Botswana Wild Parks
14 day small group cabin safari
An accommodated safari through Botswana. Experience the vast Magadikgadi pans, the Okavango Delta by traditional dug-outs and the abundant wildlife of Moremi game reserve. Explore Chobe NP by boat and enjoy wonderful views of Victoria Falls!
Watching Elephants on the game drive in Moremi (watch a 1.02 min video)
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Highlights
- Khama Rhino Sanctuary – game viewing
- Okavango Delta – mokoro excursion and bush walks
- Moremi Game Reserve – 3 day 4WD game viewing
- Chobe National Park – 4WD game viewing and river cruise
- Victoria Falls – adventure activities
Includes
- 11 nights lodges / tented lodge or chalets and
2 nights tented camp
- Entrance fees
- Use of camping equipment (including sleeping bags in the Delta)
- Transport in minibus / safari truck & 4WD
- Meals as per itinerary
- Professional guide
- Okavango Delta excursion & Moremi 4WD excursion
Itinerary 2010
Day 1 JOHANNESBURG to KHAMA RHINO SANCTUARY
Departing Johannesburg at 06:30am we head north into Botswana and the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust is a community based wildlife project established in 1992 to assist in saving the vanishing rhino, restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state and provide economic benefits to the local Botswana community through tourism and the sustainable use of natural resources. This reserve situated on the Kalahari sandveld, has several natural waterholes and provides prime habitat for white rhino, zebra and wildebeest. [chalets - LD]
[B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner]
Day 2 MAUN
We drive through the Kalahari to Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. Since Maun’s founding in 1915 as the capital of the Batawana people, it has had a reputation as a hard-living ‘Wild West’ town helping the local cattle ranching and safari operations. The name Maun is derived from the San word ‘maung’, which translates ‘the place of short reeds’. [lodge BL-]
Day 3, 4, 5 OKAVANGO DELTA
 We drive into the Okavango Delta to our remote tented camp in the heart of the largest inland delta in the world. This amazing environment has large numbers of red lechwe, buffalo, elephant and birds, particularly kingfishers! One of the best experiences in the Okavango Delta is to be poled along the reed lined channels in a Mokoro (dug out canoe). Sit back and relax as the water gurgles tranquilly under the mokoro while your skilled poler points out the fauna and flora. We return to Maun midday on day 5 for an evening restaurant meal (own expense). .  We will overnight on remote islands, enjoy game walks and swimming in beautiful clear water. We return to Maun late in the afternoon on day 5 an evening at the lodge and a restaurant meal. [tented camp x2, lodge x1 Bx3 Lx3 Dx2]
For the two nights spent in the Okavango Delta you stay in a pre-erected tented camp. The facilities are very basic but you will be provided with a simple bucket shower and a toilet (of the “sand and bury” variety). All water, equipment and provisions need to be taken with us and all rubbish taken out again. All camping equipment is supplied including a sleeping bag and pillow. The tents used are dome tents with built-in insect nets. Mattresses are supplied and are about 5cm thick.
Please note: Out local guides are wildlife experts and it is important to pay close attention to their requests in terms of safety. The delta is an exciting place to explore, but it needs to be understood and respected, and following their advice is paramount.
