15-Day Botswana Wildlife Safari: Kalahari to Delta Explorer

Day 1: Goo Moremi Gorge - Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• Camp overnight in the scenic Tswapong Hills, where permanent springs create waterfalls, lush gorges, and vibrant birdlife in Botswana’s otherwise dry, dusty Central District.
• Explore the lush gorge, sacred to the Komana people and one of Botswana’s few breeding grounds for the endangered Cape Vulture.

From Johannesburg, this trans-Kalahari adventure heads north through South Africa and crosses the border into Botswana. This is a long travel day to Botswana’s Central District, but is rewarded by a special overnight stop in the Tswapong Hills.

• Meals Included: Lunch & Dinner (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group)
• Accommodation: Campsite - good ablution facilities with hot showers
• Distance/time: 530km, approx 9 hrs incl border crossing and lunch stop
• Includes: Entry fee, walk to waterfalls

Day 2: Kubu Island, Makgadikgadi Pans – Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• Explore the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of the world's largest salt flats, with endless horizons.
• Camp near Kubu Island, a granite rock island jutting out of the flats

Day two of our Botswana Wildlife Safari takes us to the Makgadikgadi Pans, salt flats formed by an enormous ancient lake that dried up many millennia ago. Camp near Kubu Island, a granite rock island jutting out of the flats, stained white with fossilized bird droppings and riddled with prehistoric artifacts and stone ruins whose origins are earlier than the era of Homo sapiens. Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson described the island as "just about the most astonishing place I've ever been" on the Botswana Special episode.

• Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group)
• Accommodation: Community Campsite – basic facilities with a bucket shower. You will need to bring a towel.
• Distance/time: 375km, 5.5 hrs

Day 3: Gweta, Makgadikgadi Pans – Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• Expansive views as you skirt the edges of Makgadigadi Pans
• Sunset at Makgadigadi campsite amongst ancient baobabs

Today, skirt the edges of the vast Makgadikgadi Pans National Park on our Botswana Safari. Along the way, we stop for lunch and exploration, before making our way to Gweta, where we spend our next night camping. The sunset from our camp is sure to be unforgettable.

This area is known for its Baobab trees, which provide a magnificent contrast to the lunar landscape of the Pans. The average age of Makgadikgadi’s Baobabs is believed to be more than 4000 years. These monster trees are also known as ‘upside-down trees’ due to their distinct silhouette of swollen trunks with incongruous branches looking more like roots.

• Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group)
• Accommodation: Campsite - good ablution facilities with hot showers, swimming pool, restaurant & bar
• Distance/time: 330km, 8 hrs incl stops for lunch and exploration

Day 4: Maun – Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• An optional Meerkat Adventure to encounter family groups of meerkats, a small mongoose breed. You are able to get quite close to observe their comical antics as they are semi-habituated to human presence through years of research (own expense).
• Down time in Maun to shop and resupply in preparation for our next few days in the Delta and enjoy an evening meal at a local restaurant (own expense).
• An optional scenic flight over the Okavango Delta for the best perspective to truly appreciate the majesty of this place(own expense).

Our Botswana Wildlife Safari spends a leisurely morning in magical Makgadigadi Pans. After lunch, we make our way to Maun, the main town and centre of tourism operations for the Okavango Delta, where we will overnight at a comfortable campsite.

• Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group); Dinner at own expense at a local restaurant
• Accommodation: Campsite - good ablution facilities with hot showers, swimming pool, restaurant & bar
• Distance/time: 220km, 4.5 hrs drive incl stops
• Optional Activities: Meerkat Adventure - Gweta; Scenic flight over the Okavango Delta - Maun

Days 5 to 7: Moremi Game Reserve – Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• Immerse yourself in Moremi Game Reserve, the heart of the Okavango Delta
• Morning and afternoon game drives, exploring Moremi's diverse habitats and abundant wildlife, including elephants, lions, hippos, and wild dogs, in an open 4x4 safari vehicle
• Wild camping at a private campsite, with campfire evenings under the stars

Spend the next three nights of your Botswana Safari in Moremi Game Reserve, one of Africa’s top wildlife destinations at the heart of the Okavango Delta, for unforgettable game viewing and a deep connection to the untouched wilderness.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group)
Accommodation: Wild Camping – basic ablutions with bucket shower
Distance/time: 180km, 3.5 hrs excl game drives and wildlife stops
Includes: Entrance Fees, Morning & Afternoon game drives in 4x4 vehicle

Days 8 to 10: Okavango Delta – Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• Explore the Okavango Delta waterways by traditional mekoro (dugout canoes) with local guides
• Wild camping on remote islands, with bush walks, bird watching, and swimming

Local guides take us deep into the heart of the Okavango Delta in traditional dugout canoes known as Mekoro. Immerse yourself in the lush Okavango Delta habitat for a remarkable variety of birds and animals. Enjoy wild camping on remote islands and enjoy bush walks, game spotting, bird watching, and swimming in clear waters. Learn about local lifestyles and culture while supporting community-run conservation through the Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust. Return to Maun in the late afternoon of day 7 and overnight at a campsite with good, comfortable facilities.

