Botswana small group holiday, added comfort
Late availability on these dates: 22 Aug, 05 Sep, 12 Sep, 19 Sep, 26 Sep, 10 Oct, 31 Oct
Description of Botswana small group holiday, added comfort
The astonishing diversity of Botswana’s wildlife, and its landscapes, are on full display with this week-long small group tour from Chobe National Park to Maun. Admire them from 4x4 safari vehicles, from boats, traditional mokoro canoes, and – as optional extra – scenic flights over the vast Okavango Delta. Expert local trackers, guides, and drivers are employed throughout, of course, maximising your chances of breathtaking sightings while ensuring that communities in Botswana benefit from safari tourism.
Meet your group (maximum 12 people) and your tour leader over a delicious Botswanan meal in Chobe, before an early morning drive through what is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife-watching destinations. The park is home to immense herds of elephants, cape buffaloes, and impalas, along with lions, leopards, and African wild dogs.
You’ll spend two nights at a superb river camp on the bank of the Zambezi, its tented chalets constructed sustainably with locally sourced materials and traditional techniques. You’ll sleep in comfort, shower with solar-powered hot water, and bask in unrivalled views of the river and the bush from the camp’s private deck. The camp’s secluded location also make is a fantastic base for boat cruises along the Zambezi, for wildlife sightings with very few other people around.
Continue on to the sprawling salt pans of Makgadikgadi, where ostrich, aardvark, and mongoose can be seen against the otherworldly scenery, along with plumes of pink flamingos. It’s a complete contrast to the bush and riverine setting of Chobe further north.
Early starts are common on this trip. Not only do they allow you to beat the crowds to popular wildlife-viewing spots, but they also allow for the best sightings of some animals that are at their most active shortly after dawn. One example is the meerkat, and you’ll head out to find a resident family as they forage and frolic, and hopefully pose for some photos.
The final stop of your Botswana trip, and another stunning change of scenery, is the Okavango Delta, its waterways teeming with animals from hippos to crocodiles. The best way to see them is from a traditional dugout canoe, known as a mokoro . You can also take a scenic flight above the delta if you wish, for some spectacular bird’s eye views.
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Planet
We believe that wild animals should be viewed – with no contact or interaction – doing what they do best: living in the wild. This trip includes wildlife viewing in Chobe National Park, the Makgadikgadi Pans and the Boteti River. Our leaders are trained to ensure that visitors don’t call out, whistle or try to get the attention of an animal as uncommon noises cause stress for them. Our drivers and local guides are also trained not to use their vehicle to get an animal to move or drive off road to get a better view or get closer to the animals.We search out accommodation that is suitable for our travellers, while also finding properties that are making concerted efforts to reduce their environmental impact. We include properties that have water-saving measures in place, use renewable energy sources, and are built to complement their surroundings. This trip includes a two night stay at the Chobe River Camp. The tented chalets are built with locally-sourced Mopane timber and the camp runs on solar power.
People
Our trips often include the highlights of a country or region, but we understand that over tourism has a great impact on these popular locations and their local communities. To minimise our effect on the world’s most admired sites we design our itineraries to visit at quieter times of the day, ensure part of the entry costs are allocated to conservation and preservation of the site, and at times we will choose an alternative location that provides the same experience as the more well-known location. This trip includes a full-day cruise on the Chobe River, visiting parts of the area that are rarely seen by tourists. Travellers will have the opportunity to view abundant wildlife without the crowds. A wonderful experience for travellers, but more importantly, lessening the impact on the natural environment of the area.The best folk to show you the heart of a destination are the ones that live there, which is why we work exclusively with local leaders. Our leaders are not only travel experts, they’re teachers, travel gurus and enthusiastic purveyors of grassroots experiences. They’ll just as easily steer you through the laneways of a city as help you strike up a conversation with the locals – and all with a smile. On this trip through Botswana, travellers will also be joined by local guides in several places. In each location these guides will bring to life the destination, its history and what makes it special. That might be the natural history of the Makgadikgadi Pans, the daily habits of meerkats in the Ntwetwe salt pans or the leopards of the Boteti River.
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