Desert & Delta Explorer
Day 1&2: Camping in Nxai Pan National Park (Full Board)
Your safari guide will be there to welcome you on arrival at Maun Airport. Your exact departure time from Maun Airport will be advised closer to the time, as this depends on Air Botswana’s flight schedule. We expect to leave Maun and begin our journey mid-day to early afternoon. For those guests who plan on spending a pre-safari night in Maun (highly recommended after a long-haul flight), please arrange a hotel transfer to the airport to meet your guide at the specified time, or make an arrangement for your guide to meet you at the hotel before going to the airport.
We begin our journey to Nxai Pan, stopping for a picnic lunch en-route, and arriving at our pre-errected camp in time for sundowners. Spending our first two nights camping in Nxai Pan, we explore the surrounding wilderness on game drives during the day, including a visit to Baines Baobabs. Nxai Pan
Although Nxai Pan was once part of the great super lake, it is quite different in character to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, as it boasts broad hectares of short sweet grasslands with occasional “islands” of trees. The rich grassland provides good grazing and attracts springbok, impala, gemsbok, giraffe, kubu, hartebeest, zebra, wildebeest, all followed by leopard, lion and hyena, as well as a wide array of birdlife. Baines baobabs, a cluster of seven trees which have been immortalised by many painters and photographers over the years, are located within the park, and make an excellent picnic stop. Following the summer rains (November through March), one of South Africa’s largest wildebeest and zebra migrations can be seen in this area.
Nxai Pan is home to the now famous pride of lions filmed by Tim Liversage in conjunction with National Geographic in the epic drama “ROAR – Lions Of The Kalahari”. Day 3: Fly-camping at Kubu Island in the Makagadikgadi Salt Pans (Full Board)
Following an early morning game drive, we set off on the long road ahead to Kubu Island. Leaving the rolling grasslands behind, the seemingly endless network of sandy tracks will lead us through local farming communities, to the vast salt pans of the Makgadikgadi, and ultimately Kubu Island, were we finally rest for the night.
The enchanting experience of the Makgadikgadi starts as the sun sets. The sun baked earth relaxes as the soft warm light washes over the barren landscape. You will spend the evening gazing up at the seemingly endless and mystical canopy of stars.
“Fly-camping” means to camp with only the bear essentials. In this case, simply your bed and bedroll set out on the pans, with one toilet and shower shared by all. This is the best way to fully appreciate the magic of the Makgadikgadi. However, tents will be available on request. Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
The complex of salt pans found in Botswana’s eastern regions are a striking physical feature, and some of the largest of their kind in the world. The pans are huge, flat expanses of hot, sun-blasted terrain, fringed by vegetated islands and peninsulas, once part of a great super lake which covered much of northern Botswana. Kubu (meaning rocky outcrop in Setswana) is the most famous of all the rock islands in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. This desolate landscape offers nothing but sand and sky, and yet it’s eerily silent fossil beaches, stunted red baobab trees and mysterious stone walls, leave an impression on every visitor. Day 4: Lodge accommodation at Meno-A-Kwena Tented Camp on the Boteti (Full Board)
Leaving Kubu Island, we pass numerous cattleposts and traditional villages on route to Meno-A-Kwena. The journey takes you from the salt pans and rolling grasslands of the Makgadikgadi, to the tree lined banks of the now dry Boteti River.
The camp is situated on a cliff overlooking the dry Boteti river bed, bordering the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. Wildlife concentrate around the waterhole in front of camp, and the cliff provides a great viewing point over the surrounding area. The camp offers fully serviced accommodation in min-meru style tents, each with it’s own bucket shower and flushing toilet, with a central dinning and sitting area under canvass. It’s a ideal place to relax on your fist night on safari, and prepare for the journey ahead. Day 5&6: Camping in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (Full Board)
Following breakfast, we continue our journey through cattle country and along the controversial Kuke fence, to Deception Valley in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, arriving in time for lunch. Spending the following two nights camping in the reserve, we explore the surrounding wilderness on game drives. Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The deserts beauty is uncompromisingly harsh, but utterly breathtaking and has captured the imagination of explorers for centuries. The Kalahari is characterized by vast open spaces, endless horizons, rolling golden grasslands and flaming sunrises and sunsets. The Kalahari has come to represent the vastness of Africa’s outback, with all the romantic undertones of nomadic hunter-gatheres, lions and golden grasslands gently waiving under a canopy of endless blue sky.
