Botswana, once regarded as a dusty backwater has blossomed economically with the discovery of diamonds and with a farsighted government policy of low volume, high quality tourism, 45% of all the people who live in northern Botswana, are employed in the wildlife and tourism sector.

Diamonds are not the only gem found in Botswana - the Okavango Delta could truly be described as one of the most rare and unique wetland/wildlife areas in the world. The sands of the Kalahari Desert swallow up the waters of the Okavango River forming a remarkable delta situated more than 600km from the nearest ocean.

This wetland within a desert is fed by rain falling in Central Africa, many hundreds of kilometres away. The Okavango Delta is a myriad of channels, waterways and islands containing an astonishing bio-diversity of flora and fauna.

This tourism policy has extended beyond the Okavango Delta and has nurtured world-class properties in areas such as Chobe National Park, the Makgadikgadi National Park, the Central Kalahari National Park and the Tuli Block where game follow ancient pathways in the endless search for water and food in this semi desert country of great contrasts.

Why visit Botswana?

• The unique ecology of the Okavango Delta where wildlife and birds can be viewed from close quarters in a mokoro (dug out canoe).
• Central Kalahari housing a wide variety of game in a semi-desert area
• Makgadikgadi – as the last remnants of a lake, which was once the largest in Africa, these Salt Pans are dotted with one-time islands and ancient Baobab trees.
• Tuli Block – A fascinating study of ancient archaeological sites, geology, ecology and history coupled with exceptional game viewing
• Birding – Botswana in addition to a large number of migratory and resident species, has a large number of raptors
• Chobe – A superb wildlife reserve which has the largest elephant population in Africa, set amongst tropical vegetation and the Chobe River as a backdrop
• Cultural History – The San People (Bushmen) still live their timeless way of life in various parts of this country and their ancient rock art is widespread

Fact File

Botswana is a landlocked country situated in the centre of Southern Africa approximately the same size as France. It shares its borders with South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia. Three quarters of Botswana is technically a desert with very low rainfall. Botswana is essentially a mixture of semi desert thorn trees, with the amazing miracle of the Okavango Delta, which is a wetland area, with islands of mopane trees, which extend up to the mopane forests along the Chobe River in the north. Farsighted game policies in Botswana have ensured large populations of games species, particularly concentrating around permanent water, which often involves migrations.

You will experience exceptional game viewing from April to October during the cool dry months. You can expect to see more game around waterholes during September and October, as the availability of water becomes less. December to February can also be very hot and the rain can make many roads impenetrable. This is when the game disperses due to the amount of water however there is still ample to see and do. There are excellent birding opportunities during this time due to the arrival of migrants from the north. Botswana has many crocodiles in its rivers, lakes and swamp areas. Do not attempt to swim in these areas.

Currency

The Currency is the Botswana Pula (BWP), which is made up of 100 Thebe. All major hotels have foreign currency facilities and most shops, hotels, lodges and travel agencies will accept major credit cards and travellers’ cheques. It is advisable to change money into the local currency at a bank or Bureau de Change to obtain the best rates of exchange.

Climate

Botswana is generally a hot, dry area, although the rainy season does bring some relief to the summer heat. In winter the temperatures drop significantly at night, where fires and jerseys are needed, but the winter days are warm.
Summer: October to April -very hot days with temperatures that can reach 40 degrees C.
Rainy period is during December to February. Erratic rainfall with more rain in the north rather than the south of the country.
Winter: May to September - warm to hot days. Beware of nighttime temperatures, as it can become extremely cold, sometimes falling below zero in some areas.

Passports and Visa Requirements

It is advisable to confirm the specific visa requirements with the nearest Botswana Embassy abroad. If there is no Botswana Embassy in your area, you may check with the British High Commission. A maximum entry visa is valid for 30 days, however visitors are not allowed to remain in Botswana for more than 90 days in a year. All travellers are required to have a passport that is valid for at least six months after the date of departure from Botswana.

Getting There

Daily flights are available between Johannesburg and the Capital, Gaborone. Air Botswana operates domestic and regional flights. Owing to the remoteness of lodges / properties in these pristine wildlife areas, light aircraft are used to transport guests to and from camps / lodges. In many cases, road transfers are not available. Please note that weight restrictions in these light aircraft are strictly adhered to. Passengers’ baggage is restricted to 10-12kgs per person in soft-sided bags on all air charters within Botswana.

Travel Insurance

All visitors are responsible for their own international travel and medical insurance. You are strongly recommended to obtain the necessary travel insurance prior to your departure, which must include cover in respect of emergency evacuation expenses, medical expenses and repatriation expenses.

Health Information

Please note that there are malaria areas in Botswana. It is therefore strongly recommended that you take anti malaria prophylaxis to avoid this. Speak to a physician before you leave home to ensure you are on an anti malarial course of tablets if you are visiting these areas.
Inoculations: If entering from an area that is infected with yellow fever, you must have a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate to enter into Botswana.
Heat and Sun: Heat stroke, sunburn and dehydration are serious problems for travellers to Africa. It is advisable to increase your water and salt intake during the summer periods when travelling. Loose-fitting clothing will also help to keep cool.
Drinking Water: It is advisable to drink bottled water when outside of main towns.

