Botswana

Safaris for those in the know

By James Gifford

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With almost one third of its land set aside for conservation, a low-density tourism policy that leaves it blissfully crowd-free and the largest free-roaming elephant population on the planet, a Botswana safari is for those in the know.

The Okavango Delta’s unique scenery and abundant big five game understandably draws most of the attention, but Botswana is much more than a one-hit wonder. Its parks and reserves span an impressive range of landscapes, from the surreal stark beauty of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to the primaeval wilderness of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

The country’s wildlife is rich and varied. In addition to the countless elephants, giraffe, buffalo and hippo that fill the water-rich northern parks, there is the chance to spot less common desert species in the more arid Kalahari regions. It is also home to the continent’s longest zebra migration, a healthy population of lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog, and over 600 species of birds.

Activities are similarly diverse – adventurous safari-goers can ditch the traditional game-viewer in favour of any mode of transport imaginable: safari by horse-back, boat, mokoro canoe or quad-bike, or simply venture out on foot.

The only drawback is that the luxury of exclusivity comes at a price – the top camps in the private concessions can rival the most expensive in Africa. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the costs, so even travellers with slimmer wallets can experience one of Africa’s last great wildernesses without breaking the bank.

Hidden gems in Botswana

Okavango Delta

See African wild dogs in the Okavango Delta

Rory Sheldon

Experience

The African wild dog, also known as painted dogs, are an endangered species with a wild population that has plummeted to just 6,500. They are found in sporadic and isolated patches across southern and east Africa, but by far their biggest concentration is in my backyard, the Okavango Delta, and watching a pack call and 'rally' before embarking on a hunt is one of the most enthralling safari experiences you can find anywhere in Africa. Just like its domesticated relatives, the wild dog are extremely social and highly verbal: communicating with each other in clicks and whistles that sound more like birdsong than a dog growling or barking. This helps them achieve impressive feats of coordination as they take down impala, or sometimes even wildebeest. Trust me – you have to see a wildebeest up close to understand how daunting an undertaking this is! You can see wild dogs throughout the Okavango Delta, but my recommended spot is around the Linyanti area in the north. Some camps are located close to resident packs of wild dogs and you can hear them crying, jostling and playing in the morning and evenings. The wild dog's main threat is habitat encroachment by agriculture, and farmers who engage hunters to protect their livestock. Thus, well-managed tourism and conservation is an excellent bulwark to help conserve their habitats and this is an experience I'd recommend to anyone.

Nxai Pan National Park

Zebra migration in Nxai Pan National Park

Anthony Ham

I’ve always loved Nxai Pan – it’s never busy, my sightings of lion, elephant and cheetah seem perfectly framed by these big horizons, and the baobabs by the salt pans here are a striking presence. With a handful of campsites (including at remote Baines’ Baobabs, a remarkable cluster of seven ancient baobabs (named after explorer and painter, Thomas Baines) and just one upmarket lodge, there’s rarely more than a couple of other vehicles at any sighting. As well as plenty of elephant, and a good chance of seeing lion and cheetah, Nxai Pan has a couple of other wildlife highlights to draw you here. After the rains, thousands of zebra migrate here from the Chobe and Linyanti rivers after the rains forming part of Africa’s longest zebra migration. And for reasons unknown, Nxai Pan is the only place in Botswana where you can see springbok and impala in the same place.

Okavango Panhandle

Birding in the Okavango Panhandle

Anthony Ham

Although not a big game destination, the broad and meandering Okavango River in the northwest of the country is a birder’s paradise, with over 350 recorded species including several iconic Okavango specialties. It is also popular among anglers, particularly around September, when the receding flood waters concentrate huge shoals of baitfish, attracting a melee of catfish, tiger fish, bream and birds. Activities are mostly by boat or on foot. Other wildlife is far less common, and you’d be lucky to see much more than a crocodile or hippo in the river’s waters.

