjoy this day. It’s yours to spend and enjoy the area as you wish.

Today we shake things up a bit with your Botswana safari. You’ve experienced the Okavango Delta, and Kwando. But today is going to be different. Your private pilot appears again, as if by magic, and once again you take to the skies.

This time you head towards the Kalahari.

You’ve no doubt heard of this mystical desert. The Kalahari resonates across the common consciousness. It is a place of wonder, beauty, and austerity. It’s the home to the San, and debatably is the cradle of humankind.

You fly direct into Tau Pan, an idyllic lodge that overlooks the famous Tau Pan in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. You should probably be warned that the word ‘Tau’ means lion in Setswana and the pan is named after a pride of iconic black-maned Kalahari lions. These lions are frequent visitors to the camp, and it pays well to listen intently to the safety instructions given upon arrival.

Following a spectacular lunch, you’ll be taken on an evening game drive to look for lions and leopards.

The reference to the San earlier was essentially a foreshadowing tool cleverly employed to give you a hint of what to expect today. The San, an iconic group of hunter gatherers, have called the Kalahari home for over 50,000 years. That’s a lot. And over time they have developed a unique skillset that helps them survive the hardships of the Kalahari.

A community of traditional San live close to the lodge, and today you’ll spend the morning with a traditional San leader and hunter gather. You’ll be taken on a walking tour where your San guide will teach you about what it means to be San.

The San attitude towards life is nonchalant and their laughter is infectious. They care little for material possession, and are far more concerned with giving thanks to all mother earth for what she provides them. They have no words for possessives such as ‘mine’ and ‘yours’, but they have 20 different words to describe a smile.

You’ll also be shown some of their tracking kills. San tracking skill level: Insane. (Seriously hard core). Upon finding the minor remnants of any footprint, your san guide will able to accurately denote the specific animal that left them, its age, the direction it took, what it had for dinner, and how it might vote in a congressional bi-election given half the chance.

It’s a truly unforgettable experience, and following your walk through the Kalahari, you’ll return to the lodge for lunch, and perhaps enjoy another game drive in the afternoon.

Now that you’ve developed your tracking skills, it’s time to leave the Kalahari. Following a delicious breakfast at the lodge, your private pilot appears and you fly back to Maun where you board a schedule flight for Kasane. An hour later and you arrive at the Chobe Bush Lodge. This is a brand new lodge located on the banks of the mighty Chobe River, and sits at the meeting point of four countries – Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

After lunch you’ll be invited on a private cruise down river where you can take in the wonder of thousands of hippos languidly lavishing upon the greasy banks of this all too mighty river. A cocktail or two served by your private barman is hardly amiss, and makes for a compelling journey.

In the evening a delicious meal awaits you as you arrive back to the lodge.

A day dedicated to pretty much anything your heart desires during this amazing Botswana safari. The idea is to give you  time to relax, unwind, enjoy the stunning sites of Chobe. Beyond game drives and river cruises, you could consider an additional add on and head out to the might Victoria Falls located 100km away between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Last day of your Botswana safari and after breakfast you’ll be transported to the airport for your connecting flight back home.

We hope to see you again soon.