The Linyanti is a safari addict’s bush nirvana. One of the most remote and exclusive pockets of Botswana, this pristine wilderness is what great game viewing and wildlife documentaries are made of.
Only private concessions are on offer here, where the rules are flexible and the crowds can’t go. The Linyanti is not just for ticking off the big game; it also has a knack for delivering lesser-spotted bucket list items, whether it’s a rare bush pig or that long-searched-for wild dog.
Very few camps operate in the Linyanti. Each offers different habitats and landscapes with one common theme: a strong track record for game viewing during Botswana’s drier winter months. Together with the Chobe Riverfront, the Linyanti homes the highest density of African elephants in the world. Many camps also offer seasonally dependent water-based experiences, be it on a spillway, river, lagoon or channel to break up the game drive routine.
Just one of the Linyanti’s concessions alone is twenty times the size of Manhattan, yet only forty people can stay during any night of the year. If Botswana puts a heavy emphasis on preserving the wild and taking only a handful of people into the bush, then the Linyanti is where this concept is taken to the extreme.
Here, you can follow the big game off-road, whether in a white-knuckled pursuit of a lioness chasing buffaloes, or during a quiet crawl off-track to see wild dog puppies emerging from their den for the first time.
Possibilities exist for exploring the bush on foot for adrenaline-pumping game approaches, and many camps offer game viewing hides for a more relaxed approach to wildlife sightings, or even overnight sleep outs.
The Okavango Delta is where the wild things are: an immense, waterlogged oasis alive with elephants and birdlife, adrift in the middle of Kalahari sands. The real magic of the Delta lies in its water, trickling through from far away highlands, and spreading across the channels and floodplains.
During winter in the Kalahari, when the sun has baked the earth bare and turned the desert its driest, water fills the Okavango; transforming the floodplains into a Noah’s Ark of African wildlife.
As the water brings life to the delta, its local residents shape and recreate it. Termites slowly build mounds into islands, germinated with palm trees by passing elephants. Waterways open and close on the whim of wide-bottomed hippos, carving out channels where they crash through reeds, and leaving room behind them for exploration by mokoro.
The Okavango has many faces, which change throughout the year, prompted by that most unpredictable diva of all: the weather. Water levels rise and drop, expanding and shrinking islands, while animals move where the life is easiest and the grass greenest. In a few days, a sandy road driven by vehicle can become a waterway of unknowable depth, prompting a safari by boat instead.
Where and when you stay in the Okavango Delta will hugely influence what you do in the bush each day, the animals you’re most likely to see and finally, the safari experience you’ll have.
The delta’s watery heart is best discovered by mokoro through shallow channels and floodplains, as well as crossing the islands on foot. For less water and more of the big game, visit a camp on its drier edges (including Moremi Game Reserve and the Khwai Community Area), jump on a vehicle and seek out the animals hiding in the woodlands.
The Deception Valley Private Reserve provides a soft introduction to the harsh expanses of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve next door. This is also one of the best places in Botswana to get a glimpse into the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the San people, who have survived in the arid desert for tens of thousands of years.
This private reserve contains desert-adapted wildlife from giraffes to ostriches, gemsbok and springbok. Ease of access, together with high chances of finding black-maned Kalahari lions during the winter months are key draw cards for heading out on safari here.
Unlike other desert safaris in Botswana, you won’t be restricted by national park rules here. The freedom to look for nocturnal desert creatures on a night drive, sit out in a hide to soak up the sightings or to explore the bush on foot is what makes this area unique.
Despite the fences, big predators such as lion, leopard and cheetah move in and out of the concessions throughout the year. During the dry winter months, the big cats often prefer the easy access to water at the pumped waterholes here over the Central Kalahari itself.
When you’re done with the typical safari routine, head out into the desert with the San bushmen. Watch in awe as these traditional hunter-gatherers pull food, water and tools for survival out of the sand in front of your eyes.
For self-drivers, the Deception Valley Private Reserve provides an ideal stop for experiencing the desert without the risks of heading into the vast Central Kalahari hundreds of miles from the nearest creature comforts and assistance.
