$2,805 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Maun to Makgadikgadi (Planet Baobab)
Maun to Makgadikgadi (Planet Baobab)
On your arrival at Maun International Airport, you will be met by your guide and transferred by road to Planet Baobab in the Makgadikgadi Pans region. You’ll find Planet Baobab nestled amongst 17 giant baobabs adjacent to the village of Gweta and about 40 kilometres from the pans. You will stay here for 1 night in quirky, cool and super comfy thatched huts that take more than a little inspiration from the local Botswana villages, all arranged in friendly clusters.
After check-in, set out on your afternoon game activity – a game drive that will take you deep into the Ntwetwe Pan, the larger of the 2 Makgadikgadi pans. You will have a personal encounter with the meerkats, which are semi-habituated to human presence. However, they’re not tame but just used to our non-threatening presence. Also, keep your eyes peeled for the uniquely desert-adapted species such as bat-eared fox, springbok, kori bustard, and perhaps even the magnificent elephant and lion.
- Main Destination:
- Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
- Accommodation:
- Planet Baobab
Wildlife in Makgadikgadi Pans NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Mababe Depression
Mababe Depression
Following an early breakfast, we will head west through Maun and northeast towards the Mababe Depression. Here, you will experience an untouched and unequivocally wild destination: dry-land habitats of leadwood and camelthorn woodlands, savannahs and the riverside banks of the Khwai River. Home to around 100 bird species and 400 mammals, the wildlife viewing here is exceptional.
We will camp at an exclusive campsite in the Mababe Depression and explore the riverbanks, Kalahari shrub and mopane woodland on game drives during the day and at night.
- Main Destination:
- Mababe Concession (Okavango Delta)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
Wildlife in Okavango Delta
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Mababe Depression
Mababe Depression
Today will be spent on early morning and afternoon game drives in search of the numerous species of animals found in the Mababe Depression, such as bull elephants and breeding herds. Lion, leopard, serval and African wild cat are common predators of the region, however, wild dog and cheetah are less common. Other animal species include tsessebe, blue wildebeest, giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope and impala. It is also not uncommon to witness buffalo herds so huge that they reach as far as the horizon.
You will also get the chance to explore the Khwai River that runs through Mababe on a mokoro (dug-out canoe). This allows you to witness the variety of animals lured to the riverbank to drink and feed on the lush grasses that grow there. The Mababe Depression is also a haven for birdwatchers.
- Main Destination:
- Mababe Concession (Okavango Delta)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Mababe Depression
Mababe Depression
You have an opportunity to continue enjoying early morning and afternoon game drives. We will also go on a night drive to experience a very different kind of safari. After dark, the Mababe Depression comes to life with nocturnal creatures that are rarely encountered during the day. Be on the lookout for aardvarks, brown hyenas, bat-eared foxes, and African wild cats as the sun sets and the day creatures retreat for the night.
Night drives are not permitted within Botswana’s national parks and game reserves. These activities are conducted outside the boundaries of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Mababe Depression.
- Main Destination:
- Mababe Concession (Okavango Delta)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Moremi Game Reserve
Moremi Game Reserve
After breakfast, we bid farewell to the Mababe Depression and take a slow drive through the Khwai Concession to Moremi Game Reserve, with a picnic lunch stop en route. Settle in at your exclusive campsite in Xakanaxa, located in the heart of Moremi Game Reserve, and enjoy the stunning scenery of Moremi's wide-open floodplains, marshes, lagoons, papyrus fringed channels, woodland and savannah.
Due to the extremely variable habitat, the diversity of both wildlife and birdlife is excellent. Moremi is home to elephants, buffalos, hippos, giraffes, Burchell's zebras, blue wildebeests and various antelope species. We may also see lions, leopards, hyenas, African wild dogs, and perhaps cheetahs.
- Main Destination:
- Moremi Game Reserve (Okavango Delta)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
Wildlife in Moremi GR
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Moremi Game Reserve
Moremi Game Reserve
You will continue to explore the game reserve, enhancing your photographic opportunities in this stunning location on game drives. In the heat of the day, retreat to camp to relax and reflect on the adventures that unfold.
In the late afternoon, we will embark on a 3-hour boat cruise along the deep channels of the Xakanaxa Lagoon. The channels are lined with water reeds (phragmites australis), grasses, and some aquatic vegetation that filters the water here. The open waters attract African skimmer, saddle-billed stork, yellow-billed stork, intermediate egret, goliath heron, African fish eagle, slaty egret and wattled crane.
After exploring the bush, we retreat to the campsite for an evening beside the campfire under a canopy of stars.
- Main Destination:
- Moremi Game Reserve (Okavango Delta)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Moremi Game Reserve
Moremi Game Reserve
We will leave camp shortly after breakfast and proceed to Dead Tree Island, situated near Xakanaxa, in the hope of locating the big cats. The island was named because of a number of skeletal mopane trees surrounding the pan of open water. The trees drowned and died when the channel changed.
Lions can be spotted following the herds of buffalo and other game that roam these areas. The lagoon of Dead Tree Island is home to a large concentration of hippos and offers an excellent array of aquatic birdlife.
- Main Destination:
- Moremi Game Reserve (Okavango Delta)
- Accommodation:
- Budget camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Moremi Game Reserve to Maun
Moremi Game Reserve to Maun
Early in the morning, we will travel to Maun International Airport to catch the flight to your next destination.
- Main Destination:
- Maun (City)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
