Botswana
Perhaps some of the most memorable travel experiences I’ve ever had were on our safari in Botswana. Our time spent in Africa was filled with rare animal sightings, unique activities, incredible dinners, and some of the kindest people you will ever meet! In addition, living off the grid without cell reception for 3 weeks was actually refreshing and allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in the unforgettable experience. In fact, after just a few days, seeing an elephant around the corner became the norm!
When to Visit:
- The best time of year to visit Botswana is between May-September; during their Dry season. At this time, it is winter in Africa, which results in much more moderate temperatures. We went August, which was the perfect for us.
- Keep in mind that the temperature shifts drastically from morning to night during this time of year. Early mornings were extremely cold, while the afternoons warmed up drastically. We often found ourselves bundled in layers of jackets, gloves, and blankets during the morning safaris. In contrast, the afternoon safaris were much warmer, and we were completely comfortable in T-shirts and light pants.
For more on what to pack, head on over to my BOTSWANA PACKING GUIDE.
Planning Ahead:
Africa Travel Resource (ATR) was an incredibly organized and helpful travel agency. ATR arranged all of our connecting flights between camps and gave us helpful packing tips, as well helpful itinerary suggestions.
ATR assisted us in selecting 4 different camps to stay at during our time in Botswana. The first camp was in the Kalahari Desert, the second and third camps were both located in the Okavango Delta, and the final camp was along the Lenanti River. Staying in multiple camps gave us a chance to see a wider variety of animals as well as experience different habitats.
For more information and booking inquiries, visit www.africatravelresource.com.
BOTSWANA HIGHLIGHTS
Camp 1: Makgadikgadi San Camp
Location: Kalahari Desert
San Camp was beautiful and lavishly decorated with white drapes, colorful furniture, and gorgeous wall art.
That night, we had a once of a lifetime experience riding quad bikes deep into the Ntwetwe Salt Pans as the sun was setting. At one point, Barquis has us step off our bikes and walk in opposite directions on the Salt Pans. He gave us a few moments to quiet our voices and enjoy the complete (almost eerie) silence of the Salt Pans. I have never been in complete silence like this in my entire life. There was absolutely nothing in the distance besides land and sky. No living creatures, no technology, no humans; just us and the salt crunching beneath our feet. It was a truly unique experience.
The next day was one of my favorite moments of the trip: meeting Timon and his meerkat friends!
These adorable little guys were just starting off their day basking in the sun, searching for bugs, and staying alert for potential predators. Barquis told us that if we were patient and still, the meerkats may utilize our shoulders to climb onto in order to gain higher ground. Lucky for me, I was the chosen shoulder! It was such an unforgettable moment!
On our last day at San Camp, we had the incredible chance to walk with a group of Bushmen. Thirteen Bushmen arrived at our camp that morning, ready to walk with us and demonstrate how they have learned to survive in the bush.
The tribe spoke in “Click” language to one another, which we could not understand. Two of the younger bushmen were able to translate their language to English for us. We were amazed at how knowledgeable the tribe was. They demonstrated how they could identify animal footprints, and exactly how many days old they were. They also taught us how they trap scorpions, start fires, and acquire water.
Camp 2: Chitabe Lediba Camp
Location: Okavango Delta in Northern Botswana
The next leg of our journey brought us to Chitabe Lebida in the Okavango Delta. This incredible camp was home to most abundant game sightings of our entire journey in Botswana. In fact, within the first hour of our safari, we had already seen 4 out of the 5 “Big Five”, including lions, elephants, a leopard and a Cape buffalo.
Seeing elephants around our campsite became the norm while we were there. Upon our arrival, there were already 3 elephants roaming our campsite. One of them even destroyed a hand railing! Our guide told us that was completely normal behavior.
One of my favorite parts of Chitabe Camp was the pool with an unbeatable view of, you guessed it… elephants!
Another highlight in Chitabe was how close we were able to come to several prides of lions. The lions weren’t phased at all by our jeep, so we were able to see these amazing cats up close and personal- no zoom on the camera required!
Camp 3: Jacana Camp
Location: Jao Concession in the Okavango
The third camp we stayed at was a major change of scenery. Jacana Camp is a Wet camp, surrounded by water. In fact, our campsite was only accessible via boat. The camp itself was really unique in that it felt as if we were inside a luxurious tree house above the water.
It was a fun change of pace, switching from land safaris in jeeps to water safaris in boats. We were able to see a variety of different animals that we couldn’t see at the dry camps, including hippos, crocodiles, frogs, and fish.
Our guides also took us on a traditional canoe ride, using long sticks to push our way through the river.
Camp 4: Lagoon Camp
Location: Kwando concession along the Lenanti River
Our final camp that we arrived at was Lagoon camp, a dry camp along the Lenanti River. The pool at our camp overlooked a gorgeous lagoon typically packed with sun bathing hippos!
One of the highlights of our time in Lagoon Camp was having multiple opportunities to visit a den African Wild Dogs. This particular den was filled with 16 adorable puppies all snuggled together to keep warm. I loved learning about how the dogs take care of one another, by hunting together as a pack, making a kill, eating, and then returning to the den to regurgitate the kill to the puppies. It was a fascinating process to watch.
One of our favorite nightly traditions that took place every night of the trip were our “sun-downers”. These took place each night towards the end of our safari. We would park our jeep (or boat), pour drinks, and reflect back on the adventures we had that day.
Our final day in Botswana started off with an incredible sunrise and ended with an equally as incredible sunset. It made for a pretty spectacular sun-downer as well!
Our safari in Botswana was the trip of a lifetime. Although we experienced so much while we were there, I know there is still so much to see and do. Botswana; we will definitely be returning in our future!