Exploring the Wetlands & Desert

Renowned as one of the top wildlife reserves in the world, morning and afternoon game drives explore the game rich landscape of Chobe National Park. &Beyond’s professionally trained guides will ask you about your favourite wildlife and will do their best to ensure that your preferences are met, whether it is tracking a particular species or spending more time enjoying each sighting and getting to know the habits of the animals. They will also tell you about the vegetation of the region and will explain the behaviour of the animals that you come across. In some cases, the guides will be able to identify individual animals and let you know about their history and habits.

No additional cost

Capture the magnificent wildlife and scenic landscapes of the Chobe National Park on an unforgettable photographic safari. Accompanied by professional photographers, you will set out in a custom-built boat from where you will receive expert tips and recommendations on how to capture the most breathtaking images. Every seat on the boat is fitted with a top-of-the-range camera that is fitted to a customised mount, so you needn’t bring your own equipment.

* Only available if guests are staying for two or more consecutive nights.

Game viewing in the Okavango Delta is remote and secluded, with very few vehicles sharing the private concession. Sensitive off-road driving practices allow our guests to get up close to the area’s exceptional wildlife. Afternoon drives continue after night, allowing for an opportunity to see the many animals that are more active at night, including leopard and serval. Lion frequently hunt at night and there is always a chance of coming upon them feeding on a kill. &Beyond’s professionally trained guides will ask you about your favourite wildlife and will do their best to ensure that your preferences are met, whether it is tracking a particular species or spending more time enjoying each sighting, getting to know the habits of the animals. They will also tell you about the vegetation of the region and will explain the behaviour of the animals that you come across. In some cases, the guides will be able to identify individual animals and let you know about their history and habits.

Thrill to an aerial view of the Okavango Delta as you soar above a vast maze of both permanent and fleeting waterways and floodplains that occupy an otherwise sandy corner of Botswana in a helicopter. Fly over rivers and pools dotted with lily pads, as well as a variety of wild animals that inhabit this unique habitat.

Additional costs apply

The Okavango Delta is well known for its Mokoro rides. These are boating trips through the maze like channels and shallow lagoons of the Delta. As mokoros are not motorized, they allow you to glide silently through the channels. You will see many animals that feed on the grass and reeds on the palm islands such as lechwe, sitatunga, elephant, hippo and crocodile.

(seasonal - dependent on water levels)

Game viewing is also offered in motorized boats. These trips allow you to cover more ground and to see more of the landscape. Boating is offered seasonally depending on the water levels in the Okavango Delta.

(seasonal - dependent on water levels)

Try your hand at catching the fierce tiger fish, or Tilapia in the Okavango Delta. Not all water based camps in the Okavango allow fishing, but some camps do allow fishing on a catch and release basis. Most of the fishing however takes place in the Panhandle region where the Okavango River enters the Delta.

Seasonal activity

With a dedicated game ranger and tracker, as well as a private game drive vehicle, guests have the luxury of tailor-making their own safari experience; choosing their own game drive times and spending as much time as they want at sightings.

You are required to create a personal affirmation to reclaim an
unconditional acceptance and love for yourself and reconnect with your soul to
release all negative energy from deep within. A unique blend of
aromatherapy and plant oils chosen specifically by you, combining deep
tissue massage techniques to bring relaxation to tired, aching muscles
allowing the body and soul to return to perfect equilibrium. Choose from a
blend of aromatherapy oils to either destress, hydrate, relax or detox.

Full body: 90 min
Back and Neck only: 45 min and 30 min

African Shea Butter has been long hailed for its powerful healing and
nourishing effects. Relaxing nourishing and energizing this full body
massage targets specific areas or tension and muscular discomfort
employing deep tissue techniques where pain is dramatically alleviated.

Full Body and Scalp 75min
Back, Neck and Scalp 45min

Re-awaken your Soul with a combination of powerful African aromatherapy
oils and botanical body balms combining traditional African Calabash and
Bamboo tools with human touch and rhythmic movement in this indulgent
ritual, the ultimate source of relaxation to bring balance to your mind,
body and soul in the heart of Africa, the cradle of mankind, through touch
and vibrational sound therapy using ancient sound tools and techniques.

Choose African Potato for its Ancient Healing powers, Marula Neroli for a
Sensory Indulgence, Kalahari Melon for its Hydrating Properties,
Mongongo Nut to Detox or Cinnamon and Orange to Firm and Tone

Full body and Scalp: 90min
Back and Scalp: 60min

Re-awaken your senses through gentle exfoliation and envelope your body with inspirational blends of natural African essential oils and botanicals. We start the treatment with a dry polish followed by a full body polish to alleviate tension and renew skin. We then do the wrap and an indulgent full body massage using our powerful collection of indigenous African oils and balms.

Choose African Potato for its Ancient Healing powers, Marula Neroli for a Sensory Indulgence, Kalahari Melon for its Hydrating Properties, Mongongo Nut to Detox or Cinnamon and Orange to Firm and Tone

120min

Melt away stress and rejuvenate your tired legs with this foot treatment which will leave your feet feeling hydrated, softened and silky smooth, ready to conquer the African bush. Your feet is soaked in an African Joy energizing salt soak, scrubbed with rejuvenating peppermint and eucalyptus scrub and embalmed in African Shea Butter. Relax as you receive a shoulder and scalp massage and finish the treatment with a cooling foot gel to put the final spring in your step.

30min

The ultimate hand ritual. Your hands are polished with a pure Peppermint and Aloe Vera polish and cuticles restored with indigenous healing oils. Your hands are then embalmed with African Shea Butter. Relax as you receive a shoulder and scalp massage and finish the treatment with a nourishing Pinotage hand oil massage, leaving your hands feeling soft and rejuvenated.

30min

Soak those tired little feet in Healing Earth’s Lavender and Jasmine bubble bath, followed by a Mango Orange scrub, toe nail grooming and mini foot tickle and rub. To recharge your energy a 15min back, neck and shoulder massage with pure Aloe Vera Gel will guarantee to send our budding rangers off on their next adventure in the African Bush. Finish your treatment with an African Tribal Face Paint and if you choose to, leave with your own Beauties and Buddies Pamper Kit to remember your adventure in the wild and remind you of how important it is to Care for the Land, Wildlife and People of this world.

Beauties and Buddies 30min Treatment and Pamper Kit

andBeyond’s WILDchild programme, designed especially for children visiting our safari lodges and camps in Africa, is filled with fun, interactive activities that offer opportunities to learn and discover new experiences and cultures. Deeply rooted in the love for the African bush, it not only creates a series of unforgettable moments for the whole family but forges strong bonds between our young guests, our planet and its people.

Tread in the tracks of the Delta wildlife, breathe in the scent of crushed wild grasses, and feel your senses come alive.

Discover the complexities of tracking, how every bent blade of grass and imprint in the soil has a meaning; observe how your guide interprets the signs and sounds of the bush; smell and taste wild herbs, as your guide explains their traditional uses; explore the small miracles of the bush, from the magnificent tapestry of a spider’s web to the microscopic world of the dung beetle.

Listen for the alarm call of the grey go-away bird; watch for the iridescent flight-sparkle of the lilac breasted roller, or use your Swarovski Optik binoculars to zoom in on the dark shape of a brown snake eagle perched regally on the high branches of a dead tree. Look out for the bright red bill of a grey-headed kingfisher, as it perches silently on a branch watching the ground for insects or small lizards.

This is a dynamic experience guaranteed to captivate and engage all your senses.

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.

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection

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 at an additional cost).

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection

Credit: Natural Selection