What to Pack

Casual lightweight, comfortable cotton clothing is advised when in the bush and at lodges, during the summer months. Most lodges and camps do have swimming pools so it is advisable to pack a swimsuit. Trousers and long sleeved shirts are advisable for the evenings as a precaution against Malaria. Jerseys and jackets are necessary for early morning and evening activities, particularly during winter, when on safari. Comfortable walking shoes are essential, as are sunglasses and a hat. Most safari lodges have a laundry service. It is advisable to pack lightly when on safari and ensure that your clothing consists of neutral colours, like creams, khaki, greens and browns.
Please Note: Do NOT wear any type of camouflage clothing when visiting Botswana. Remember to pack your binoculars, a torch, a basic first aid kit, camera, film and batteries.

Where to stay

We have featured some of the finest properties in Botswana, to highlight the different aspects and areas of this incredible country. There are a number of other, very good properties available, which we would be delighted to discuss with you when we are arranging your itinerary.

Mashatu Game Lodge – Tuli Block

Mashatu Game Reserve is a privately owned wildlife sanctuary of 30,000 hectares situated at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo Rivers in the remote Northern Tuli Region. Ancient archaeological sites add a touch of mystery to the spectacular, wide open scenery. Scientists and professional guides will lead you back through time to reveal the ancient ways of the Stone Age era, as well as decoding the many myths and legends surrounding the vast herds of elephant which roan the area.

Experience the well-known hospitality of Mashatu Main Camp. Enjoy dinner around the fire in the Lala Palm boma under a canopy of a million stars, overlooking the floodlit waterhole. Mashatu is a refuge of unparalleled bushveld luxury and comfort, blending in harmoniously with the game lands and teeming wildlife surrounding the camp. Accommodation at Mashatu Main Camp includes insect-proof luxury suites with large fully equipped en-suite bathrooms. French doors open onto the African bush where guests can relax and savour the sights and smells from their own suite. This camp has a magnificent viewing deck directly off the bar together with an elevated lounge overlooking the water hole.

Jack’s Camp – Kalahari / Makgadikgadi Salt Pans

Jack’s Camp has been completely refurbished in a traditional East African 1940’s safari style – authentic, but comfortable and elegant. A safari at Jack’s and its sister camp San is the complete desert experience, focusing on desert adapted wildlife as well as the geology, archaeology and anthropology of the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi.

8 very private roomy, classically styled tents are built on decks and set into a palm grove. The camp creates an oasis of civilisation in what can be the harshest of environments. Beautiful en-suite bathrooms have indoor and outdoor showers, flush toilets, and hot and cold running water. Activities include Quad bike excursions onto the vast saltpans, walking safari with bushman trackers; there is a possibility that you may see the elusive brown hyena.

Chobe Chilwero – Chobe National Park

Chobe Chilwero has just been acclaimed the most luxurious lodge in Botswana. 15 air-conditioned stone and thatch cottages with en-suite facilities include a handcrafted bath and alfresco shower. Each cottage has a private garden and viewing terrace overlooking the Chobe River. In-room spa treatments ensure ultimate relaxation.

Game drives are offered twice daily in open four-wheel drive vehicles, early morning and evening sunset cruises on the river. Africa’s largest concentration of elephant may be encountered against a backdrop of breathtaking scenery. Stunning sunsets reflect in the great channels of water.

Chobe Game Lodge – Chobe National Park

Chobe Game Lodge is a perfect base to explore the Chobe National Park.

The lodge can accommodate up to 100 guests in total luxury, offering a choice of land or water activities and the most complete game experience in the Chobe area. Game drives are conducted in open sided 4x4 vehicles ensuring maximum visibility, while game viewing on the Chobe River is conducted in small, shallow draft and highly manoeuvrable boats piloted by expert boatmen.

Other facilities include a large swimming pool with terrace, a riverside boma area where traditional dancers perform, a fully equipped conference room with seating for up to 90 people, an internet office, a stylish bar with an outside terrace overlooking the Chobe River and a cigar bar. Meals are catered for at the terrace restaurant overlooking the Chobe River.

Chief’s Camp – Moremi Game Reserve

Chief’s Camp is situated in the exclusive Mombo Concession in the Moremi Game Reserve. This pristine world of interwoven water and land is home to the Big Five, with recently introduced rhino.

The area is known by the professionals as the ‘predator capital of Botswana and is considered to have the finest game viewing in Southern Africa. Chief’s Camp has been so skilfully integrated into the landscape that guests can often view game without leaving the camp. At Chief’s Camp, 12 permanent luxury tents have been

designed for ultimate privacy and comfort, while still offering guests front-row seats for this rewarding and thrilling game viewing experience. Game viewing activities include daily game drives in open four wheel drive vehicles and quiet mokoro trips (seasonal) along narrow Delta channels.

