BOTSWANA Luxury Botswana Safari Tours Botswana Safaris Over the past 15 years, Botswana has emerged as one of the most exclusive and authentic safari destinations in southern Africa. Bolstered by a stable government committed to conservation of its precious wildlife areas, Botswana boasts a wide array of well regulated and preserved ecosystems making it the ideal country to plan your Luxury African safari tours. Two thirds of the land consists of arid Kalahari desert unsuitable for agriculture making for a unique African wildlife safari experience. Out of this desert landscape arises an incredible example of nature’s unpredictability: the Okavango Delta. Okavango Delta is a must for Luxury Botswana Safari Tours, fans out across Botswana’s north- western corner and creates a paradise of islands and lagoons teeming with birds and wildlife making it the ideal destination for a Botswana safari tour. In the northeast, the famous Chobe National Park supports great concentrations of Elephant and Buffalo making the ideal place for boating and land-based safaris. In the southeast the Tuli Block, supports some of Botswana’s only commercial farming along with magnificent game reserves and offers unique horseback riding safaris as well as cycling safaris. Linyanti Game Reserve lies to the northeast of the Okavango Delta famed for its huge herds of elephant. The bulk of the concession is comprised of different Mopane woodland associations, with a strip of riparian forest and floodplain. Looking for a unique and completely different Botswana safari experience? Visit Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to enjoy nature drives on the pans, quad biking adventures, visits to the regions gigantic Baobab trees, and up close encounters with real colonies of wild meerkats. Lying adjacent to the Linyanti Reserve, the 333,000-acre Selinda game reserve boasts a similar ecological makeup, with the main difference being Selinda’s increased floodplains. All of these areas can be combined to create a comprehensive Botswana safari experience with many safari options whether it be scheduled safaris, budget safaris , customized safaris, photographic safaris, mokoro safaris, desert safaris, walking safaris, cycling safaris, birding safaris or horseback-riding safaris. Why Safari In Botswana? Thinking of going on a safari in Botswana? Botswana is the quintessential exclusive safari destination. A well planned safari in Botswana will bring you up close and personal with wildlife whether it be in a mokoro (dug out canoe) or boat on the Okavango Delta or traditional morning and afternoon game drives in open 4WD safari vehicles in private concessions or public reserves. Due to their remote locations and small size, camps in the private Botswana concessions come with a big price tag. It is expensive but the overall experience will seldom disappoint. The game viewing is spectacular. We highly recommend a combination of water and land based camps to experience different activities and environments. Why not include a visit to the salt pans of the Kalahari for a completely different take – dry arid desert with desert adapted flora and fauna. Visit a Meerkat colony and see one of the largest Baobab trees and go quad-biking on the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan, interact with and learn about the San Bushmen culture and their history. Safari in private concessions also allows for more flexibility such as night game drives and driving off- road to track and walking safaris which are not permitted in public reserves. Game Lodges in public reserves like Chobe National Park, Moremi Game Reserve may come at a lesser cost but the areas can have a higher density of vehicles. This would not take away from a spectacular game viewing experience. Custom mobile private safaris are possible on a Botswana Safari adventure which can take you to a location of your choice or you may opt to join other travelers on a scheduled mobile safari. TOP REASONS TO VISIT BOTSWANA: • The Okavango Delta • Mokoro (dugout canoe) • Remote locations • Water based camps • Land based camps • Sensational birdlife • The Makgadigadi salt pan in the Kalahari • The San Bushmen- their culture and their history • Boating safaris • Traditional 4WD safari vehicles • Meerkats • Baobab Trees Best time to go to Botswana The best time to go to Botswana? May through October will be the standard response from most. It is winter, the bush is dry and game viewing is therefore optimal and much easier. It is also extremely cold especially on a morning game drive. I always say that getting up for that early morning drive requires a board meeting with myself. What I do is put all my clothes out on the bed the night before and bring them in to the bed in the morning and I get dressed in bed! However, there is an alternative – GO GREEN in Botswana. The summer months – November