Kwando Reserve

Linyanti, Kwando and Selinda Reserves

Anthony Ham

Scattered along the northern waterways of the perennial Linyanti and Kwando rivers, and the seasonal Selinda spillway, the camps in these three neighbouring private concessions operate in a similar manner to those inside the Okavango Delta. Game-viewing is as good as in the Okavango, with predator-tracking a particular specialty of the Kwando camps. Most camps offer game or wildlife drives, mokoro boat trips, and sunset boat excursions. What you see in these parts depends very much on the time of year you visit. In Linyanti, for example, from May to October, expect to see lots of elephants, while zebras migrate through the area, usually from February to April. At other times, wildlife can be very scarce, although the November-to-April wet season is excellent for birding in all three concessions, with migrants from Europe and North Africa here en masse.

Northern Tuli Game Reserve

Explore Northern Tuli Game Reserve

Anthony Ham

In the far southeastern corner of the country and formerly divided into a number of segregated farms alongside the Limpopo River, NTGR is now one of the largest privately-owned conservation areas in southern Africa. The spectacular landscape, featuring rolling hills, basalt cliffs, ancient riverbeds and towering granite kopjes, is unlike anywhere else in Botswana. In fact, when combined with its impressive portfolio of wildlife, it remains a mystery to me why more people don’t visit this remarkable place. Expect regular sightings of elephant, giraffe, lion, leopard and cheetah as well as less common species like eland and klipspringer, and over 350 bird species. Ground-level photographic hides, ancient archaeological ruins and a choice of horse-riding, walking or even cycling safaris complete a chocolate box-assortment of activities.

Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

Spot the flamingoes of Makgadikgadi Pans

Anthony Ham

Makgadikgadi Pans is famous for hosting one of the largest zebra migrations in Africa. Every year, tens of thousands of zebra migrate east-west through the park, between the pans in the east and the Boteti River out west. From high on the riverbank at the latter, I’ve watched zebras swarm down to the water’s edge in a haze of raised dust, dizzying stripes and distinctive zebra barks. I’ve also seen flamingos away on the eastern pans in flocks so vast that they seem to move as a single entity. And I’ve drawn near to habituated meerkats just outside the park, and seen brown hyenas and aardvarks close to sunset.

Tsodilo Hills

Ancient history in the Tsodilo Hills

Anthony Ham

Rising from the barren, sandy plains of the Kalahari in a remote corner of north-western Botswana, these four hills project a certain kind of magic. Sacred to the indigenous San people and reputed to possess mystical powers (as Laurens van der Post found in the 1950s on a visit that formed the centrepiece of his classic The Lost World of the Kalahari), the Tsodilo Hills are best known as one of the world’s finest galleries of ancient rock art. More than 4,500 artworks – mostly paintings, but engravings, too – adorn the rock walls of the range, and some date back thousands of years. Walking trails lead past the artworks that range in subject matter from whales and penguins (despite Tsodilo Hills being more than 1000 km from the ocean) to lions and human figures. I highly recommend you visit with a local guide to greatly enhance your visit. Unless you’re self-driving and staying at one of the campsites in the shadow of the Tsodilo Hills, there is no accommodation nearby.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Off the beaten path in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Anthony Ham

In the far south of Botswana, this transfrontier park spills over into South Africa. The Botswana side of the park receives far fewer visitors than the South African sections across the border. The scenery here consists of a dense scrubland and some of the loveliest salt-pan scenery anywhere in Botswana. With a number of hills overlooking these pans, they’re spectacular places, especially at sunset, and many of the self-drive campsites take full advantage of these hilltop positions. Kgalagadi is known for its classic Kalahari wildlife, and aside from the usual oryx (gemsbok), giraffe and wide range of antelope species, I’ve always had luck with the extravagantly horned greater kudu, lion, cheetah and even a fleeting glimpse of meerkats. The park provides habitat for nearly 300 different bird species, and I was particularly thrilled when the elusive Kalahari scrub robin and the vivid violet-eared waxbill visited my campsite one evening.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Taste true wilderness in the Central Kalahari