Jao Camp – Moremi Game Reserve

Jao Camp located in a private reserve bordering on the Moremi Game Reserve, offers both land and water activities – depending on the fluctuating levels of the Okavango.

This area ranges from waterways and lagoons to dry Kalahari grasslands. The camp has 9 beautiful rooms and is entirely raised on wooden decks, with lush palms below and beneath a canopy of indigenous trees. Each room has en-suite facilities and a “sala” for afternoon naps. The main dining, lounge and pub area is under cool thatch beneath the tree canopy.

The camp also has a boma for dining under the stars. Jao offers guests many activities. Makoros, boating, walks, game drives and night drives are usually on offer all year. Lion, Cheetah, Leopard as well as Hippo and Crocodile are amongst just a few of the species of animals that you will see.

Mombo Camp – Moremi Game Reserve

Mombo Camp – hidden from the world and situated off the northwestern tip of Chiefs Island, has enormous tented rooms raised off the ground with breathtaking views over the plains. Bathrooms are en-suite and include indoor and outdoor showers.

The main living and dining areas is under thatch and the camp has a boma for wonderful dinners under the stars. Large concentrations of wildlife occur in front of the camp and guests may view a variety of animals without even leaving their verandah. Divers in open 4x4 vehicles explore the savannah and floodplains where wildlife and birds abound.

Experienced guides accompany guests, ensuring that early morning and late afternoon excursions are interesting. Elephant, Lion, Leopard and Cheetah and all the major predators are common in the area. 8 guest rooms, game drives, bird watching, swimming pool, and hides.

Xigera – Moremi Game Reserve

Xigera is a waterland paradise situated within the Okavango in the Moremi Game Reserve. With water year round, it overlooks a floodplain and waterhole. There are 8 furnished room with en-suite bathrooms, showers, flush toilets and an outside shower. Raised walkways connect the rooms with the dining area and plunge pool. There is excellent birding, which includes Pel’s Fishing Owl,

Wattled Crane, Slaty Egret, Rufous Bellied Heron, Eagles, Vultures and Raptors. There is an abundance of good game including Red Lechwe, Sitatunga Antelope, Lion, Hyena and Leopard.

Chitabe Camp - Okavango Delta

Chitabe has all the Okavango scenery with waterways, marshlands, dry acacia, mopane woodland, riverine areas, open grasslands and seasonally flooded plains. A variety of wildlife can be viewed from this camp, including Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild-dog. Chitabe is built in amongst trees and offers luxurious twin-bedded tents built on raised platforms.

Each tent has en-suite facilities and an additional outdoor shower can be found under the stars. A dining room, pub and lounge area are linked by raised walkways and the raised decks provide superb views across the floodplains. 8 guest rooms, game drives, night drives, bird watching, guided walks, hides and a swimming pool.

Kwetsani Camp – Okavango Delta

Kwetsani Island is surrounded by enormous open plains, and is heavily wooded with palm, mangosteen and fig trees. It is a small, intimate, ten-bedded luxury camp raised on wooden decks above the lush vegetation. 5 lavish ‘tree-house’ chalets, each with its own en-suite bathroom, provide guests with open, airy accommodation.

The dining room, lounge and pub area are situated under cool thatch. Kwetsani offers excellent land and water activities dependent on water levels from annual floods. Guests can stalk game by mokoro or explore islands by foot. Game drives allow guests to experience diverse game viewing, including Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Zebra, to name a few.

Hippo and crocodiles reside in the deep lagoons, and nocturnal animals such as Porcupines, Aardwolf, Serval, Genet and Bush Baby can be observed on night drives. Bird watching, guided walks, boating, mokoros, fishing and swimming pool.

Sandibe Safari Lodge – Okavango Delta

Sheltering in a forest of wild palms and twisting trees, Sandibe Safari Lodge is flanked by channels of the permanent Okavango Delta, glinting through a maze of brilliant green papyrus.

Behind the lodge, grass-swept floodplains stretch into the distance, casting up silhouettes of lush palm islands, the mud-castle spires of giant termite mounds and ancient Baobabs, some still bearing a winding garland of climbing pegs, used long ago by San people in search of honey.

This superb property has eight thatched rooms all with en-suite facilities. Activities include game drives, mokoro trips, walking and boat trips in a silent electric boat.

Vumbura – Okavango Delta

Vumbura has some of Botswana’s best all year gameviewing with both water and land activities as this area has scenic waterways and is also near the Okavango’s outermost dry savannahs. Guests can view both wetland and savannah species of wildlife – Red Lechwe, Waterbuck, Hippos, Crocodiles, whist Sable, Kudu, Wildebeest and Tsessebe roam the open plains.

Herds of Buffalo and Elephant and predators such as Lion, Leopard, Wild Dog and Cheetah can be seen. There is also excellent birding including the “Okavango Specials”. Vumbura has large tented rooms each with hot and cold running water, flush toilet and an indoor and outdoor shower, providing guests with a feeling of remote Africa while still being comfortable.

The dining, lounge and pub area is tucked away beneath a canopy of indigenous trees with a spectacular view across the floodplains.