Safari Nzuri's Africa Voyages

Botswana

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After reviewing our Botswana page, below, please feel free to drop us an email at: mail@safarinzuri.com If you would let us know your party's size; your goals and expectations for your safari; when you'd like to visit Botswana; and whether you'd prefer an exclusive tented safari (somewhat more expensive) or some of Botswana's most highly regarded small, permanent camps (somewhat less expensive), we would be glad to provide you with particular guide or camp materials that should best meet your requirements.

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Safari Nzuri relies on Wilderness Safaris to take our clients deep into the wild heart of the Okavango Delta, far from the crowded tourist circuit.

The Okavango Delta, Moremi and Linyanti reserves, and Chobe National Park corridor in northern Botswana offer a verdant, largely roadless and abundant game venue. The Delta itself is maze of a papyrus, and palm and aloe-covered islands, where travelers can still leave the tourist trade days behind. Vast arid game reserves, like the Nxai and Makgadikgadi pans, and the Central Kalahari, extend to the south, and offer opportunities for the stunning gemsbok and Kalahari lion. For the latest State Department information on Botswana, click here.

Safari Season

Like most of southern Africa, the high season here is May-October, when the sky is clear, the days moderate and the nights crisp (and even sometimes frosty).  The Okavango flood peaks during this period, making the high season ideal for the Delta’s water-oriented camps.  But don’t overlook the October-December period.  Although this period overlaps the beginning of the rainy season, it is also a time when the Okavango flooding ebbs, exposing bare land at what (in July) were camps surrounded by water.  New grasses sprout up in the newly-exposed land.  That attracts prey, which in turn attracts predators. 

Drawbacks

Maun, the gateway to the Okavango, is littered with tourists, and the risk of crowded travel arrangements is high. To ensure our clients a quality natural experience, we rely on Wilderness Safaris, which manages 15 of the most remote and upscale Okavango, Moremi and Linyanti camps--some accommodating as few as eight guests.

For those who want a serious education in the Kalahari, we recommend Jack's Camp and its sister camp, San Camp, as a special end to any Botswana expedition.

And, of course, Safari Nzuri is prepared to arrange your privately-guided custom safari just about anywhere in this region, with one of Botswana's top private guides and as much logistical support and staffing as your needs require. Please ask us about this extraordinary service.

A Note on Wilderness Safaris

Wilderness Safaris is one of Africa’s most highly-regarded high-end safari camp operators, both for the quality and location of its camps, and its conservation efforts.  In 2007, National Geographic Traveler voted Wilderness Safaris the top Safari Outfitter in Southern Africa, and the second-place winner in that category for the entire continent.  Its Children in the Wilderness program, in which it closes its camps to paying guests in order to host disadvantaged children from the region and educate them to the wonders of their own natural heritage, is a continental model.  It is committed to building small but luxurious camps that blend in utterly with the vast open lands around them.  On average, there are about 18,500 acres of exclusively-controlled wilderness for every room in the Wilderness Safaris’ camp system.

Wilderness Safaris' Northern Botswana Camps

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To the right: whether browsing or grazing, visitors are likely to see ample elephant throughout the northern Botswana game region.

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Most first-time visitors to northern Botswana will split their time between "water camps" and "land camps." "Water camps" are those located in or bordering the more permanent portions of the Okavango Delta. Here is where you'll take makoro canoes through the papyrus, amongst the prolific birdlife of the Delta proper, and of course the hippo and croc. Water-adapted wildlife like the lechwe is common in around these camps, and plains game often appears in surprisingly large numbers. The remaining safari time is spent in "land camps," in the adjoining Moremi, Linyanti or Chobe areas where great herds of elephant are commonplace, all manner of antelope are common, and packs of African wild hunting dog compete with lion, cheetah and hyena.

The camps are connected by small plane service, with each camp having access to its own air strip. Most of these camps are located on private reserves adjoining the larger government reserves, so that game walking and night drives, as well as makoro canoeing and day game drives, are available to the active guests.

Below is a thumbnail sketch of Wilderness Safaris' camps.  For a beautifully-illustrated and comprehensive guide of each Wilderness Safaris’ camps, and a detailed description of camp location, activities and amenities, please do visit Wilderness Safaris’ website at www.wilderness-safaris.com.  Retrace your steps back to Safari Nzuri for camp pricing and availability.

Here are the camps:

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Hippo herds choke the shorelines of the Okavango and the Savuti channel

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The Water Camps

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A leopard cub greets his mother at Kwetsani Camp.

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Kwetsani Camp is a water camp during the high water period of May-September (the peak tourism season). It is in intimate 10-bed luxury camp where guests track game by makoro and explore neighboring islands on foot. Come October, the Okavango’s flood waters recede, new grasses sprout, and prey antelope like lechwe and impala invade Kwetsani’s environs.  The predators quickly follow, and this makes Kwetsani an excellent place for viewing lion, cheetah and leopard.

Duba Plains is one of the Okavango Delta's most remote camps and is located in the furthermost reaches of the Delta. There are six luxury tents here. Large herds of buffalo are the lions' main prey, and lechwe and sable antelope graze on the adjoining savannah. Leopard inhabit nearby islands.

