Countries: Botswana
Destinations: Savuti , Okavango Delta , Central Kalahari National Park
Group Size: 2
Duration (days): 12
Number of Adults: 2
Number of Children: 0
This extensive 12 day safari covers some of Botswana’s prime wildlife-viewing locations. It includes the Savute, Khwai, and Okavango regions, along with the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The journey spans a wide array of ecosystems and wildlife, offering a diverse range of species and contrasting landscapes.
Itinerary Outline
Day 1 : Savuti
Upon arriving in Maun, you'll be greeted and escorted to your light aircraft for your flight to the Savuti Airstrip. There you will be met and taken to the Savute Safari Lodge where you will spend 2 nights on a fully inclusive basis.
Well known as one of the great safari destinations in Africa, Botswana offers some of the most beautiful, luxurious, and active safari experiences in Africa.
A Botswanan safari can never be long enough, and never experienced often enough. Although one of the flattest countries you will ever visit, Botswana is blessed with an incredible variety of landscapes and eco-systems.
It is the very flatness of Botswana which has created some of the world's most special wilderness areas, and exploring the Kalahari, Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi Salt Pans rewards you with memories for a lifetime.
Easily accessible from Johannesburg, and simply combined with Victoria Falls, Botswana needs to be on your safari list if you are planning a visit to Southern Africa.
As soon as you land in Maun or Kasane, you will know that you have arrived in a country which operates like nothing you have experienced before.
With the warthogs running through the streets of Kasane, and the hippos grunting in the Chobe River, your welcome to Botswana is one which tells you straight away you are in Africa's wilds.
Situated about mid-way between the Chobe River and the Okavango Delta, Savuti is a harsh, arid landscape, which until recently, was only watered by the annual rains. These rains were the lifeblood of the Savute Marsh, which would then play host to huge herds of zebra, as they migrate from the north.
However, after about 30 years of dryness, the Savuti Channel has started to flow again, changing the dynamics of the area, and providing year round water access to the resident animals.
Stretching from the waterways of the Linyanti all the way to Savute Marsh, the winding waterways of the channel have pumped life into the western section of Chobe National Park for many thousands of generations. But this fickle and unpredictable channel has a fascinating history of flooding and drying up independently of good rainy seasons and flood levels elsewhere - a mystery that has intrigued geologists and other researchers for many years.
When David Livingstone discovered the Savute Channel in 1851 it was flowing. Thirty years later the channel had disappeared and the Savute Marsh had dried out, remaining this way for almost 80 years. It flowed again in the late 1950s, continuing until the early 1980s when it again receded, gaining the channel its reputation as ‘the river which flows in both directions.’
In 2009, after another extended hiatus, the channel began flowing again and by January 2010 had spilled into the Savute Marsh for the first time in three decades.
Savute has long been spoken of in awe by safari enthusiasts due to its wild reputation, and fierce concentration of predators.
Savute Safari Lodge is currently closed for a complete rebuild, and will re-open in June 2024.
The photos here are renders of what the camp will look like when complete.
With the waterhole in front of the lodge being such a focal point of the Savute experience, a lot of work has gone into making the main area and sunken hide one of the most thrilling places to be in Botswana. All guest rooms have views over the Savute Channel ensuring dramatic wildlife viewing.
The sophisticated, yet simple interior décor, blends elements of a traditional safari lodge with a clean, contemporary feel while the colour palate draws inspiration from the harsh and dramatic contrasts of the dry Savute region.
Our top tips:
- While Savute Safari Lodge is closed, we can offer alternative options in the Savute region within our affordable package rates. Please contact info@desertdelta.com for more information.
- Our rates and package deals remain the same. No increases.
- While Savute offers intense wildlife viewing in the dry season (June – October), we recommend Savute Safari Lodge for green season itineraries. The Savute Marsh sees large numbers of migrating zebras, and the region transforms into a wildlife and birding paradise.
- Savute Safari Lodge will be the first Desert & Delta lodge offering a luxurious outdoor shower in each room.
Day 3 : Okavango Delta
After a morning game drive you will be transferred to the airstrip for your flight to Qorokwe Airstrip. Here you will be met and taken to Gomoti Plains Camp where you will spend 3 nights on a fully inclusive basis.
