Best of Botswana Safari

Arrive in Livingstone, Zambia, where you are met and transferred to Tongabezi Lodge for two nights to relax, recover from your journey and begin your African safari vacation. The completion of the Victoria Falls bridge gave birth to the city of Livingstone in 1905. The town prospered as the gateway to trade between the north and south sides of the Zambezi. A number of colonial buildings were erected, which still stand today, creating an atmospheric welcome to travelers using Livingstone as an entry point to explore this beautiful region.

Be sure to experience the Victoria Falls on foot or by air, catch up on the local history at the Livingstone Museum as well as the Railway Museum, shop at the extensive craft markets, get active with white water rafting, sport fishing and kayaking, or relax and enjoy unforgettable African sunsets on a river cruise. The following activities are all included in the price of your safari holiday in Zambia although please note that some activities have age restrictions: canoeing on the Zambezi, island Lunch, sanpan floating candlelit dinner, sunrise and sunset boating, introduction to Simonga Village, Museum Tour (entry fee payable directly), fishing and a visit to the Maramba Market.

Depart Livingstone by light aircraft for the short hop to Kasane, Botswana for customs before your flight over Chobe National Park to the Selinda Spillway and the renowned Zarafa Camp. There are few places in northern Botswana as dynamic as the Selinda Reserve, which is centred on the famous Selinda Spillway, which weaves its way east, linking the far reaches of the Okavango Delta in the south with the Linyanti water systems in the east. The Selinda Reserve is west (upstream) from Savute Channel and Chobe, so it has all the advantages of both of those famous areas but with the tremendous advantage of exclusivity. It is a truly spectacular and unique landscape.

Each tent comes with its own Canon professional camera including a Canon 40D body and 35-135 mm and 100-400mm zoom lenses for use during a stay. Photos are then burned to a DVD as a souvenir at the end of your stay. The spirit behind Zarafa Camp comes from safari legends Colin Bell, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, who together designed Zarafa to incorporate all the components of what they envisioned as the ‘perfect’ safari camp. It embodies authenticity, luxury and simplicity to create a camp that as been clearly considered, and thoughtfully planned to be as environmentally sensitive as possible. It is the culmination of years of safari experience.

On safari it is possible to see a tremendous diversity of species, from resident prides of lion to huge herds of elephant and packs of wild dog. It is also home to the ungulates, from the rare roan to the ubiquitous zebra. Nocturnal wildlife is prolific as well, and there are frequent sightings of aardwolf and civet. Selinda Reserve is known for a few ‘specials’. African wild dogs have denned near camp for the last three seasons. Given this species plight, it is a true blessing to have fairly common sightings. The Selinda lions, affectionately known as the ‘surfing lions’ for their penchant for hunting hippo, are legendary. Their skill at hunting such large prey under trying conditions is unrivaled. The open plains dotted throughout the Reserve provide ideal habitat for cheetah, and the camp recently added two rescued young males to the population from a rescue relocation operation . Botswana is renowned for its leopard sightings, and Zarafa is no exception. A few residents often come through camp on their nightly prowls. Exploration of this vast area defies imagination – by foot, 4×4 open game drive vehicle, and pontoon boat.

Continue your safari adventure as you fly from Selinda to the extreme north of the Okavango Delta to the Duba Plains Concession. A matrix of palm-dotted islands, flood plains and woodland, the 77,000 acre private concession typifies the region’s unique landscape. Many consider Duba Plains to be the Okavango’s Masai Mara because of the sheer volume of wildlife. This is the place that owners, and National Geographic filmmakers, conservationists and explorers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert chose for their home base. Great Plains Conservation is the only operator on the concession, thereby offering guests the ultimate opportunity for private wildlife sightings.

The annually flooded grasslands of the Okavango Delta surrounding Duma Plains Camp are locally referred to as ‘melapo’ and offer seasonal viewing of elephant, giraffe, impala, sable antelope, kudu, zebra, common waterbuck and reedbuck, tsessebe, wildebeest, red lechwe and Cape buffalo. Encounters with hippo and crocodile are common in the waterways. Predators include the African Wild Dog, several resident prides of lion, leopard, cheetah and the African wildcat. Duma Plains Camp offers both land and water activities, principally nature viewing in varied habitats in open 4×4 vehicles, nature walks, mokoro trips and boat excursions.

Leaving the lush Delta behind, head south to your final destination, San Camp, in an entirely new eco-system. A relic of one of the world’s largest super-lakes, the Makgadikgadi Pans dried up thousands of years ago as a result of the continued shifting of the earth’s crust. Venturing far into the center of the Makgadikgadi, on 4wd quad bikes, you are able to explore remote archaeological sites, periodically discovering never before documented fossil beds of extinct giant zebra and hippo. The fact that you can travel across the pans at great speed and still arrive nowhere only underlines the pans immensity. There is nothing out here. Absolutely nothing.

During the wet season the landscape transforms. Clouds of flamingo and other migratory birds descend from the heavens to decorate the watery grasslands. Herds of zebra and wildebeest materialize, drawn by the lush grass, and for several months, the desert is teeming with game and predators. A safari to Jack’s Camp is also a complete desert experience focusing on species unique to the area such as aardvark, gemsbuck and springbuck. It is the only place where guests are virtually guaranteed to see the rare and elusive brown hyena and be able to walk through the Kalahari with a gang of habituated but, wild meerkats! Three nights Jack’s Camp. All meals and local drinks.

On day 11, sadly it’s time to depart. Bid your African safari adventure a bitter sweet goodbye and are transferred to the Maun International Airport to meet your departing flights. Breakfast.