through April when the rains breathe new life in to the vegetation and the birdlife goes from great to fabulous as the migrant birds arrive from Europe, Asia and other parts of Africa. Even those who are not “twitchers” will be impressed. The green season is a photographer’s paradise with the rains clearing the air and the dull brown landscape turning in to a veritable Garden of Eden. It is so beautiful but bear in mind it will be very very warm and most camps in Botswana are not air conditioned (most accommodations are tented). The green season is also less crowded and more affordable than the peak season winter months. Witness the OTHER GREAT MIGRATION: One of Botswana’s best-kept secrets is the second-longest zebra migration. Up to 25,000 zebras move in herds across the plains, from the Okavango to the Makgadikgadi Pans in the Kalahari – a journey of more than 150 miles. The rains bring new life to the plains and the zebras become a smorgasbord for the resident predators, lion, cheetah and hyenas. Easy pickings! Top Reasons to go Green in Botswana: • Avoid the masses – less crowded • More affordable • More Availability at camps that are almost impossible to get in to in season • Fabulous photographic opportunities • Babies, babies and more babies • Twitchers Delight – amazing bird watching • Get away from the cold north OKAVANGO DELTA Botswana’s Okavango Delta is rightly considered one of the most incredible wildlife and wilderness sanctuaries in Africa. It is the largest inland delta system in the world, an area of 5,800 square miles filled with water channels, lagoons, and islands. The Okavango Delta lies between shallow fault lines at the end of the Great African Rift Valley that cuts through the length of Africa. Remarkably, this wetland paradise lies deep within the arid Kalahari Desert. Deserts are low on annual rainfall and the Kalahari is no exception. But each year, floodwaters flow from their source- catchment areas in the moist central African highlands over 600 miles away – into the Delta to create the miracle that is the Okavango. Apart from the outstanding beauty of the wetland habitat, Botswana’s Okavango Delta supports and sustains a huge diversity of flora and fauna, so that game viewing is excellent right through the year. To get the most out of your Luxury Okavango Delta Safari Tour, it is very important to choose the right area for your tastes and interests, and also the right area for the time of year. The heart of the Okavango Delta is the Moremi Game Reserve, where all the major habitats and ecotones of the Okavango are conserved. Around the Moremi Game Reserve are large private reserves or concessions leased out to safari companies under strict guidelines and carrying capacities. These concessions offer the very best safari experiences with massive tracts of pristine parkland and levels of privacy encountered in very few other places today. In some of these areas, one can go out all day and not see another soul – except the animals of course. Please follow this link to see our Okavango Delta Safari Camps and Lodges LINYANTI CONCESSION To the northeast of the Okavango Delta lie the Chobe National Park, Selinda Game Reserve, and Linyanti Reserve. Because of the region’s varied habitats, any of the camps found here will add a fresh element to your itinerary and in many ways it is an essential compliment to an Okavango visit. Choose the right area for your tastes and interests, and also the right area for the time of year. The 308,000-acre Linyanti Concession straddles the western boundary of the Chobe National Park and houses an abundance of wildlife. The bulk of the concession is comprised of different Mopane woodland associations, however along the Linyanti River you will find a strip of riparian forest and floodplain. The Savute Channel An ancient watercourse, the Savute Channel, bisects the concession. This river channel lay dry for almost 30 years before recent conditions allowed it begin flowing once again. This year-round water source attracts wildlife and forms a great complement for the Linyanti Game Reserve. Linyanti is famed for its herds of elephant, reaching the world’s highest densities during the winter months (June-Aug). Other species are found in abundance including zebra, wildebeest, impala, giraffe, lechwe, reedbuck, and kudu, while rarer species like the sable and roan emerge from the woodlands during the dry season. Guests also have the chance to view predators like the lion, spotted hyena, leopard, cheetah, and wild dog. Please follow this link to see our Linyanti Game Reserve Camps and Lodges CENTRAL KALAHARI South of the Okavango Delta and dominating central Botswana, the 12 million acre Central Kalahari Game Reserve is one of the biggest protected areas in Africa and its diverse wildlife and wonderful scenery offer an amazing contrast to the rest of the country.