Anthony Ham

Measuring 52,000 square kilometres, I think this vast wilderness is a signature Botswana safari experience. Known for its golden grasslands, salt pans, sand dunes covered in vegetation and wide former river valleys, it’s a soulful experience that’s custom-made for a self-drive safari. The mammal density and diversity are not quite a match for the northern parks making it less well-suited to first-time safari travellers but for the feel of a true African wilderness, CKGR is tough to beat. Hugging the park’s northern boundary, the Hainaveld consists of a handful of compact, segregated, privately-owned reserves. The denser habitat means the landscape is less scenic than inside the park, but pumped waterholes concentrate the game in the dry season. Several of the lodges employ local Kalahari bushmen with legendary tracking skills, who will also teach you about their way of life on a guided walk.

Chobe National Park

See elephants and more in Chobe National Park

Anthony Ham

Chobe incorporates two distinct regions: Chobe River (close to the Zimbabwe and Zambia borders), famous for its large elephant herds; and Savute (in the west), where a juxtaposition of contrasting habitats and handful of pumped water holes sustain a melting pot of species. Chobe in general, but especially the riverfront, has one of the highest elephant densities in Africa and close-up sightings are almost guaranteed. Lions and leopards are also possible here, with giraffe, zebra, buffalo, hippo and crocodiles all commonly seen. Game drives are the order of the day in Savute where wildlife-viewing is good year-round. Savute is known for its predators – I’ve always had luck with lion, leopard and cheetah here, and on my last trip I spent an afternoon watching a highly active den of African wild dogs. As with the rest of Chobe, elephants are everywhere in Savute.

Okavango Delta

Explore water world in the Okavango Delta

Anthony Ham

This is a world without fences and, because of the water levels, human settlements are mostly restricted to the Delta’s perimeter, leaving the rest to wildlife. In the southern part of the Delta, including in Moremi Game Reserve and Khwai Community Concession, expect a mix of luxury tented camps and budget campsites catering mostly to those on self-drive safaris. The deeper you go into the Delta, the more the crowds thin, with entire concessions given over to the exclusive lodges and tented camps that are such a feature of a safari in Botswana. For most of the tourist season, many of these camps and lodges can only be reached by small plane. Out here, I’ve had the wildlife entirely to myself.

Okavango Delta

Splash Camp

Rory Sheldon

Splash Camp is a small camp in the private Kwara Reserve. Operated by Kwando Safaris who have better responsible travel credentials than most: locally based, no greenwashing, and supporting valuable community projects.

See African wild dogs in the Okavango Delta

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Splash Camp

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Okavango kayaking expedition

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Savute Under Canvas

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Camp out in Khutse Game Reserve

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Nata Bird Sanctuary

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See the baobabs of Kubu Island

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Khama Rhino Sanctuary

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Chitabe & Qorokwe concessions

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View all 19 Botswana experiences

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Safari in Botswana

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Safari in the Okavango Delta

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Safari in Chobe National Park

James Gifford

Occupying a vast swathe of territory in Botswana’s north-east, Chobe National Park belongs among the elite of southern Africa’s wildlife destinations. Chobe incorporates two distinct regions: Chobe River (close to the Zimbabwe and Zambia borders), famous for its large elephant herds; and Savute (in the west), where a juxtaposition of contrasting habitats and handful of pumped water holes sustain a melting pot of species.

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Safari in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve

James Gifford

Measuring 52,000 square kilometres, I think this vast wilderness is a signature Botswana safari experience.

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Safari in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

James Gifford

Part of the largest network of salt pans on the planet (the pans cover an area the size of Switzerland), Makgadikgadi Pans is a soulful, spectacular place. Once the lakebed of a vast inland sea, at once wilderness and void, it’s home to some real Kalahari specials when it comes to wildlife.