New from Wildlife Worldwide – Botswana Explorer
Wildlife Worldwide has a brand new, small group trip for 2011 - the two-week Botswana Explorer - taking in the highlights of this captivating country, which is surrounded by Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The two week itinerary is designed to make the most of Botswana’s extraordinary wildlife. The first two nights are spent on a comfortable houseboat with en suite facilities in the “panhandle”, the quietest wilderness area of the Okavango Delta, to enjoy its first-rate array of birdlife, plus its crocodile and hippo populations. The houseboat - located on the Okavango River - is reached via Namibia’s Caprivi Strip.
After two days in the northern panhandle, the next stop is Maun, on the southern fringe of the Okavango. From here a flight deep into the bush brings you to a private campsite in Moremi Game Reserve, considered by many to be one of Africa’s finest wildlife sanctuaries. Accommodation here is in large, comfortable, walk-in tents with everything done for you.
Lying at the heart of the Okavango region, Moremi’s diverse habitats include permanent lagoons, reed bed, floodplain, and forest. You’ll spend two nights exploring the Khwai River area on morning and afternoon game drives, returning to camp after sunset for an evening exchanging tales around the campfire.
Moremi has a wide variety of prey and predators - lion and leopard are frequently seen - and the excellent birdlife includes Pel’s fishing owl. One of the more unusual sightings is that of red lechwe splashing through the shallow waters.
Next up is Chobe National Park in the north of the country, where Botswana meets Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe at the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi rivers. Chobe is home to Africa’s largest concentration of elephant and huge herds of buffalo. Other major species include lion, giraffe, zebra, wild dog, puku and roan antelopes, hippo and over 450 species of bird.
Once again you’ll camp - two nights in the Savute area where the river started flowing again in 2008 for the first time in 25 years, followed by two nights in Serondela along the riverfront.
The itinerary concludes with a visit to ‘the smoke that thunders’ - Victoria Falls - across the border in Zambia, before flying back to the UK from Livingstone.
The trip departs on 6 and 20 June and costs from £3025 pp (two sharing). This includes international flights, all transportation, 11 nights’ accommodation (2 nights houseboat + 6 nights non-participation camping + 3 nights hotel/lodge), most meals and guides.
For more information and bookings, visit: wildlifeworldwide.com
