Botswana "Glamping" - Northern Highlights

Letaka Safaris Mobile Camp is situated within the Moremi Game Reserve. We, generally, use the Xakanaxa and Third Bridge areas of Moremi Game Reserve.

Your camp chef, camp hand and waiter shall be available at all times to look after your every need, from setting up and breaking down camp, to cooking, cleaning and table service.

Each tent has its own en-suite bathroom, with toilet and open-air bucket shower, order your water, hot, medium or cold for those hot afternoons.

Sleep on solid-based beds in your twin, single or family configured tents.

Your camp chef will cook all meals, snacks and desserts, in camp, and on a fire - no gas involved - a pretty impressive sight to behold and experience. Your waiter shall be on hand to pass you a refreshing beverage whilst you watch the exciting 'bush television,' the campfire, and simply be present in every moment long into the night.

Moremi Game Reserve 

After your arrival at Maun International Airport, you will be met by Mack Air for your charter flight at approximately 14h00 to the Xakanaxa airstrip in Moremi Game Reserve where you will be met by your guide.

Our first three nights are spent in the Xakanaxa region where we explore the surrounding wilderness on morning and afternoon game drive excursions.

Wildlife: From the air only the larger animals are easily seen. These include large breeding herds of African elephant that live in the mopane scrub. On the open plains large herds of buffalo and lechwe can be seen and in the waterways, pods of hippopotamus are a common sight. Once you land in Xakanaxa and board your land cruiser, the smaller game animals can be found.

Birding: A good day for raptors with African Hawk-Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Shikra, Little Sparrowhawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Tawny Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle* and Steppe Eagle* all inhabiting the mopane and adjacent woodlands. Other birds common along this route includes most of Botswana’s hornbills including Red-billed, Southern Yellow-billed, African Grey, Bradfield’s and the Southern Ground Hornbills. A large number of brood-parasites may also be seen. Diederick Cuckoo*, Levaillant’s Cuckoo*, Jacobin Cuckoo*, Great-spotted Cuckoo*, African Cuckoo*, Common Cuckoo*, Shaft-tailed Whydah, Pintailed Whydah, Eastern Paradise Whydah, Greater Honeyguide, and Lesser Honeyguide.

Letaka Safaris Mobile Camping is situated in Khwai. Your camp chef, camp hand and waiter shall be available at all times to look after your every need, from setting up and breaking down camp, to cooking, cleaning and table service.

Each tent has it's own en-suite bathroom, with toilet and open-air bucket shower, order your water, hot, medium or cold for those hot afternoons. Sleep on solid-based beds in your twin, single or family configured tents.

Your camp chef will cook all meals, snacks and desserts, in camp, and on a fire - no gas involved - a pretty impressive sight to behold and experience. Your waiter shall be on hand to pass you a refreshing beverage whilst you watch the unscripted 'bush television,' the campfire, before and after dinner.

The Khwai Concession

The Khwai River forms a boundary between the reserve and the community area. We spend the following two nights camping at an exclusive campsite in the community area, exploring the Khwai floodplains 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 (please note that this activity is seasonal based on rains and grass height, your guide will determine the safety of walking in Khwai) and mokoro 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.

Habitat: We spend our time between the dry-land habitats of the lead-wood and camel-thorn woodlands and savannahs and the riverside and marshy back-waters of the Khwai. Time permitting we may visit the lagoons and waterways of Xakanaxa where the largest heronry in southern Africa exists.

Wildlife: The Khwai region boasts excellent populations of both bull elephant as well as breeding herds. Lion, leopard, serval and African wildcat are common predators of the region with wild dog and cheetah being less common. Buffalo use this area seasonally with large herds moving in during the summer rains. The swampy areas in the west are home to red lechwe. Other ungulates include tsesebe, blue wildebeest, giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope and impala.

Birding: Truly one of Botswana birding Mecca’s. The western reaches are prime habitat for the uncommon Rosythroated Longclaw. The entire length of the river is hunting domain for the Bat-Hawk. Other interesting raptors here are Cuckoo Hawk (rare), Long-crested Eagle and Black Sparrowhawk. More commonly Tawny Eagle, Steppe Eagle*, Lesser-spotted Eagle*, Martial Eagle, Bateleur and African Hawk-Eagle. The waterways host Africa Rail, African Crake*, Greater Painted Snipe, Allen’s Gallinule*, Lesser Jacana and Lesser Moorhen*.

Letaka Safaris Mobile Camp - Savuti in Chobe National Park

Your camp chef, camp hand and waiter shall be available at all times to look after your every need, from setting up and breaking down camp, to cooking, cleaning and table service.

Each tent has its own en-suite bathroom, with toilet and open-air bucket shower, order your water, hot, medium or cold for those hot afternoons.

Sleep on solid-based beds in your twin, single or family configured tents.

Your camp chef is will cook all meals, snacks and desserts, in camp, and on a fire, no gas involved. A pretty impressive sight to behold and experience. Your waiter shall be on hand to pass you a refreshing beverage whilst you watch the excited bush television, the campfire, before and after dinner.

Savuti in Chobe National Park

We head further north en-route to Central Chobe region, exploring the desert-like landscape on game drives.

Habitat: A fascinating days drive looking at some of the evidence of the Paleo-Lake Makgadikgadi that dried up some ten thousand years ago. The most challenging part of the trip is crossing the Magwikwe Sand-ridge that formed the shoreline for this massive inland sea. The winding track through this deep sand makes for interesting travel in the early summer! The old lake bed is now the Mababe Depression. The dense clay floor of the depression result in high protein feed for wildlife and the area teams with game after the rains. During the rainy season the depression is impassable due to the “cotton soil” and alternative routes must be used.

Wildlife: A day when anything could happen. The range of habitat that is covered encompasses most of the habitat types of northern Botswana. We pass through excellent lion country and some of the best cheetah country that our safari will cover. Elephant occur throughout the drive but are more common at the start and end of the drive where permanent surface water can be found.

Birding: The Mababe Depression is a birder’s paradise. The nutritious grasses that grow on the rich soils provide excellent seed for an impressive array of estrillids and viduids. Among these are the magnificently coloured Violet-eared Waxbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Village Indigobird, Shaft-tailed Whydah and Paradise Whydah. These in turn provide a good food source for small raptors such as the Little Sparrowhawk, Shikra, Gabar Goshawk, Red-necked Falcon and Lanner Falcon. It is not only the small birds that feed on the grass seeds, but rodents too. There are annual outbreaks of huge numbers of rats and mice. As a result, huge numbers of Secretary Bird, Tawny Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Steppe Eagle*, Lesser-spotted Eagle*, Wahlberg’s Eagle* and Steppe Buzzard* can be found.