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ultimate botswana safari
Written by Kelly Wilson
Planning a safari is exciting, but also overwhelming! First, I asked myself what I wanted to from the experience. Do I want to see African wild dogs or gorillas? Do I value a more solitary experience away from crowds? Luxury or budget? Answering these questions helped me narrow down where to go on safari.
Why Choose Botswana
Botswana is committed to eco-friendly tourism. It has slightly higher prices but fewer crowds compared to the Serengeti for example. It's also home to the beautiful Okavango Delta, which is a unique vast inland river delta famous for its grassy plains. Flooding seasonally, this area becomes a lush animal habitat. During the dry season, animals travel for miles in search of water as other sources begin to disappear. This increases one's chances of seeing lots of wildlife! The Okavango Delta is also a paradise for bird enthusiasts as well. Botswana is home to the world's largest concentration of elephants, in addition to, conservation land devoted to the protection of African wild dogs, cheetahs and black rhinos. The landscape is diverse and beautiful, from marsh land of the delta, to the dry saltpans of the Makgadikgadi region, to the red sand of the Kalahari desert, Botswana will surely capture your heart.
BOTSWANA ITINERARY: OKAVANGO DELTA, MOREMI GAME RESERVE, CHOBE NATIONAL PARK, VICTORIA FALLS
Recommended 11-Day Botswana Itinerary:
Okavango Delta (4 nights)
Moremi Game Reserve (2 nights)
Chobe National Park (3 nights)
Victoria Falls (1 night)
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Total days: 11
My Botswana Experience
My husband, Jimmy, and I chose to go at the beginning of the dry season, at the end of June, which is winter in the southern hemisphere. Some advantages of going at this time are that the prices are slightly cheaper, as it's off season, the weather is still cool, and no rain. Due to COVID, we were the only people on the boats and in our safari jeep, as not many people were traveling yet. There were still other guests at the lodges that we ate meals with, but all of our excursions were essentially private. Not only were the animals amazing, but so was the scenery. I loved the peacefulness we experienced out on our drives just as much as seeing the animals. I would sit back, enjoy the breeze and beautiful landscape, and wait to see what nature had in store for us that day.
Okavango Delta
Location: Setari Camp (2 nights)
From the Maun airport, my husband and I took a 40-minute flight on a 12 passenger plane to an airstrip in the middle of the delta near our first lodge, Setari Camp. The views from the air were beautiful as the water created blue swirls of inlets among the green islands. We even spotted elephants and ostriches from the plane. After landing, we were met by two employees from the camp, a boat driver guide and a guide who sat next to us and knew the name of every bird we saw. To get to the lodge, we took a boat along the papyrus lined canals for 50 minutes allowing us to take in the scenery and wildlife during our journey! Upon arrival, lots of lodges offer you a tasty and much appreciated welcome drink. While sipping our welcome drinks, we spotted monkeys in the trees! It was so exciting to see so much wildlife already. That night we watched the sunset from the deck as we warmed ourselves with hot drinks around the fire before dinner. The food at all the lodges was amazing and we ate well the entire safari.
While at the Setari Camp, we did boat safaris around the delta and a guided walk around the island where the lodge was located. We saw African fishing eagles, Malachi Kingfisher, cormorants, and so many more types of birds! We saw sitatunga and red lechwe antelope, baboons, crocodiles and hippos. On an evening boat ride my husband, the second guide, and I were looking down into the water from the top level of the two-tier boat, when we spotted some bubbles floating to the surface, indicating an animal was below in the water. Suddenly, the boat lurched side-to-side knocking us off-balance almost tipping the boat! The boat driver had quick reflexes and righted the boat just in time. Hippos are very territorial and this bull did not like us in his space. He rammed our boat from the bottom! The hippo was ok. The guide, who has been working in the Okavango Delta for twenty years, said that has never happened to him before. It goes to show that you just never know what one moment to the next will bring.
