Botswana Flying Safari: From the Kalahari Desert to the Okavango Delta

Dinner / Kalahari Plains Camp - Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Animals are more shy in the Kalahari than in many of Africa’s more visited game parks, and we must take care not to disturb them. The Kalahari is a harsh environment, in which the expenditure of undue energy can be the margin for an individual animal’s survival.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Kalahari Plains Camp - Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Banoka Bush Camp is built along the tree line overlooking a lagoon; the whole camp is raised off the ground to take in the view. Accommodation is in ten en-suite tented rooms complete with private verandas. The main area consists of a bar, lounge, dining area and plunge pool and deck. There is an open campfire area to relax in and discuss the day's adventures. The camp is 100% solar powered.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Banoka Bush Camp - Botswana

To explore the Delta, we board eco-friendly fiberglass canoes, modeled on the traditional African wooden canoes called mekoro (we don’t have to cut down a huge old tree to make them), and paddle into its maze of meandering waterways. (Mokoro is the singular form, mekoro, the plural.) It’s a unique way to travel—our expert boatmen pole us through narrow channels that cut through mats of floating papyrus, then paddle us across lovely deep-water lagoons. We also enjoy wildlife viewing by vehicle and motor boat as we explore the larger Delta islands—an opportunity to see elephant, lechwe, sitatunga, or the rare and beautiful fishing owl. We explore our special private concession area—far from the normal tourist routes—and overnight at a special wilderness “water activity” camp on a Delta Island. We’ll enjoy the isolation and silence of the Delta night, punctuated only by the calls of the fishing owl and the comic snorting of hippos.

We will stay at Xigera Camp on the extreme western boundary of the Moremi Game Reserve in the heart of the Delta. Xigera is a paradise for avid bird-watchers and also boasts the highest density of the rare and elusive sitatunga found anywhere in the Delta. An interesting feature of Xigera is a wooden footbridge connecting Xigera Island with the one next to it, and you may be treated to close-up views of lion, hyena, or leopard sneaking across the bridge as they move between the islands. Luxuriously furnished tented rooms have en suite facilities and an outdoor shower. Along with the main dining and lounge areas, they are set on raised wooden platforms that allow great views over the floodplains. There is also a small plunge pool.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Xigera Camp - Okavango Delta, Botswana

Other wildlife is abundant here, too, either along the Savuti Marsh or in the wooded hills behind: leopard, kudu, giraffe, zebra, and warthog are all resident species. We’ll search for reclusive predators such as the African wildcat, civet, and the beautiful long-legged serval cat. Another specialty is the beautifully marked Chobe bushbuck. Bird life on the Linyanti marsh is always spectacular: storks catch thermal currents, herons, egrets, waterfowl, hornbills, kingfishers, and lilac-breasted rollers are always in abundance; seasonally, we can find colonies of gaily-colored white-fronted and carmine bee-eaters. In addition to superb game viewing aboard our safari vehicle, we may be able to go on game drives at night in search of nocturnal animals. Lions and leopards are most active at night, so we will have a good chance to observe the big cats on the prowl (water levels permitting). Our camp features large walk-in tented rooms with attached bathrooms, a thatched dining area, bar, and plunge pool. The camp is built on raised boardwalks under a shady grove of mangosteen trees, overlooking a large hippo-filled lagoon on the Linyanti waterways.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Duma Tau Camp - Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, Botswana

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Toka Leya Camp - Livingston, Zambia

Breakfast