Experience the hugely varied habitats and incredible wildlife of northern Botswana on this exclusive 10-day Botswana Safari. Travel from Kasane down through the wilderness of Chobe National Park to Mababe Private Reserve and Moremi Game Reserve, exploring some of the most beautiful - and unspoiled - wilderness areas in Africa.
Add to that wildlife and birdlife that'll leave you open-mouthed in wonder and you've got the African safari of a lifetime. This area of Botswana is home to an enormous array of Africa's finest animals - leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, and hippo, to name a few. To top it all off, the tour ends with a scenic charter flight over the Okavango Delta to Maun.
This is a fully-serviced camping safari staying at mobile tented camps in spacious tents with beds and en-suite bathrooms. With no client participation required, all you have to do on this safari is sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery.
We meet at 9h00 and kick our Botswana Safari off with a boat cruise along the Chobe River, a wonderful introduction to the African bush. We then drive along the river to Savuti in central Chobe, passing through teak forests teeming with sable and other antelopes, along with elusive leopards. Driving through the Goha region, which has waterholes that last well into the dry season, we'll more than likely see zebra, kudu, and herds of buffalo.
We arrive at our mobile tented camp in time to settle into our spacious tents (beds and linen included) with their private, en-suite bathrooms, before enjoying our first African sunset as dinner is prepared.
Savuti is most well known for its large lion and elephant populations. Unrestricted by fences, this area boasts an abundance of animals. We spend two days exploring the area on game drives and soaking up the sights and sounds of Africa. Our camp is exclusive and the area vast, allowing us to experience nature in all of its glory, uninterrupted by other humans. If we're lucky, we may even see cheetahs and endangered wild dogs.
A walk to view the local San bushman paintings reminds us of the ancient civilizations that called this area home.
The Central Chobe region is not as flat as the rest of Botswana with its rocky outcrops and hilly savannahs that host an unusual array of small animals, birds, and plants. We explore the renowned Savuti Marsh area, the setting of many a dramatic wildlife documentary in Africa. Keep an eye out for the large lion prides, elephant herds, and hyena packs that Savuti is famous for hosting. In the wet season, cheetahs and wild dogs are often seen in Central Chobe too. Birders will be enthralled with sightings of thousands of sandgrouse and doves in the dry season, along with yellow-billed kites, tawny eagles, and African hawk eagles, to name a few.
Depending on whether it's the dry or wet season, our travel day today will take slightly different routes. In the dry season, we make our way through beautiful landscapes across the challenging Magwikwe Sandridge which was the shoreline of the ancient inland sea, the Makgadikgadi Lake. It's deep sand, so in the wet season, it becomes impassable.
The area teems with wildlife, especially after the rains, so keep your cameras and binoculars ready on this four to five-hour trip. You're likely to spot elephant, lion, and, hopefully, cheetah among the host of animals that inhabit this area.
Arriving at our tented safari camp in Mababe Private Reserve, we settle in for the next two days.
Mababe Private Reserve is a wildlife concession area located in northern Botswana. Covering over 50,000 hectares of land between the Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park, this private reserve is home to a diverse range of animals, including elephants, lions, hyenas, giraffes, and many more. Birdwatchers will also be delighted to discover over 300 species of beautiful birds soaring above the abundant wetlands and lush vegetation. The reserve offers a serene escape for nature enthusiasts looking to experience the beauty of Africa's wildlife up close. Visitors can immerse themselves in the tranquillity of the reserve while enjoying game drives, bush walks, and night drives.
We spend the next two days of our Botswana Safari exploring the Mababe Private Reserve. We camp at a private campsite, exploring the banks of the Khwai River with Kalahari shrub to the east and cathedral mopane to the south on 4x4 game drives. The area includes both dry savannah and marshy land, allowing for a diverse range of animals, flora, and birds, including Botswana’s national bird, the Kori Bustard.
One of the highlights here is a thrilling night drive, with spotlights, which allows us to see the wonderful world of the nocturnal African creatures. We will also have the chance to explore the wilderness on foot for an up-close-and-personal encounter with nature. These activities are unique to Mababe Private Reserve as night drives and guided walks are not permitted in Moremi or Chobe.
Travelling along the Khwai River, we follow the track through mopane veld, woodlands, and riverside habitats. We stop to check out the hippo at Dombo Hippo Pools in the morning, before continuing to Xakanaxa (about three to four hours of travel time, depending on conditions.)
Along the way, we stop to embark on a memorable Mokoro trip in traditional-style canoes. Local guides take us along the calm channels on the outskirts of the Okavango Delta. Your guide stands in the dug-out style canoe poling the vessel across the water like a Venetian gondolier.
Some huge old elephant bulls reside in this area and look out for the enormous crocodiles in the river. There are two packs of endangered wild dogs in the area and it's home to many of the big cats too!
Situated on the eastern edge of the Okavango Delta, this renowned game reserve is a wonderland of waterways, floodplains, lagoons, woodlands, and savannahs. As such, it offers habitats to a wide range of wildlife and an amazing array of birds.
In addition to an abundance of large mammals Moremi Game Reserve boasts rich birdlife, including various eagles, goshawks, hornbills, cuckoos, whydahs, and honeyguides.
We spend our days exploring the area on game drives and soaking up the African sunshine, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the bush.
After breakfast, we embark on a final morning game drive in Moremi Game Reserve before heading to the Xakanaxa Airstrip. At about 12h30, we take a scenic charter flight over the Okavango Delta to Maun, where our memorable Botswana Safari ends.
This tour does take children.
While the minimum age on scheduled group departures is 12 years old, children of any age are considered for private departures only.
Please contact African Budget Safaris for further information.
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