Location: Mochaba Crossing (2 nights)
Next, we stayed at Mochaba Crossing on the eastern edge of Okavango Delta. Here, the land is much drier, but there are still areas of marshland and rivers. We did a game drive as well as a Mokoro Boat, traditional long wooden canoe, excursion to a large island where a local guide took us on a safari walk. We wandered over sand, past herds of zebra and antelope, into pockets of forest. At one point, while walking through the trees, I stopped to stare in awe at a huge termite mound, when I spotted movement ten feet away. I simultaneously noticed a large grey body and an ivory tusk. The next moment, the guide was silently pushing us along and away from what was an elephant hiding in the trees! Since it is not safe to surprise elephants on foot, we hastily and silently retreated to safety. It happened so quickly that my husband Jimmy didn't see the elephant or even know what was happening. It was a special experience to see the animals on foot, without the barrier of the jeep. I would definitely recommend a safari walk if possible and when it is safe to do so during your stay.
Moremi Game Reserve
Location: Sango Safari Camp (2 nights)
We drove to our next camp which may have been my favorite! Sango Safari Camp is situated on the Khwai River at the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve. Our lodgings were right on the river and looked like an old fashioned canvas safari tent, however, it was updated with an en-suite bathroom, outdoor shower, and electricity.
On the other side of the river was the game reserve. More than once, we came out of our room to see elephants across the water about 50 feet away. One evening, I saw a monitor lizard right before it rushed back into the water. At night, we could hear the grunting of the hippos! They are a pretty noisy bunch. When we first arrived at the camp, we walked to a viewing platform where we could immediately see at least 3 elephants, a hippo, and several birds. Next, we ate lunch and made friends with a family from South Africa.
After lunch and a quick nap, it was time for our evening game drive. The guide said we would go to a spot where wild African dogs had been known to den with their puppy litters in years past. I held my breath as we waited for the first jeep from our camp to radio with news of the dogs’ presence! I was hoping against hope that I would be able to see African wild dogs while on safari. They are a favorite, but are endangered and rare to see. These dogs are found in much of Botswana, which is another reason I chose it for our first safari. After about 10 minutes, we finally received word the African dogs were here! We gave the first jeep time to see them, then we headed back into the pocket of the forest to finally see them for ourselves. The puppies were so adorable and the mom was patient as they all climbed and played on and over her. We must have stayed there for 30 minutes watching them. This is easy to do and the time goes very quickly!
Next, we drove around the game reserve, where our guide spotted a lion in the grass. I would never have seen the lion! They camouflage very well and this is why guides are a must on your first safari! It turned out to be not one lion, but a small pride of 7 lions. They were all sleepy as it was still pretty warm out. After watching for a bit, we drove around the reserve and saw more antelope, zebra, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, etc! As the sun was setting, we headed back to find the lion pride. The lions were starting to wake up and be playful. Slowly, by ones and twos, they started walking off toward the waterhole. We followed them, even going off road (this is allowed at this park, but not at all of them). We followed and watched them as long as we could before they disappeared into the night, past the waterhole, where we couldn't follow.
Day 2 at Sango camp
Early mornings are the name of the game in Africa! It's the best time to see wildlife before the heat of the day sets in. We were there in winter so the mornings were in the 40s and could be pretty chilly especially once the jeep got moving. On our morning game drive, the first thing we did was try and find the lions from the previous night. Before we could spot them, we found a zebra carcass. The lions had been on their way to hunt when we saw them the night before and we could see they had been successful. Next, we found the lions walking back to their favorite sleep spot. Their stomachs looked like basketballs because they had eaten so much! They wouldn't need to eat for another 4 to 5 days after eating an entire zebra.
That evening, we saw the African wild dogs again! We were the only jeep out there that particular day. FYI: all the parks we went to, we saw almost no one out there as it was during COVID. We stayed another 30 minutes or longer. We saw the male African dog come back to the family and regurgitate the found he hunted for them. African dogs do this so that other animals don't try and steal their food (you learn a lot while on safari as the guides are incredibly knowledgeable!). There were a few vultures who flew in and tried to steal the scraps of food the puppies were playing with, but momma dog scared them off. We saw lots more antelope and other animals during the rest of the drive.
