Extended Botswana Classic Safari

You arrive in Maun and overnight at The Waterfront - highly recommended is a 45 minute Game Flight in a Helicopter at sunset, over the Okavango Delta, from Maun just enquire!!

We collect you from The Waterfront at 9am and we drive around 4½ hrs into Moremi Game Reserve for 3 nights, spent at a favourite exclusive Moremi site at Bodumatau. We will have a simple tasty lunch probably at the entrance gate, and by the time we have game driven to Bodumatau our back up team should have made good progress with our camp and you will be able to settle into your spacious Sahara Tent, before our evening game drive here.

Two idyllic days in Moremi which I think could have been the Garden of Eden!! Our site is so well situated that game drives may not even be necessary we can see a lot from camp.

Moremi is the only Game Reserve inside the Okavango Delta where land and water meet to create an exceedingly picturesque preserve of floodplains.

Either seasonally or perennially wet, waterways, lagoons, pools, pans, grasslands and riparian, riverine and mophane forests. This makes for spectacular game viewing and bird watching. All naturally occurring herbivore and carnivore species in the region occur here, and over 400 species of birds. Black and White Rhino have been re-introduced, now making the reserve a ‘Big Five’ destination.

There are several different habitats in Moremi; ideally we stay for at least 4 nights to experience them all, especially the scenic lagoons that are found deeper within the park. There is the opportunity to take a boat to visit the incredible island heronry at Godikwe. It is full of breeding herons and storks from May to October.

The beautiful channels and lagoons encountered along the way in the boat make this worthwhile to anyone.

Depending on water levels in this part of the Okavango Delta we will go to either 3rd Bridge or preferably Xakanaxa, for a 3 hour boat cruise on the lagoons and waterways in the inner Delta where cars cannot reach, a rare chance to see the elusive Sitatunga.

After our early morning game drive we will drive through Moremi to the Khwai River probably having a picnic lunch at Hippo Pools before finding our camp near Khwai, in Moremi.

Khwai concession is a community-run private reserve adjacent to the Moremi Game Reserve, divided from it by the Khwai River.

The river attracts high concentrations of thirsty wildlife. Riverine forest lines the wide water lily and papyrus covered floodplains around the Khwai River. A myriad of colourful birdlife is found in this watery habitat that is a breeding area for many species.

Away from the river and plains is thick mophane woodland dotted with pans that attract many animal species and where we often spot wild dog.

The Khwai Community is running this area and all fees paid here go into the local Community providing schools, scholarships, water pumps and more. There are two exclusive operator sites, both beautifully situated under large Leadwood tree’s and a third site near the Khwai River. All are well spaced from each other and under the shade of immense Acacia Trees.

The Khwai community trust allow night drives (not allowed in any National Park in Botswana) and we enjoyed our spot lit drives back to camp after sunset. The game viewing is superb, as good as in Moremi, and in addition to the normal game drives we are allowed out of the vehicle (responsibly of course) and can do limited walking.

Two adventure filled days at Khwai, arguably our best Leopard and Wild Dogs area, including a 2 ½ hr mekoro trip with locally raised Polers. Very tranquil and great for water lilies, frogs and birds, hippo’s are avoided!

We have a last Khwai River Game drive, before leaving Moremi and game driving and then meeting our our back up team at Mababe Gate where we will have a snack such as a bacon and egg toasted sandwich, and driving in tandem with our crew to Savuti through Chobe National Park, staying at an exclusive BOGA site SV1 next to the Channel. Savuti is Botswana’s Premium Wildlife Destination, and we have 3 nights here.

For a quarter of a century, the Savuti Channel was dry, creating wide-open grassland, home to both quantities and varieties of wildlife and a legendary predator’s enclave. In 2008, the waters returned, and abundant game has congregated and adapted in its wake.

The Savute Channel once more became a deep, clear waterway harbouring hippo and aquatic life with myriad varieties of waterbirds. Wildlife, from plains game to a plethora of predators had to adapt to a new source of water and all the opportunities and menaces it brought with it.

Then in 2015 the Channel dried up again and it became a harsh place to visit in the dry season –there are only 2 pumped waterholes in a vast area. There is a site where ancient San rock art can be seen after a small but steep climb. It is humbling to see and puzzle over and causes one to marvel at the people who previously inhabited the area. A beautiful island of 13 Baobab trees is not so well known but makes a wonderful excursion and is a wonderful site to photograph.

We will fill our water tank at Savuti, beautiful crystal clear drinking water from under the ground!!

After a last early game drive we again drive in tandem with our back up vehicle, from Savuti, through Chobe exiting the park at Doha Gate. We will then drive through the Chobe Forest enclave and will be happy when we reach the tar road at Kachikau where you can shop for curio’s or buy a coke! and use their facilities. We pick up our ice order here. We fill our fuel after lunch which is eaten at a Baobab Picnic Spot after Mabele Village and split ways with our crew at Ngoma Gate where we again check into Chobe NP. We will game drive via Simwanza Damsto the river and draining floodplain to our exclusive site under majestic evergreen Natal Mahogany Tree’s close to the Namibian Border. 

We have 2 more nights here and will, depending on game movements and water levels, explore the river and floodplain up to Ihaha deep within the park. We will have a 3 hour boat cruise from Ihaha late afternoon returning to our camp after sunset.

We have a last early morning game drive followed by a delicious Full English Breakfast. You cay goodbye to our beloved staff before taking you via Serondera, to Kazungula Border where you will be met by Wild Horizons, and you transfer to Victoria Falls for your last two nights staying at 528 Victoria Falls.

One of the world's largest waterfalls at over 1,700m wide, Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and a habitat for several unique species of plants and animals.