Botswana Luxury Lodge Safari

Take game drives and night drives in custom built 4x4s to spot the unique desert wildlife that inhabit the pans, like the elusive brown hyena or Kalahari lion. Your experienced safari guide will help you discover a desert landscape, pulsating with life. Complete with bush picnics, morning coffees and chilled drinks.

Get up close and personal with our families of meerkats. Leaving camp as the sun begins to rise you will accompany these inquisitive members of the mongoose family as they set off in search of their breakfast. Walk amongst them (you're not allowed to touch or feed them) and if you take a seat you might be lucky enough to be mistaken for a termite mound, where you'll be used as a look out point for predators.

Discover the secrets of the pans with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen on a fascinating bush walk. See this ancient desert landscape through their eyes. These skilled hunter gatherers will show you how to survive, using their extraordinary tracking skills to uncover a smorgasbord of culinary delights... from bulbs, to scorpions, to berries. Spending time with them is a very rare privilege.

Saddle up to explore this wild, unspoilt area in the same way many of the earliest explorers, hunters

and missionaries did – on horseback! You’ll embark on an adventurous outride (for all level riders). This is an exhilarating way to spot wildlife, cantering along the crusty salt flats and following the animal

highways that bring life to the Makgadikgadi Pans.

This is pure desert adventure! Take an exhilarating quad bike across the salt-crusted pans (all pan activity is weather permitting and dependent on the dryness of the pans). You’ll feel total freedom as you trek across this vast and ancient landscape, discovering so much about the remnants of this once super lake.

Seasonal: April - October

A visit to the Fallen Baobab - one of the three largest and oldest trees in Africa and reputedly the campsite of Livingstone and Selous.

Witness the second largest migration in Africa. A stonking spectacle of black and white stripes

as approximately 30,000 zebra and wildebeest migrate across the Makgadikgadi Pans, followed closely by stalking predators, waiting for the rich pickings of tired hooves. This is a wildlife explosion and an experience not to be missed!

This really is an unforgettable experience. Enjoy a helicopter flight over the Makgadikgadi Pans, doors off (or on), to take in the vastness of this desert landscape. You’ll go in search of the zebra and flamingo migrations (if timed correctly), get dropped on an island of baobabs for lunch, do a bit of sunset sky surfing as you follow the palm tree linings and tell all your friends about it all when you get home.

Grab a fat bike and peddle around the Makgadikgadi Pans. This is a really fun activity for the whole family, and an ideal way to get some exercise. These bikes can easily cruise over the desert terrain, taking you along 4x4 tracks and around the crusty salt flats. Keep a look out for sightings of wildlife, while breathing in the beautiful scenery, alongside the desert silence.

If you are in need of some serious time out, then one of our spa treatments is your perfect escape. Our professional therapist will put you in seventh heaven. Book a back massage overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans or enjoy a relaxing spa treatment from the privacy of your tent. Whichever you decide, you’ll walk away feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans are one of the most important breeding sites in southern Africa for

the lesser and greater flamingos. These flying flame birds, arrive in their millions during seasons of good rain, when millions of small shrimp and other crustaceans crack through the salty pan crust to spawn. The result, a pink extravaganza in the heat of the desert. You can also heli to Sua Pan to view the flamingos in Mar - Apr (scenic helicopter flight must be booked).

Game drives are conducted by a personal guide in comfortable, specially designed game drive vehicles. When out on game drives our window seat guarantee ensures no more than four guests per vehicle and individual use of a camera mount..

Courtesy of its location Shinde can offer water activities all year-round. Explore the Okavango Deltaʼs crystal clear waterways by motorboat, and enjoy the magnificent variety of bird, plant and reptile species found in the area.

Mokoro provide a chance to experience the incredible bird, plant and reptile species found in the aquatic habitat of the Okavango Delta; such as sitatunga, fish eagles, painted reed frogs and malachite kingfishers. Climb aboard a Mokoro with your ʻpolerʼ and enjoy exploring the Okavango Deltaʼs tranquil waterways.

For the more adventurous, take a guided bush walk to gain a detailed understanding of this diverse environment, which features gems such as red lechwe bounding through marshy areas, a kaleidoscope of birdlife, plus predators and big game.

Fishing is available throughout the year (with exception of January and February), with excellent bream fishing from May to September and superb chances of landing tigerfish during September to mid-November. Fishing enthusiasts can enjoy motorboat trips to some of the Okavango Deltaʼs best fishing spots, for a chance to experience the beautiful surroundings before landing a variety of species such as tilapia and tiger fish, African pike and sharp tooth catfish.

Night game drives are available after dinner offering the opportunity of seeing nocturnal inhabitants of the area.

Immerse yourself in a walking focused safari experience with our specialist guide.

Families can enjoy their guided walks accompanied by a young explorers Specialist Family guide.

With a maximum of just eight guests, Zarafa Camp offers complete flexibility. Drives do focus on the most comfortable and productive times of day, early morning and late afternoon, but full day drives are also quite common at a guest’s request. Picnic brunch can be delivered, and the vehicles are stocked with cold drinks. The camp has two custom built Land Cruisers specially designed for our conditions and photography (fold-down screens, raised roofs, photographic bars, multi-plug invertors) with seven individual bucket seats.

Another huge benefit of staying within the conservancies is the ability to appreciate the stunning landscape on foot, peacefully, without the noise of engines. We highly recommend this unforgettable experience. Talk to the managers to arrange a good time and location for a walk. Usually early morning or evening is the best time, as the middle of the day is too hot to venture out of the shade. Wear good

walking shoes, a hat, and neutral coloured clothing so as not to alarm the wildlife, and take binoculars. Your guide will have water for you. Walks are led by licensed guides with firearm training.

The HES Zib, Zarafa’s special pontoon boat, is an utterly unique experience. The 275 sq. foot deck is complete with couches, a dining area and bar where guests can comfortably enjoy floating brunch or sundowners while watching hippos and elephants in the water. It is also an exceptional platform for birding.

Each of Zarafa’s guest suites has a professional camera set, including a camera body and lenses. Photos will be downloaded to a DVD on guest’s departure. Each suite comes with a pair of high-quality binoculars for guest use as well. For stargazers, each room comes with its own telescope for use on each suite's private deck.

A full syllabus of bush craft skills for our young explorers. This is a complimentary program that follows in the footsteps of National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, Dereck and Beverly Joubert. An extensive pack will be provided to eager children on arrival, so they can learn about animal calls, how to track wildlife, and other facts and figures about the wild. At the end of a child’s stay, he/she will become a Young Explorer and Conservation Ambassador - ready to go out and tell the world about what they have learned and what they too can do to help protect this beautiful environment.

Fly-fishing and rod/reel kit is available for those who want to try their cast at the local fish (except January and February when there is a moratorium on fishing).

Explore the lagoon and channels around the area by flat-bottomed power boat.

The Spa at Zarafa is located between suite 4 and the Dhow Suite. The Spa offers guests two treatment

areas and with a range of treatments available. Spa treatments are at an additional cost.