• Meals Included: Day 8 & 9 Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group) / Day 10 Breakfast & Lunch (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group); Dinner at own expense at a local restaurant
• Accommodation: Days 8 & 9: Wild camping – basic facilities with a bucket shower. You will need to bring a towel / Day 10: Campsite - good ablution facilities with hot showers, swimming pool, restaurant & bar
• Distance/time: Day 8, 180 km, 4 hrs actual driving time to Mokoro station. Mokoro ride to camp is dependent on the campsite location
• Includes: Entrance to Okavango Delta, mokoro excursion, morning & afternoon game walks with local guides
• Optional Activities: Scenic flight over the Okavango Delta

Days 11 to 13: Central Kalahari Game Reserve – Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• Spend three days discovering vast sweeping grasslands, scattered sand dunes, and ancient fossil river valleys of the Kalahari, Southern Africa’s largest and most remote wildlife reserve.
• Game viewing in the Kalahari in search of its unique desert-adapted wildlife

Your excellent value Botswana Wildlife Safari takes you into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, a vast desert covering 10% of Botswana's landmass and home to the San people for millennia. Its fossilized riverbeds, sweeping plains, and rare species, such as the brown hyena and black-maned lion, make it a UNESCO Area of Outstanding Universal Value. Wildlife has uniquely adapted to the harsh, arid environment, with Deception Valley offering a seasonal haven for herbivores after the rains.

• Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group)
• Accommodation: Wild camping – basic ablutions with a bucket shower
• Distance/time: 290 km, 5.5 hrs excl stops to get there, followed by days of game viewing
• Includes: Entrance fees, morning and afternoon game drives in an open 4x4 game viewing vehicle

Day 14: Khama Rhino Sanctuary – Botswana

Travel Highlights:

• Game Drive in Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a desert Kalahari sandveld reserve offering the ideal habitat for white rhinos, zebras, and wildebeest.

Visit Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a community-based wildlife project and conservation success story. Proceeds go towards uplifting the local Serowe, Mabelepodi & Paje communities. Learn about the efforts to save the relentlessly poached rhinos while also seeking to restore their land to its former glory, while providing sustainable tourism and use of natural resources. This reserve has several natural waterholes and provides prime habitats for white rhinos, zebras, and wildebeest.

• Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group)
• Accommodation: Campsite - good ablution facilities with hot showers
• Distance/time: 380km, 7.5 hrs driving time
• Includes: Entrance fee, game drive

Day 15: Johannesburg - South Africa

After breakfast, we bid farewell to our local Motswana guides and the 4x4 vehicle, embarking on our journey back to Johannesburg, South Africa, in a comfortable minibus. We have a short stop for border formalities and lunch en route (at your own expense).

Your well-priced Botswana Safari ends at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport at 17:00.

• Meals Included: Breakfast only (provided by tour leaders with the help of the group)
• Distance/time: 650km, approx 9.5 hrs including border formalities and lunch stop

Botswana Wildlife Safari Accommodation

This budget Botswana Safari is on a standard camping basis. Where possible, camping is at designated campsites in national parks, on private land or in towns.

• Campsite facilities are generally good, but can be basic in places. They usually include hot and cold showers, flush toilets, restaurants, washing facilities and telephones.
• Participation: Guests are expected to participate in setting up camp, preparing meals, and cleaning up (on rotation).
• Camping equipment provided: dome tents (2.2 x 2.2 x 1.8 meters; tents have built-in insect nets and putting them up or down takes only 5 minutes), mattresses (about 5 cm thick), and camp chairs with backrest.
• You will need to provide: a sleeping bag, a small camp pillow, and a towel. (Available for rent on request.)
• For the Okavango Delta wilderness portion of the safari, you will need to pack a smaller bag for the two nights, as there is limited space on the mekoro. Your main bag will remain in Maun.
• Wild Camping: Certain nights on this Botswana Camping safari will be Wild camping - we take all our own water and equipment. Wild camping can be very enjoyable, but it is strictly "leave no trace", so we take all our rubbish away with us. Toilets are of the “dig and bury” variety, and a simple bucket bush shower is provided.
• Some campsites may also have rooms/chalets available. It may be possible to upgrade to these rooms on arrival (own expense, subject to availability).

Botswana Safari Meals

• Three meals per day are provided, except where shown in the itinerary.
• Tour leaders do the shopping and meal planning for each group, obtaining fresh produce wherever possible.
• Sample Meals: Breakfast - cereals or coffee and toast or the occasional fried breakfast, Lunch - cheese, cold meats, salads on bread or rolls, Dinner - braais (local barbecue), potjies (stews), stir-fries, etc.
• Regular plates, cups, and cutlery are provided.
• Group shared meals are subject to available produce, and the variety of ingredients is sometimes limited.
• Beverages: fruit squash served with breakfast, and tea or coffee served with breakfast and dinner. All other beverages are for your own expense. Bottled drinking water is not provided.