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Navigating papyrus channels in the Okavango in a makoro canoe.

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Jacana Camp is true water camp, with only eight guests staying deep in the water maze of the permanent Delta. The camp is in one of the most densely populated areas for both the rare sitatunga, and lechwe. Birdlife in this aquatic environment is, of course, exceptional.

Jao Camp is situated on a private reserve adjoining the Moremi Game Reserve. This is also a 16-bed luxury tented camp, and from May to late September the canoeing is excellent in crystal clear Delta waters. Despite its water emphasis, lion, cheetah and leopard are all plentiful.

Vumbura Camp and Little Vumbura Camp are both located on a private reserve in a transition area between water and land. The former accommodates 16, the latter only 10. Little Vumbura is surrounded by water on an ancient ebony island, while Vumbura treats its guests to luxury accomodations on a land mass that supports fine sable antelope populations, as well as the full range of predators--from cheetah and lion to hunting dog.

Xigera Camp opened a new 16-bed camp in May, 2000. It is situated on Paradise Island within Moremi, in an area that has permanent water year-round--making it the perfect water and land activity camp. It is one of the only Okavango camps to offer game drives, foot safaris, makoros and boating trips in total privacy. The birding is world class here, and sitatunga antelope are at their highest density in this neighborhood.

The Land Camps

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Cheetah are quite common in the Linyanti and Savuti areas

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Chitabe Camp and Chitabe Lediba Camp are located in an exclusive private photographic reserve alongside Moremi. Chitabe welcomes 16 guests in luxury; Chitabe Lediba half that many in a remote wilderness setting. The ebony, leadwood and sausage tree island on which the camps are located is well-regarded for its wild hunting dog, and also support lion, leopard and cheetah. Night drives are routine here as well.

Duma Tau Camp  is located in the Linyanti Reserve. The eight canvas room camp overlooks an enormous lagoon, and it is renowned for its elephant. Virtually all the region's land game frequents this area of the Linyanti, including all major predators and rarer antelope such as sable, roan and eland. Hippo watching by pontoon, and observations from the camps hides, compliment the rewarding game drives in this game-rich environment.

Kings Pool Camp is another Linyanti camp, this 10-tent luxury camp bordering Chobe National Park's western frontier. The camp is noted for large elephant herds, and the richness and diversity of its land game populations--both predator and prey. It is not a camp for light sleepers--the birds, hippo, lion and other wildlife crowd about camp in such great numbers that their predawn cacophony can waken even the most jaded Afriphile. Because it is on a private reserve, it can offer night drives and game walks in an area with park-like wildlife populations--a real treat for the serious naturalist.

Linyanti Tented Camp is located east of Kings Pool and thus quite close to Chobe's borders. This outpost camp accommodates no more than eight in an area known for its enormous elephant herds. Sable and roan antelope are here too, as are lion, leopard and wild dog. There are also marshes with lechwe and sitatunga, making this camp diverse as well as abundant. It is an actively diverse camp, with game walks and canoe safaris complimenting the day and night game drives.

Mombo Camp and Little Mombo Camp are the flagship camps of Wilderness Safaris, and maybe northern Botswana itself. You'll pay a premium to stay at these 9-room and 3-room luxury tented camps (see below), assuming you can get in. The draw of Mombo is that it offers arguably the best wildlife experience in southern Africa. Many of the cheetah photos from National Geographic's 1999 spread were taken here, and a large pack of wild hunting dogs frequents the camp area. Mombo is Botswana's top wildlife documentary location.  Mombo and Little Mombo came in 2nd place in Conde Nast Traveler’s Top 30 Resorts Africa/Middle East—and 1st place in all of Africa itself.

Savuti Camp lies in the Linyanti's southern area. The eight-guest lodge is situated in an area especially known for its predators, and it is very isolated, giving is few guests the feel of old Africa. The camp has identified 40 different lion that inhabit the Savuti Channel around the camp, and Savuti offers some of the best elephant viewing anywhere. There is fantastic wildlife viewing directly from camp, and the camp maintains a system of hides as well.

The Cost of Wilderness Safaris' Camps

As guests usually combine at least one "water" and one or more "land" camps, Wilderness Safaris offers multiple-camp packages that include air transfers from Maun, and between camps, and return to either Maun or Kasane. For example, the high season cost of a six-night stay at an Okavango water camp (2 nights);a Moremi land camp (2 nights) and a Linyanti land camp (2 nights), inclusive of air from and to Maun, would be $6172/person (double accommodations). These costs, of course, are inclusive, including (in this example) four small plane transfers to and among the camps. There is a $782/person/night surcharge for staying at Mombo, with smaller surcharges for Jao, Kings Pool, Duba Plains and Vumbura Plains. High season runs from June 15—November 30. A suggestion: travel in early June or December, and save about $1000/person on the 6-night package just described. These are 2008 rates, and, like most camps, are subject to single supplements for travelers exploring alone.

Camp prices also decline with stays of at least seven nights in any combination of Botwana Wilderness Safaris camps.

