Botswana private vehicle safari

country:	Botswana
location:	Okavango Delta
departures:	This trip can be arranged at any time to suit you and adapted to your requirements. We'll be happy to send you a brochure containing more information
price:	From £2947 - £3998 (14 days) including flights from the UK. Price depends on month of travel. This trip can also be booked without flights

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Okavango Delta safaris

Botswana safaris

the amazing things you'll be doing

For those who enjoy the wilds, and want some real interaction with (and benefit for) the local people – this is just the trip.The first part, in Botswana, enables you to access vast tracts of Africa in pristine condition - where huge herds of game roam across the plains of the Kalahari to the majestic waterways of the Linyanti and Okavango Rivers. Botswana's beautiful scenery and large numbers of big game makes it one of Africa's top safari destinations.

Unlike most of Africa, Botswana's wildlife is not restricted to the national parks. Around these the wilderness is divided into a patchwork of huge private reserves, known as concession areas. Here small camps have exclusive use of large tracts of land for their own game viewing – the income generated goes directly to the communities in the area.Then beside the great Zambezi, Songwe Village is a ground-breaking project of co-operation between a private lodge-owning company and the Makuni Village. This is a chance to really get to know the people better, while staying within close reach of the Victoria Falls.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Leave London for Maun.
Day 2:	Upon arrival into Maun, you fly to Nxabega for the next three nights. Nxabega is high-quality camp, with very comfortable tented rooms – each having an en-suite bathroom with a shower. The camp is situated in its own private reserve beside Moremi Game Reserve. Much of this is a patchwork of forests and open plains, though you’ll also fine permanent channels and lush floodplains here.
Day 3:	Because of the varied ecosystems, Nxabega has a good variety of game which can be seen during 4WD day and night drives. The game is dominated by red lechwe, tsessebe and impala, but lion and leopard are common, as are herds of elephant, and several glades of tall acacia trees encourage lots of giraffe to stay in this area.
Day 4:	During your four stay here you can take advantage of Nxabega's activities – including , mekoro trips, motor boat excursions, and guided walks. Nxabega’s atmosphere is friendly and activities here are very flexible.
Day 5:	Light aircraft flight from Nxabega to Little Vumbura. Although still in the Okavango Delta, Vumbura’s area is totally different to that around Nxabega. Little Vumbura is tiny camp – taking a maximum of 10 visitors at one time in five en suite, walk-in tents.
Day 6:	Huge open plains, some dry and some flooded, are dotted with photogenic palm-tree islands. These can be explored by mokoro trips, short walks, game drives (day and night) and motor boats, or you can go fishing..
Day 7:	Like Nxabega, the Vumbura Reserve has (even by the Okavango’s remarkable standards) exceptionally varied wildlife. It’s one of the best reserves for wild dog, which denned and raised pups here in 2000. The open plains suit zebra, wildebeest and tsessebe especially well, as well as cheetah. There are also good concentrations of lion and spotted hyena, and good herds of elephants and buffalo. Red lechwe stick to the flooded areas, while impala, kudu and sable are more common in the wooded areas. Like many areas of the Okavango, the birdlife is superb, ranging from pink pelicans to mopane specialists like red hornbills.
Day 8:	Light aircraft flight from Little Vumbura to Zibalianja Camp. The Selinda Reserve protects 1,350km² of the Selinda Spillway, a vital ancient watercourse that is now often dry, though when flowing it links the Okavango with the Linyanti. Here Zibalianja is run by a small, locally-owned company and a team of old hands in Botswana.
Day 9:	They’ve run excellent small camps here for years, offering some of Botswana’s most informative, enthusiastic and dedicated guides to take you on guided day and night drives, and short walks.
Day 10:	The camp itself has just four comfortable tents with en-suite facilities. It stands on a small palm-island amidst wide expanses of open, dry grasslands. All around are dotted similar small ‘islands’ of palm-forest. It’s a picturesque environment, where you can often spot game a long way away - and follow the predators on their hunting sorties.
Day 11:	Light aircraft flight from Zibalianja to Kasane, where you will be met for a drive to Songwe Village, in Livingstone. The ‘village’ is poised on the edge of one of the gorges downstream of the Falls, 100m above the Zambezi. It’s a breathtaking location and is surrounded by protected land near the world heritage site.The hosts welcome you into the ‘village family’ and explain local customs and beliefs. Everything tries hard to be authentic, right down to an ox-wagon journey to a small field museum displaying stone-age artefacts, some more than 700,000 years old
Day 12:	The area is steeped in archaeological history. The emphasis is on sharing African culture with visitors. Guided visits are offered to visit early stone-age sites, the 700-year old Mukuni Village, the tree where David Livingstone first met the local Chief, and various other local historical and cultural sites. Meals are served in the traditional style and in a central thatched enclosure, called a ‘Ntantaala’. The traditional singing and dancing in the evenings where guests are encouraged to participate if the mood strikes them - provide a fitting end to a memorable two night stay.
Day 13:	Drive back to Victoria Falls airport, for your return flight home.
Day 14:	Arrive in the UK early morning.

travellers' tales

We actually saw one leopard on 4 separate occasions with 2 cubs. (more)

tailor made holiday

This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.

how this holiday makes a difference

Songwe Point Village:
Songwe Point Village is a joint venture between the local community and a local tour operator. The scheme recently won a responsible tourism award from the Non Profits in Travel Organisation in Washington D.C.. It promises the cultural experience of staying in an African village-style setting with local people. During your stay here, you will have the opportunity to be involved in village life as well as visit important historical and cultural sites.

Zibalianja:
This is one of the few camps left in Botswana which is very small, highly professional, and yet run by a company owned largely by Botswana citizens. Thus enabling tourism generated income to filter through the local economy. It's a super little camp, with a highly individual air all of its own.

Little Vumbura:
The two camps in the Vumbura Reserve (the other is "Vumbura") are part of a partnership with their nearest local communities – administered by the Okavango Community Trust. The camp's staff are all from these communities, and the OCT runs the camps in a joint-venture with the "Wilderness Safaris Group" so the communities under the OCT benefit directly from the revenue earned by the camps.

Nxabega:
Nxabega reflects the long-term sustainable tourism efforts and approach of its founder CC Africa. CC Africa take an integrated, commercial approach to conservation, maximising the returns to investors in the company whilst benefiting the host communities and preservation of wilderness through their Rural Investment Fund.

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