Within this remote expansive landscape there is a rich diversity of life. The Central Kalahari is home to numerous unique dessert dwelling species, each with their own remarkable adaptation to survive the parched dryness. The summer rain transforms this desolate landscape into a thriving paradise, teeming with thousands of springbok, gemsbok and wildebeest, closely followed by hungry predators. Day 7: Lodge accommodation at Deception Valley Lodge (Full Board)
Following a early morning game drive, we set off to Deception Valley Lodge situated on the northern boundary adjoining the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, arriving in time for lunch.
Guests are accommodated in fully serviced, luxury thatched chalets, each with an en-suite bathroom. The lodge offers a unique experience, and that is the opportunity to take to the bush on foot with bushman guides and awaken your senses by closely observing, smelling and tasting the African bush. Your guide will enlighten you about the hunting and survival skills, culture and crafts of one of Africa’s oldest cultures.
Later that evening, we will have the opportunity to explore after dark on a night game drive, which promises to reveal a fascinating world of nocturnal species rarely encountered during the day. Day 8&9: Camping in Xakanaxa within the Moremi Game Reserve (Full Board)
Leaving this parched landscape behind, we travel further north, passing through the dusty village of Maun, en route to the contrasting Moremi Game Reserve. This is by far the longest transit day and guests should be prepared to spend the full day on the road.
We will spend the first two nights camping in an exclusive wilderness campsite in the Xakanaxa region of the reserve, exploring this oasis on game drives. Day 10,11&12:
Camping in the Khwai community area bordering Moremi Game Reserve (Full Board)
Following an early morning game drive en-route to the Xakanaxa boat station, you will embark on a water world adventure, exploring the endless network of crystal clear waterways and secret lagoons by motor boat, and the surrounding palm fringed islands on foot. After a full day on the water, we return to dry land and head north-east, en route to the Khwai community area.
The Khwai rivers forms a boundary between the reserve and the community area. We spend our last three nights camping at an exclusive campsite in the community area, exploring the Khwai floodplain's on game drives both during the day and at night.
Exploring after dark with spotlights offers you an opportunity to experience some of the nocturnal animals that are rarely encountered during the day. We will also have the opportunity to explore the surrounding wilderness on foot and enjoy an up close and personal encounter with Botswana’s flora and fauna. It is important to note that night drives and guided walks are not permitted within the national parks and reserves. These activities are conducted outside the boundaries of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Khwai community area. Okavango Delta & Moremi Game Reserve
The Okavango is a unique ecosystem, an inland delta situated in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the world – the Kalahari basin. This wetland lies like an oasis in an otherwise inhospitable landscape. Were land and delta meet, a mosaic of pans, grasslands, forests and lagoons provide an extremely rich and diverse habitat where a multitude of animals and birds flourish. This wetland is one of the natural wonders of the world, and is a fragile ecosystem that remains one of the world’s least spoilt and most beautiful wildernesses, and is home to various unique species e.g. sitatunga antelope and red lechwe.
Moremi Game Reserve is situated in the eastern corner of the Okavango Delta. Moremi is one of the most beautiful and varied reserves found on the African continent with huge concentrations of wildlife and incredible scenery. The reserve consists of both swamped areas e.g. Xakanaxa, and dry-land areas e.g. Khwai. Day 13: Safari ends in Maun (B&L)
Following an early morning game drive, we return to Maun. On arrival in Maun at approximately 13:00, your guide will drop you off at Maun airport for your onward flight, or for pick-up by your hotel, should you be spending a night in Maun.
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