Wilderness Safaris’ Set Departures

In 2008, Wilderness Safaris will be offering a number of set departures—itineraries that explore a variety of Botswana ecosystems over 9-13 days, at very affordable prices.  During the high season, these set departure safaris run as frequently as every three days, making it an ideally-flexible introduction to northern Botswana.   Here are two examples:

·        Migration Routes.  The 9-day Migration Routes takes the time to explore the contrasts, extremes and continually moving game of northern Botswana: from the mokoro trails of the Xigera area of the Okavango, to Lechwe Island Camp in the Okavango, to the Savuti Marsh and then Linyanti Trails Camp, and then ends at Chobe National Park, Victoria Falls and Livingstone Airport, Zambia.  The cost of this safari is $3650/person, double accommodations shared.  No more than 8 travelers can join these frequently-scheduled set departure safaris.  ; and

·        The Great Wilderness Journey.  This more extensive exploration of the Delta and surrounding areas offers six nights’ safari at two Okavango Delta Camps; followed by three days’ exploration of the game-rich Linyanti reserve; then ending at Chobe National Park, Victoria Falls and Sussi Lodge, Zambia.  The cost is $6780/person, double accommodations shared.    

Selinda Camp

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In Botswana's better small camps--the ones, like Selinda, that operate in their own concession areas with the freedom to act on a lark--one can pretty much suit one's fancy, including setting up lunch with the local hippo.

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Northern Botswana abounds in small private camps. Our favorite has always been Selinda Camp -- a 12-bed isolated camp located in the middle of a game-rich, 1500 sq. km. private concession area. While all of the wildlands between the Okavango and Chobe are blessed with good game, the Selinda area is special for its elephant, hippo, kudu and cat shows; and, being in its own private concession area, one can engage in night drives and walks to one's delight. Selinda also operates an even more remote 6-bed camp called Zibadianja, and it offers very popular 4-person (maximum) walking safaris. You can either substitute Selinda Camp for one of the camps covered in the 6-night Wilderness Safaris’ safari described above at a high-season surcharge of $130/person/night; or, add Selinda to the end of that trip at a nightly high-season rate of $970/person/night.

Jack's Camp

Our clients frequently ask to add the great Kalahari Desert to their Botswana safari. For that, we've got one rock-sure suggestion:

16-bed Jack's Camp and 12-bed San Camp are unique in that they are the only permanent camps to offer a chance to explore and understand the Kalahari Desert. The camps' concession adjoins the Makgadikgadi National Park with its endless vistas of rolling golden grasslands. Behind camp are the huge salt pans of the Makgadikgadi.

Jack's Camp was originally established in the 1960's by the late Jack Bousfield, who lived there for many years preceding his unfortunate death in an aircraft accident. The owners have now completely refurbished the Camp in a traditional East African 40's safari style. Authentic, but comfortable and stylish, including many thoughtful and unique details.  There are roomy, classically styled tents with private bucket showers and flush loos that are set into a palm grove, creating an oasis of civilization in what can be the harshest of stark environments. A visit to the area is essential for anyone interested in evolution and the origins and explanation of the Okavango Delta and Botswana’s big picture.

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Who knows what will happen during a meerkat photo shoot at Jack’s Camp

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Jack’s Camp is quite well known for its meerkat viewing.  A camp naturalist spends each night with a large family of meerkats, and radio’s their pre-dawn location each day.  Camp guests then visit the meerkats as they emerge from their den, and watch their morning feeding routine.  It is Africa at its comical best, with the meerkats scurrying about in complete disregard of the visitors.

Jack’s Camp is also a complete desert experience focusing on species unique to the area such as gemsbok, brown hyeana and springbok, as well as the geology, archaeology and anthropology of the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi. Jack's and San Camp are the only places where Guests usually see the rare and elusive brown hyeana in the whole of Africa.

Many of the camp's guides are fully qualified zoologists/geologists, often working on their doctoral program.

The Makgadikgadi is one of the most important wetland sites remaining in Africa. In the wet season, the Pans fill with water attracting flocks of flamingo and other migratory birds. The area is also the only place in Southern Africa where one is often able to get a good look at a migration of tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra, followed by predators.

In the dry season, the camp uses four wheel drive quad bikes to cover the countryside. You can take game walks with bushman trackers, visit remote area dwellings, trek to any number of archeological sites, and fly camp during longer stays. A three-night minimum is requested--enough time to get civilization out of your system, and acclimate to the adventure of being truly alone in the Kalahari.

High season 2007 camp rates for a three-night stay at Jack’s Camp, inclusive of round trip air fare from Maun, were $2645/person.   The rates are based on sharing double accommodations, and single supplements apply. We are still awaiting rates for 2008.

Chobe and Your African Dream Come True

16-bed Chobe Chilwero Camp is the only small private camp in Chobe National Park, and offers a chance at exclusivity in this otherwise crowded park.

Abu's Camp is a once-in-several-lifetimes experience. The camp owns its own 1/2 million acre concession abutting Moremi, and wildlife viewing is done on the backs of African elephant. 2008 rates are $7622/person for a 3-night stay, inclusive of air fare from any Okavango or Moremi area camp.

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