For the ultimate Okavango wilderness experience, you can fly into the Okavango Delta to an area of permanent water for a two night stay at a rustic lodge. Flying over the Okavango gives a different perspective of the delta. Light aircraft flights from Maun to the lodge and back are included. This itinerary is available on specific dates only. Please see the price and dates below. BTaf14
Day 6, 7, 8 MOREMI
After a relaxing evening we take an open 4WD into Moremi Game Reserve for fantastic game viewing! Chief’s Island is the largest landmass within Moremi and was the Batswana tribe’s richest hunting ground, before being declared a game reserve by the tribe. We spend 3 days on game drives watching the abundant wildlife including elephant, hippo, buffalo, lion & other game, both in Moremi Game Reserve and in private concession reserves surrounding the park. On the morning of day 8 we enter the Moremi again for another full morning game drive before we return to Maun in the early afternoon. [tented bushcamp Bx3 Lx3 Dx2]
Day 9 MAKGADIKGADI PANS
We have time for an optional game flight over the Okavango before we head towards Nata to watch a magnificent sunset over the Magadikgadi Pans. The shimmering saltpans of Makgadikgadi appear as a glaring, white, endless plain. When the rain comes a dramatic change takes place as thousands of wildebeest and zebra migrate to the sweet nutritious grasslands and clouds of Flamingo feed in its algae rich waters. It is an area of low rainfall so this spectacle only lasts a short while. [tented lodge or chalets BL -]
Day 10 – 11 CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
The Chobe River is a stunning feature of Botswana and will be the focus of our lodge stay. The Chobe River flows lazily along the northern boundary of the Chobe National Park attracting some of the largest herds of elephant in Africa. Early morning 4WD game drive in the Chobe National Park and an afternoon game viewing “sundowner” cruise to see the mighty elephant herds return to the Chobe River to quench their thirst. [lodge BL -]
Day 12 – 13 VICTORIA FALLS/LIVINGSTONE
We visit “Mosi oa Tunya” or “the smoke that thunders” - Victoria Falls. These magnificent falls are one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The Victoria Falls Bridge was commissioned by Cecil John Rhodes in 1900, and was completed by 1905, although Rhodes never lived to see it. It spans the impressive gorge and the famous adrenalin pumping Victoria Falls bungi jump is done from this bridge, with a terrifying drop of 360ft (111m). Opportunities to white water raft on the mighty Zambezi River, bungi jump, or take a “flight of angels” (own expense). [chalets Bx2 - -]
Day 14 LIVINGSTONE – TOUR ENDS
Tour ends after breakfast. [- B - -]
PRE & POST TOUR ACCOMMODATION:
Due to the early departure time of this safari we recommend that you stay in Johannesburg the night before safari. Please indicate if you require assistance with airport transfers and hotel reservations in the vacation planner when prompted.
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM:
You will spend two nights at Santawani Lodge, a local community operated lodge, bordering Moremi. Your visit and use of the ac¬commodation, meals and local guides supports the community and conservation. It also gives you an opportunity to meet members of the community through their work at the lodge.
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We had a wonderful time and it is difficult to express the exhilaration we all felt throughout the trip. Where to begin? Inevitably with the wildlife: the big five (including leopard on two occasions, a walking safari lion kill, two separate large prides, cubs having fresh buffalo for breakfast and a four day old baby elephant), hippo mowing the lawn at our lodge, a pack of 18 wild dog, caracal, serval, genet, spotted hyena, honey badger, porcupine and Boomslang by our lodge as well as all the common favourites- we appreciate just how lucky we have been (especially when the guides got excited as well!). The fact that the birdlife was so extensive and Peter got to see his dung beetle was the icing on the cake.
We expected the Delta to be beautiful but all areas had their own magic and the sounds and smells of Africa lived up to my childhood dreams. The Botswanan people were also unfailingly friendly and welcoming- The Number One Ladies Detective Agency may be a cliche but a very good one!
We can't speak highly enough of Wiehan who was hugely knowledgable, efficient, fantastic with the children, good company and an excellent cook. He made a great trip a brilliant one, ably supported by Francois. The trip ran like clockwork with a great balance between activities and chill time, equipment and vehicles were fine and the lodges were much better than we were expecting (God knows why anybody should spend $500 at some lodges in the region?!). If we could have changed anything, it would have been to have increased the amount of camping. The other tour was just about all under canvas and we felt that might have been too much for the boys (probably not as it happened although they loved the swimming pools). Many thanks to Sunway and yourself for letting us take the trip as a single family of 'five'. We understand the issues regarding kids under 12 with other guests but the boys coped very well with the schedule.
Many thanks once again for all your attention to detail and your very prompt communication at all times.
With best wishes Rob, Tanya, Edward and Peter Holmes
Wild Parks April 2007
PS (to Bruce) Can Edward work for you in a gap year (2015)? Ask Wiehan- he knows his birds!!! And is there scope for a burnt out Doctor in his mid forties to retrain as a guide- I like the look of the syllabus?
If you’d like to contact the Holmes family about their trip please email them. (Remember they may not always be available answer questions as they may be at work or perhaps on holiday again!)
Product Code
BTA14
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Price
Euro 1795 pp sharing
+ local payment US$300 pp
+ single supplement Euro 450
(If you are traveling on your own, Sunway will “room” you with another same gender client. You do not pay extra when booking as a single person. If however you request a single room, then you'll pay the single supplement.)-
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