Botswana is blessed with some of Africa’s most picturesque subtropical wilderness reserves and an array of African wildlife.
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Katie Schnidman
Providence, RI, USA
Botswana is one of the few remaining safari destinations that still provides a classic sense of the adventure of safari. The expansive game reserves and preserves of Botswana, while offering wildlife as diverse and abundant as that found anywhere else, are still largely undeveloped and untamed.
The best wildlife viewing conditions in Botswana occur in the dry, mild winter months of June-August. The summer rainy season (November – March) can be uncomfortably hot and wet but visitors will be rewarded with an abundance of birds, newborn antelopes and lush green landscapes.
Highlights of Botswana
Okavango Delta
The clear waters and small islands of the extraordinarily beautiful Okavango Delta (the world’s largest inland delta) are home to an astounding variety of animals, birds and plants.
Chobe National Park
Botswana’s best big game reserve and conveniently close to Victoria Falls, the Chobe National Park is renowned for its large herds of elephant and buffalo, with wildlife viewing by motorboat a popular activity.
Tuli Block
Located in Botswana’s extreme east, the wildlife-rich Tuli Block has river-hugging forests, savannah plains, open marshlands and rocky outcrops.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is one of Africa’s most scenic and unspoiled wilderness areas, the diverse terrain allowing for an abundance of wildlife and desert plants.
Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
In the rainy season, the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park sees a spectacular concentration of waterbirds – especially flamingos – while the dry season sees dramatic migrations of zebra and wildebeest.
Recommended accommodation in Botswana
Vumbura Plains Camp
Vumbura Plains Camp is a luxury tented camp in a private concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve, in the extreme north of the Okavango Delta. Open 4×4 Land Rovers and walks enable wildlife viewing in the savannah and woodland areas, while the waterways can be explored by mokoro (dugout canoe) and motorboat.
The 14 luxury tented rooms are raised off the ground on wooden platforms with walkways connecting them to the main living areas. Each room has a large, very comfortable bedroom, a lounge and en-suite facilities with a shower, bath, a flush toilet and an outdoor shower under the stars, as well as a plunge pool. The main dining, lounge and pub area are also raised off the ground and are tucked beneath a canopy of cool, shady, indigenous trees with a wonderful vista across the floodplains.
Chobe Chilwero Lodge
Chobe Chilwero Lodge is one of the most enchanting places on earth. With gorgeous, breathtaking vistas as a backdrop, you’ll come face-to-face with the abundant creatures of the bush and some of the most spectacular sunsets Mother Nature bestows. You will enjoy creature comforts – elegantly appointed rooms, silver service, gourmet meals and fine wines. Relax in one of the 15 luxurious, air-conditioned thatched cottages, with en suite, sunken handcrafted baths, indoor and outdoor showers, private gardens and terraces overlooking the magnificent Chobe River. There is also a library, curio shop and spa.
The nearby Chobe National Park covers a diversity of landscapes ranging from riverine forests to floodplains and periodic marshlands. Search for wildlife in customised open 4 x 4 wildlife viewing vehicles and especially adapted safari motorboats. Sundowner cruises are particularly spectacular for sunsets on the Chobe River and fishing excursions are also available.
Savuti Camp
Savuti Camp is situated in the Linyanti Concession along the Savuti Channel in northern Botswana. Between 1980 and 2008 the Channel stopped flowing and became an unusual and productive ribbon of grassland that served as a corridor and feeding ground in the surrounding woodland for a wide variety of herbivores. In 2008, the Channel once more became a deep, clear waterway harbouring hippo and aquatic life with myriad varieties of waterbirds.
Savuti Camp is a comfortable camp providing accommodation in 7 walk-in tented rooms with en suite facilities. Each room is raised off the ground on wooden decks. The camp has a thatched dining area, bar and plunge pool, all on raised wooden decks. Activities include game drives in open 4×4 Land Rovers, hides (including a woodpile hide located at the waterhole in front of the camp), night drives and walks with an armed guide. Wildlife in the area includes all of Botswana’s big animals and is one of the best areas in the country to see predators.
