While on safari in Botswana, the story always comes back to water. On this classic Botswana safari, you’ll begin by exploring the Savute Channel with its fascinating ebb and flow independent of good rainy seasons and flood levels elsewhere – a mystery that has intrigued geologists and other researchers for many years. Here, the annual zebra migration is closely followed by many lion prides.
Your journey progresses onwards to the Okavango Delta, home to the greatest concentration of big game in the country. Explore the delta by vehicle or by boat during the day, and sleep under the canopy of your luxury tent (or opt for a romantic started under the stars) by night. Conclude your Botswana adventure at Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge. Here, enjoy a front row seat to the most exceptional wildlife sightings (both day and night) combined with some of the most innovative architectural design in Southern Africa.
Highlights
- Explore the Okavango Delta on game drives
- Watch herds of elephants coming down for a drink
- Soak in the stars as you dine in an open air boma
- See San rock art
- Glide down the Okavango Delta channels by mokoro (canoe)
- Take bush walks with a ranger to explore the wilderness on foot
- Track predators and visit conservation projects
Itinerary
DAY 1 – CLASSIC BOTSWANA SAFARI
Chobe National Park Game Drive
Welcome to Africa! Transfer from Maun to Chobe National Park, famous for impressive herds of elephant and spectacular, abundant wildlife. Stretching from the Linyanti River all the way to Savute Marsh, the winding waterways of the Savute Channel have pumped life into the western section of Chobe National Park for many thousands of years. After lunch, set out on an early evening game drive.
DAY 2
Game Drive & Zebra Migration
Today the Botswana safari continues. After an early cup of coffee, set out with a guide to explore Chobe National Park by game vehicle. This morning, visit the Savute Marsh where you can fully appreciate the immense channel and learn about the ecological mystery around the water levels here. Return to camp for lunch and some relaxation, before departing on an afternoon game drive, catching the zebra migration if the timing is right. Savute boasts the second-largest summer zebra migration in Africa. Its timing is determined by the rains, but usually occurs between November and December and again between February and April, when the zebras move from the rivers in the north to the lush grasslands and full waterholes in the southwest. Return to camp for dinner and your overnight stay.
DAY 3
San Rock Art
Today, visit some of the most well preserved ancient rock art in Africa. Drive to Gubatsa Hills, a small, hilly outcrop which forms a prominent landmark in the otherwise flat landscape. Here your guide will educate you on the history and meaning of these paintings. Return to camp for dinner and a restful night.
DAY 4
Kwhai Private Reserve Game Drive
After breakfast, transfer to the Kwhai Private Reserve. Arrive at Sable Alley Camp in time for lunch, and enjoy the private concession area that plays host to a breathtaking mosaic of open floodplains, waterways, marshlands, dry acacia and mopane woodland, riverine forest and open grasslands. The area is famed for its incredible numbers and diversity of wildlife, in particular predators. After lunch, set out for an extended game drive, ending with sundowners before heading back to camp for dinner and your first night at Sable Alley Camp.
DAY 5
Bush Breakfast & Leopard Tracking
This morning, set out from camp on a morning game drive. End the morning adventure with a hot breakfast served out in the bush. After a restful afternoon in camp, join a specialist guide to track leopard. Learn more about these elusive creatures as you follow their tracks. Return to camp for dinner and another serene overnight stay.
DAY 6
Khwai Private Reserve (KPR) Ranger Tracking Experience
Today get ready for an amazing experience; a morning game drive followed by an afternoon experience where you will spend time tracking predators, capturing data, patrolling and visiting conservation projects. After observing these magnificent creatures, enjoy a sundowner in the bush before heading back to camp.
DAY 7
Okavango Delta Day & Night Game Drive
This morning, fly to Sandibe Safari Lodge, where your guide will pick you up at the airstrip and take you on an impromptu game drive on the way to camp. Situated on a beautiful island in a private concession in the northern reaches of the Okavango Delta, Sandibe offers superb game viewing right from camp. After high tea, head out for an early evening game drive, stopping for sundowner cocktails. Take a moment to appreciate the pristine wilderness as the sky turns fire orange before nightfall. Return to camp in the dark, using a spotlight to see nocturnal creatures as they emerge for the evening.
DAY 8
Okavango Delta Game Drive, Mokoro Safari & Bush Walk
This morning, head out for an early morning game drive. After lunch and an afternoon rest, hop into a traditional wooden canoe, called a mokoro, for a Botswana safari experience that only the Okavango can offer. As you glide silently through the waterways, watch elephant drink and birds fishing for their dinner, and perhaps even catch a glimpse of a predator on the banks. After high tea, experience the thrill of walking in the bush. Accompanied by an armed guide, set off from camp, learning more about tracking the wildlife and big game that surrounds camp. Return to camp for dinner and a night serenaded by the nocturnal sounds of the Okavango.
DAY 9
Scenic Helicopter Flight over the Delta
This morning, enjoy a scenic helicopter flight over the Delta’s patchwork landscape of islands, plains and lagoons. With many of the Delta’s most remote areas not reachable in any other way, an aerial perspective is the ideal method to view the vast Delta and its meandering labyrinth of crystal-clear channels. The incredible diversity and amount of wildlife encountered in the Delta becomes clear from above. Soar over pods of hippo sleeping the day away in the depths of a lagoon, watch herds of elephants slowly amble along open grasslands or marvel at the fleet movements of red lechwe antelope as they leap through fringes of papyrus reeds in the shallows. Return to camp for a relaxing last evening in the bush.
DAY 10
Safari in Botswana – Travel home
Today you will enjoy a last morning game drive beforeri transferring to the local airstrip for your shared charter flight to Maun. On arrival in Maun, you will connect with your flight to Johannesburg, where you will complete your Botswana safari with us and connect with your flight home.