Grand Botswana Safari

You are collected in Maun and flown by light aircraft to a bush airstrip near Xakanaxa Lagoon in Moremi Game Reserve. Your guide meets you on arrival and drives you to camp, where a full safety briefing and camp orientation takes place before any activity. Lunch, a siesta, then your first afternoon game drive around the lagoon as the light softens.

A full day in one of the most beautiful corners of the Delta. Morning game drive through the mopane and riverine forest around Xakanaxa, followed by a tranquil boat safari through the lagoon’s crystal-clear channels. Expect hippos, crocodiles, African fish eagles, malachite kingfishers and, on the islands, red lechwe and elephants crossing the water. Sundowners on the boat as the sun drops behind the palms.

A transit day by open 4x4 safari vehicle from Xakanaxa north to the Khwai Concession, bordering the north-eastern edge of Moremi. The Khwai River is followed much of the way, drawing huge elephant and buffalo herds, predators and prolific birdlife. Picnic lunch in the bush. Arrive at camp in the late afternoon and settle in before dinner under the stars.

Khwai is one of the few areas in Botswana where guided walking safaris and night drives are permitted. After an early morning game drive along the Khwai River, your guide takes you out on foot — reading tracks, watching birds at eye level, learning about medicinal plants and animal behaviour. In the afternoon, a tranquil mokoro excursion through the quiet channels. After dark, a night drive reveals genets, civets, owls and nocturnal predators.

A second day in Khwai allows the safari to slow down. Perhaps an extended morning walk to a hyena den, a long game drive to a leopard sighting your guide has been tracking, or a quiet few hours watching elephants at the river. Afternoon activities follow the wildlife. And after dinner, another night drive — the second of your stay, in a different direction, with a different guide at the spotlight.

A transit day by open 4x4 safari vehicle, crossing from the Khwai woodlands into the Savuti ecosystem of Chobe National Park. Savuti is one of Africa’s most storied wildlife areas — rocky outcrops, open grasslands and the famous Savuti Channel, which began flowing again in 2009 after decades of dormancy. Arrive at camp in time for a shower before dinner.

A full day of game drives in prime predator country. Savuti is famous for its lions, spotted hyenas and wild dogs, and for the elephants that move through in enormous numbers — often drawn to the marsh and channel. Your guide will read the morning tracks and plan the day around what has been moving overnight. Sundowners overlooking the Savuti marsh as the light drops.

A second full day at Savuti allows the group to follow up on sightings from the day before — a pride that had moved overnight, a pack of wild dogs, or a leopard with a kill. Your guide knows the area intimately and will use this day to show you the less-visited corners, including the rocky hills that give Savuti its name and the famous San rock art at Gubatsaa Hill.

A morning game drive before the overland transfer north through Chobe National Park to the Chobe Riverfront. Wildlife is followed along the way. Arriving in the afternoon, you settle into camp or lodge — and if time allows, board a boat for a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. Hippos, crocodiles, kingfishers and, if you are lucky, elephants swimming across the channel.

Chobe holds Africa’s largest elephant population, and the riverfront is where they gather. A morning game drive along the floodplains is followed by brunch and a rest, then an afternoon river cruise for close-up views of elephants drinking and bathing, huge buffalo herds, and spectacular birdlife — including carmine bee-eaters in season. A farewell dinner in camp rounds off the safari.

If time allows, one last early-morning activity before breakfast. You are then transferred to Kasane International Airport for your onward flight — direct connections to Maun, Gaborone, Victoria Falls, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Guests continuing to Victoria Falls can be assisted with cross-border transfers.