Chobe National Park
Chobe Elephant Camp (3 Nights)
Chobe National Park is an incredible place as it has the largest concentration of elephants in the world! There are over 120,000 elephants who live in this large park. So many elephants all the time! We saw elephants crossing the river from our boat, as well as, cute babies and juveniles playing in the water along the banks. The Chobe River separates Namibia and Botswana, so during the dry season, animals from all over come for water. We saw many crocodiles along the banks and in the water, so many beautiful eagles, cape buffalo, zebras, antelope, hippos, giraffes, and lots of baboon troops. One troop of baboons can have hundreds of monkeys. They are so fun to watch! The babies are adorable and the younger baboons play all day sometimes infuriating the older baboons. That is a little scary. We saw more lions here too! A larger pride than the previous park, but we did not see the males with this pride. The males will go out on their own and patrol their territory. This pride had 3 females and about 9 cubs. The cubs are very curious about the safari jeeps and will come up to your jeep and growl at it. The females are used to safari jeeps that they just carry on like you're not even there. It was fun to watch this group, as the cubs were initially up high in a rock outcropping, hiding behind trees, watching us. Slowly, the cubs came down one-by-one out of curiosity and because the sun was setting.
I was so happy because I saw so many lions, African wild dogs, giraffes, and elephants that I thought this trip would be really extra special if I saw a leopard. So, all the three days in Chobe, I looked in the low lying branches of the trees to try and spot a leopard. I was so obsessed! I even dreamed about a leopard. Our last day, we had just entered the park, early in the morning. Our guide parked the jeep in the road to tell us more about the Chobe river that was down the hill and straight ahead. He is mid-sentence when, all of a sudden, he got very excited and says, in one breath, "Look! A leopard!" We looked up to see one walking away from us in the brush. Miraculously, she turned around and started walking towards us. I was so happy, and the leopard is so beautiful, that I am close to tears (not exaggerating or trying to be overly sentimental). Leopards are so incredibly beautiful in the wild. The leopard walked right in front of our jeep on the road and looked right at us. I just stared and stared. I could not believe my eyes. Jimmy, my husband, was sweet and took photos so I could really soak in the experience. We tried to follow the leopard, but it was too far to see well. We caught a couple more glimpses of her from far away, but, eventually, lost her. We believe that she must've gone somewhere to sleep for the day.
Victoria Falls
Location: Batonka Guest Lodge (1 night)
Chobe National Park is very close to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where we decided to end our trip. We only spent one day here, but, honestly, that was enough. The city was overstimulating after being in the bush for 9 days. It is worth a stop, however, as the falls are stunning and absolutely breathtaking!
Final thoughts: If you are considering going on an African Safari, just do it! You will not regret it! Honestly, you will want to go back to Africa immediately. We are already looking into traveling to Uganda in 2023. An African Safari is such a unique and invaluable experience that you will always treasure.
A few helpful tips
Bring a good camera. I already had a DSLR, but I did buy a new zoom lens. I was soooo glad I did. My favorite camera at the moment is my Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Camera and I love the look and bokeh of the Sigma lenses.
Pack light! You are moving camps often and the weight limit in the small planes is only 20 kg. We each brought a hiking overnight backpack and a small carry on tote (hard luggage is not allowed).
Some light neutral solid colors are good to bring, but you don't have to buy a new wardrobe. You're sitting in the jeep a lot so you get a little dusty. You can definitely wear some clothes twice however, and most camps have laundry service.
Know what kind of safari that you want. What is your budget? What type of safari experience do you want, such as camping, luxury, or somewhere in between? We work with several outfitters that will work with you on your budget and specific requests for an amazing bucket list experience.
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