“Dumela / Hello! Welcome to Botswana!” We will be there to give you a warm Botswana welcome when you land at Maun Airport before your stunning light aircraft scenic flight over the Okavango Delta and Chief’s Island. This flight gives you a fish eagle’s eye view of this amazing ecosystem. When you land at your remote bush airstrip within the Moremi Game Reserve your guide will be waiting to transfer you to your mobile camp - with a game drive en route, ( we will provide you with a snack pack upon arrival. ) The friendly, attentive staff will help you feel immediately at home and brief you on what to look forward to on your safari.
Okavango Delta & Moremi Game Reserve - The Okavango is a unique ecosystem, a river delta located in the middle of the world’s largest stretch of continuous sand – the Kalahari basin. An oasis in an otherwise arid and inhospitable landscape, the Okavango Delta supports an incredible diversity of mammal and birdlife. Where land and water meet, a mosaic of pans, grasslands, forests and lagoons provides an extremely varied range of habitats which is home to one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife. The Okavango is one of the natural wonders of the world, a stillpristine yet fragile ecosystem that richly rewards exploration.
The day starts with the rising of the sun. Your wake-up call will be between 5am and 6am – a gentle “koko” (knock knock in Setswana) at the entrance of your tent. One of the team will be on hand to fill your wash-hand basin with steaming hot water and freshly made tea and coffee will be served around the campfire. A light breakfast will be served before the early morning game drive which consists of tea, plunger coffee, juice, rusks, fruit, cereal, toast and jams. The best time of day to enjoy game viewing is in the early morning and late afternoon as most animals retreat to the shade to rest during the heat of the day. Having spent the morning exploring the surrounding wilderness in search of Botswana’s hidden treasures.
The Moremi Game Reserve lies in the eastern corner of the Okavango Delta. One of the most beautiful and diverse of all the great game reserves of Africa, it protects both huge concentrations of wildlife and incredible scenery. The reserve consists of both seasonally-inundated areas such as Xakanaxa, and drier areas such as Khwai. On this safari, we will set out to reveal some of the secrets of this dynamic ecosystem.
We carry on north today to the beautiful area of Khwai which is sandwiched between Savuti in the north and Moremi in the south. The Khwai River forms a boundary between the reserve and the community area. We will spend the next three nights at a campsite in the community area, exploring the Khwai floodplains on game drives both during the day and at night.
What happens on a moving day? - We will leave camp after breakfast and the crew will pack up the camp and meet us at the next private campsite where you will find your tent re erected and your bags all in place.
En route we will stop for a picnic lunch out in the bush before we continue our journey to our new campsite in the next National Park.
The Khwai area is excellent for both wild dog and leopard although, to be honest, it is excellent for all wildlife species.
The Khwai River is a deep channel that is home to many hippo pods and elephants come here in large numbers to drink and bathe.
In the Khwai reserve you have the opportunity to explore after dark with spotlights which offers you an opportunity to experience some of the nocturnal animals that are rarely encountered during the day and it is dusk when the carnivores are most active. Sightings include porcupines, leopard, lions, owls, grazing hippos and many more species.
The African Bush at night is dark - very dark. Although your tents and the central mess tent will be well lit a head torch can be a useful addition.
With its perennial river, Khwai is an excellent area to see hippos and large Nile crocodiles and is known also for its birds. There is an area of once flooded trees that the elephants have ravaged leaving a tangle of branches and uprooted trunks over a large area. Here is one of the best areas to see leopard as they hunt between the tangle of wood.
Later on today you have the opportunity to enjoy a mokoro ( dug out canoe ) trip along the main river. Your poler is an expert on the area and will help you identify the many birds that feed around the reed beds and it is here that you will see Botswana's famous reed frogs. A tiny but very loud amphibian.
Mokoros - your dug out canoe trip is one of the highlights of the Khwai area. The canoe is very low in the water so you have a real sense of gliding along just a few centimetres from the surface. Just your poler's low voice and the occasional "plop" of the pole in the water breaks the silence.
You can enjoy your final morning game drive this morning before your guide drives you back to Maun stopping for a picnic lunch en route.
You will arrive in Maun in time to connect to your onward flight to Cape Town or home to the UK
