Best of Beautiful Botswana

Arrive Maun and transfer to Nxai Pan or Tau Pan by air.

Both are in the drier areas of the Kalahari after the waters of the Okavango disappear under the sands. For this reason they make a fascinating environmental contrast.

Nxai Pan – Kalahari Salt Flats

Nxai Pan is located on the western edge of the fossil pan from which the camp takes The biggest draw to Nxai Pan National Park are the zebras that migrate by the thousands to the area during the rainy season – the second largest and longest land animal migration in Africa (but hardly known about!)

At Nxai there is also plentiful game with large numbers of springbok and elephant. Giraffe and oryx are also often seen in the area in large herds with up to 30 in a group. These large herds attract many predators – lion, cheetah, jackal, spotted and brown hyena and sometimes the endangered wild dog and the secretive leopard.

Tau Pan – Kalahari Central Reserve

At Tau Pan in the Kalahari Central Reserve you will stay on an elevated ridge of an ancient sand dune, an unusual experience in a land as flat as Botswana, and overlooks the famous Tau Pan – recognised for its stark beauty and remoteness.

Activities offered at Tau Pan are game drives, day trips to the well-known Deception Valley, Sunday, Piper and Passarge Pans, star gazing, and nature walks with Bushman trackers.

‘Tau’ which means lion in Setswana, is so named for the pride of iconic black-maned Kalahari lions who frequent the camp (with a particular preference for the family tent!).

Species that can be found in the Kalahari include oryx, the desert-adapted springbok, jackals, the rare brown hyena, red-crested Korhaan and herds of wildebeest.

Nxai Pan and Tau Pan Camps

with their desert adapted wildlife and bushmen trackers make a great start to any Botswana safari at any time of year as they allow you see desert species not easily visible further north.

Transfer by light air into the heart of the Okavango Delta – it is fascinating to view the dramatic change from the desert environment to the greenery of the Delta due to the life-giving waters.

Kwara Reserve (bordering Moremi Reserve)

Stay at a ‘wet’ camp in the private Kwara reserve with access to permanent water, seasonal floodplains and dry bush wilderness. The Kwara Reserve shares a 30km water boundary with the famous Moremi Game Reserve giving it the best of both worlds since you can do walking and night-time activities in the private reserve, but not in Moremi. It’s unique location boasts both permanent water and seasonal flood plains as well as extensive dry bush wilderness. Favoured by labyrinths of permanent water channels and secret islands this area offers the perfect delta experience, and is considered to be amongst the best in Botswana for game viewing and activities.

Due to the fact that you are in a private concession you will not only be able to do game drives and the classic mokoro excursions and boat cruises, but also walking safaris with experienced trackers and night drives to increase your chances of seeing predators which often hunt at night.

Splash Camp

A luxury camp in the heart of the wildlife action, with it’s own private concession. Ideal for those who are less active – wildlife regularly visits the camp waterhole, so you can watch from your veranda.

For families and groups there is also a private house for a more private and intimate experience

Favoured by labyrinths of permanent water channels and secret islands, this area offers the perfect delta experience, and is considered to be among the best in Botswana for game viewing and activities.

Three nights here is the minimum you should stay to fully appreciate the variety of activities and wildlife habitats.

Alternative Camps:

Rra Dinare & Mma Dinare

Both Rra and Mma Dinare Camps are located in private concessions (allowing for night drives and off road encounters) bordering the Moremi Game reserve, overlooking the wildife-rich Gomoti River and flood plains allowing for mokoro trips (depending on water levels) and walking safaris. 100% eco-friendly with new solar and waste technology. Your stay here will help by giving back to the local Sankyuro Community Trust, and Lady Khama Charitabel Trust as well as other projects such as Mummy’s Angels or Pack for a Purpose which the lodges and camps support (ask us for more information about these at the time of booking).

The local river system attracts a wide variety of game. Familiar favourites include: Elephant, Buffalo, Giraffe, Kudu, Impala, Tsessebe, Hippo, Crocodile, Genet, Honey Badger and a host of Plains Game. Rare Antelope breeds including Roan, Sable & Eland, not normally seen in the Okavango region, occur here. As the Gomoti is the main water source in the area, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog come down to the riverside to drink and hunt, of course!

The locations and views are spectacular with the classic flooding of the Okavango across the adjacent seasonal floodplains.

For those keen on bird-watching, the combination of the wetlands and the drier Acacia and Mopane veldt provide a perfect habitat for a variety of aquatic species including Open Billed Storks, Hammerkops, Egrets, Ibis and forest/savannah dwellers including Raptors, Shrikes, Drongos, Sunbirds, Ground Hornbills and so on.

Fly to another area in the massive Kwando concession, for a different environment again. There are a couple of excellent camps here Lebala and Lagoon, both known for for their incredibly high elephant and predator numbers during the dry season when many animals migrate into the area. However game viewing is excellent year round – especially of note is the resident Wild Dog packs at both camps, highly visible year round.

Again you are in a private concession where night activities and game walks are permitted. The concession has 50km of exclusive river frontage and this prime wilderness area is so large that you can go on game drives without seeing another soul all day.

Lebala Camp

Lebala Camp, the Tswana word for wideopen plains, has expansive tracts of African Plains and wetlands which make it ideal for following predators over these open horizons. This system is an intricate labyrinth of waterways, reed beds, islands, floodplains, bush, scrub and trees.

This special ecosystem is home to a wide variety of Africa’s plains game such as zebra, wildebeest, impala, giraffe, and tsessebe. The wonderful variety of wildlife also includes elephant, hippo, buffalo and the ever present predators of lion, cheetah and hyena. Lebala’s location away from the dense mopane woodland to the east of the Reserve facilitates the ease of traversing the concession looking for big game.

Lagoon Camp

Lagoon Camp is perched on the banks of the Kwando River, nestled beneath towering ebony and marula trees. The heavily forested site is home to a wide variety of birds and mammals, while elephant and hippo are normally visible from the camp.

Lagoon’s area in the Kwando Reserve has a well-earned reputation for big game and large herds of elephant and buffalo, especially in the winter months, when herds of up to a thousand are not uncommon. This vast concentration of game attracts the attention of large predators. The Lagoon wild dog pack regularly den close to the camp, providing excellent viewing opportunities.

Seasonally large herds of elephant drink at the river bank near to the camp in full view of the main deck, while pods of hippos are commonly seen languidly sunbathing in the water.

Both Lagoon and Lebala Camps offer exceptional wildlife viewing in complimentary drier and wetland areas. If staying at both you will have an exciting game drive between the two.

Depart for Maun via light aircraft and your flight out – or extend your trip and fly up to Victoria Falls for some relaxation and to view the magnificent Falls.