Flying South Barometer - Botswana

Big 5 10

General Game 10

Smaller things 8

Beauty 10

Family Friendly 1

Birding experience 9

Exclusivity 9

Romantic 9

Currency: Pula.

Stronger than the SA Rand, most common currency in use is the US dollar. Credit cards widely accepted.

Weather: Summer (September - April)

Winter (May - August)

Botswana falls within a Summer Rainfall region so rain is largely expected during the Summer months. October and February can be extremely hot, while August could be quite windy. During the Winter months, the Delta is in flood so even though the rest of the country will experience a very dry winter, the Delta always has water.

President: Sir Ian Khama

Received independence from Britain in 1961 after which diamonds were discovered. World's biggest producer of crude diamonds. Stable country with zero tolerance for corruption. Good infrastructure.

Botswana is home to the biggest inland Delta in the world, covering an estimated 55000 km2 and is also the country with the biggest dedicated area put aside for national parks, 38%. Parks and reserves do not have fences around – this really is untouched Africa with no or very little interference from man.

Botswana is a very good area for big five game viewing, but also for the smaller things often overlooked. Birding paradise.

Lorraine and I spend almost 5 years working throughout the Delta and the Chobe National Park and have some of our fondest "Africa" memories during this time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend a stay of at least 8 days in 2 or 3 different camps. 4 -6 Days in the Delta should be the highlight of your stay, followed by 2 days in the Chobe National Park. The Delta is untouched, natural beauty with an array of big game and exceptional birding while the Chobe will offer you a safari from a boat as well as the option of going tiger fishing. Not much beats the experience of seeing a herd of elephants swimming across the Chobe River into Namibia. If you have enough time to visit the Victoria Falls, this is certainly recommended. 1 or 2 nights should be enough, depending on what you would like to do, the falls are only 70 kilometers from Kasane (Chobe) and flights can be arranged from either Livingstone in Zambia or from Vic Falls in Zimbabwe to Johannesburg.

We suggest the following properties in Botswana:

Chief’s Camp – Recommended stay - 3 nights

Situated on Chief’s Island in the Okavango Delta. During the almost five years we spent in Botswana this must rate as the best game viewing area there, if not the whole of Africa. Max 24 people with 4 vehicles.

The area has a very big lion population; in 2000 we did a survey and found 66 lions in a 10 km area around the lodge. One of the few areas in Botswana where you can see white rhino. Very good for general game: lion, leopard, tsesebe, elephant, giraffe, cheetah, big herds of lechwe, hyena and buffalo.

Stanley’s Camp – Recommended stay – 3 nights

A rustic 16-bedded camp bordering the Moremi Game reserve.

Because this is set outside the Moremi, you are allowed to do lots of walking and you are also allowed to drive off-road. There’s lots of water so this is the ideal setting for a traditional Mokoro (dugout canoe) trip.

You will also be able to spend a day in the bush with Doug Groves and his three Elephants. (see www.livingwithelephants.com) This is not a commercial Elephant back Safari, but rather an educational walk with the elephants whilst Doug explains the whole anatomy and family structure of the elephant to you.

Chobe Chilwero - Recommended stay – 2 nights

This beautifully appointed lodge has 32 beds, set on a ridge overlooking the Chobe River. The park is open to the public so you could see a lot of tourists on game drive. It is however a beautiful part of the country, completely different from the rest. The rooms all have private verandas, private gardens with outside showers, sunk-in hand crafted baths, air-conditioning etc. Here, you will have the opportunity to see elephant swimming across the Chobe River into Namibia from boat instead of a vehicle, huge herds of buffalo and a very dense population of hippo and crocodile. The area is also good for Tiger Fishing if you would like to do something different from game drives.

This is also a perfect gateway to the Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.