Botswana offers the ultimate in exclusive safaris. Although more expensive than its neighbouring countries, this unique and luxurious tourist destination offers superb value for money. The jewel in Botswana’s crown is undoubtedly the Okavango Delta, where you can enjoy wildlife, including lion, leopard, wild dog and cheetah, viewing on foot, from open-topped safari vehicles or from a mokoro dugout canoe. The Okavango is a labyrinth of lagoons, lakes and hidden channels covering an area of over 17,000 square km and the largest inland delta in the world. Trapped in the parched Kalahari sands it is a magnet for the wildlife who depend on the permanent waters of this unique feature.
The safari season in Botswana runs from the beginning of March to the end of November. June is generally warm and very dry although the nights can become cooler.
Mokoring the Delta
The mokoro, a dugout canoe made from a single tree, is the perfect craft for negotiating the shallow waters of the delta with its streamlined shape gently and silently gliding through the narrow channels, propelled along by a single boatman with a long pole. Mokoros have now become synonymous with the area and, today are an almost mandatory experience for anyone visiting the Okavango.
Private Concessions
Beyond the confines of the Moremi Game Reserve, lies the myriad of private concessions that make up the rest of the Okavango Delta. Typically covering some 1,000 square kilometres, these private reserves, with their small, exclusive camps, offer a more intimate game viewing experience. With vast open ranges, unrestricted wildlife movements and fewer crowds, they offer a far more authentic and remote African encounter.
Chobe National Park
Famous for its large herds of elephants, Chobe lies sandwiched between the life giving waters of the Chobe River and the Savuti Channel. The second largest park in Botswana, it boasts some of the greatest concentrations of game found anywhere in Africa, enjoying a staggering collection of wildlife especially around the Savuit Marsh. Predators include lion, hyena, jackal, cheetah and wild dog.
Kalahari Desert
Spreading across nearly 75% of Botswana’s landmass, the Kalahari is a vast semi-desert that has been the traditional heartland of San Bushman culture for some 20,000 years. A matchless wilderness dazzling salt pans and expansive savannahs, isolated baobab tress and sandy deserts, it plays host to a surprising display of wildlife each year when, after the early rains, its landscapes witness the arrival of game in the thousands.
Okavango Delta: Moremi Game Reserve and Private Concessions
The largest inland delta on earth and without doubt Botswana’s most famous natural feature, the Okavango is a remarkable network of lagoons and channels that annually flood across some 15,000 square kilometres of the Kalahari, turning the area into a haven for game, fish and birds. Located in the midst of this expanse of unparalleled beauty, covering 20% of is total area, is the Moremi Game Reserve, the Delta’s only proclaimed reserve, home to a spectacular array of contrasting wildlife. Much of the rest of the region is peppered with private concessions, fed by the waters of the Okavango River that flows down from the uplands on Angola. Between May and October it is life giving torrent that turns the sandy wastes into oases of inland lagoons and palm-fringed islands, attracting Botswana’s incredible diversity of flora and fauna.
Delve in the Okavango Delta, with savings of up to £240. View our full range of Botswana Tours or call our specialists now on 08452 703 862.
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