The very word "Okavango" evokes a sense of adventure and exploration, and this is exactly what the Okavango Delta is about. Often called the Okavango Swamps, this intricate maze of waterways and sandy islands is an explorer's dream, and the destination should be on the wishlist of anyone looking for a unique travel experience.
The geology of the Delta is fascinating, with its creation being attributed to tectonic plate action from thousands of years ago causing the Kavango River to flow from Angola into the Kalahari Desert as opposed to the Atlantic Ocean.
So while the vegetation is lush, and the wildlife plentiful, the waterways are actually cutting through Kalahari Desert sand, and the entire delta is an enormous oasis.
Termites are credited with the creation of the many islands around which the water slowly flows, as their mounds, common features of the landscape, are responsible for the formation of sand and foliage around them.
There is a continuous scurry of life in the Delta, from the smallest of creatures to the largest of elephants, and every twist and turn of the channels brings some new form of life into view. The Okavango Delta is truly one of nature's greatest creations.
The Gomoti Plains is located in a community run concession, on the edge of the Gomoti river system southeast of the Okavango Delta. The Gomoti tree is locally known as the water fig and grows alongside waterways in the Okavango delta. It’s a smallish tree which sometimes grows no bigger than a bush. The area is known for its large concentrations of wildlife which thrive on the Gomoti plains and waterways. The Gomoti trees line the waterways and provide excellent cover for nesting water birds such as herons and storks.This exclusive area has been a well-kept secret for many years. The Gomoti region has been the local haunt of many of the older guides and Okavango dwellers who refer to it in nostalgic terms when they used to camp along this river system.This new camp has 10 luxury tents which include 2 luxury family tents and 8 luxury double tents, all with en-suite bathroom facilities.. In addition to day and night 4WD game drives, the camp offers water based activities such as mokoro excursions and motor boat trips.
Day 4 - 5 : Okavango Delta
For the next two days you have a variety of activities to choose from. These include game drives, boat trips, bush walks, mokoro safaris and night drives.
Day 6 : Okavango Delta
Today you will fly to Kanana Camp. Here you will spend 3 nights on a fully inclusive basis.
Kanana is a hidden jewel set on the Xudum River in the southwest Okavango Delta.
The area encompasses a necklace of islands dotted with palms, figs, ebony and knob thorn trees, and is home to myriad of birds, plants and animals. The nature of the habitat means it is the perfect place to experience the diversity of species found within the Okavango Delta.
Dependent on the height of annual floods, the level of water transforms this camp into a true water experience and in the early months of the year you may actually enjoy the visible spectacle of the water rising around the camp.
Guests are accommodated in 8 spacious, twin-bedded tents, set on raised teak decks which offer breathtaking views across the waterways.
All tents offer en suite bathrooms with hot and cold running water, shower and flush toilet.
The tents are well spaced to afford privacy, whilst still being within comfortable distance from the central dining and lounge area, and the swimming pool.
Activities at Kanana vary with the rising and falling levels of the Okavango Delta. Your professional guide will assist you in planning your days to best explore the area.
Game drives in specially designed vehicles take place in the morning and late afternoon, and further into the evening on night drives.
In addition you may wish to explore the crystal clear waterways by mokoro or motorboat, and enjoy the magnificent variety of birds, plant and reptile species found in the area.
Guided walks are highly recommended in this beautiful area, as well as fly or spin fishing for tilapia, African pike and sharp tooth catfish.
The minimum age accommodated at Kanana is 7 years; younger children are considered on request during low season.
Day 7 - 8 : Okavango Delta
Like Gomoti Plains Kanana has a variety of activities to choose from. It is worth noting that from May to October the main focus will be on water-based activities.
Day 9 : Central Kalahari National Park
Today you will head to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, one of the few truely remote wilderness places in Africa. You will spend 3 nights at Kwando's Tau Pan Camp, one of only two permanent camps in the whole reserve.
Central Kalahari National Park
Originally created to be a sanctuary for the San people inhabiting the Kalahari, the Central Kalahari is one of the largest, yet most remote, game reserves around.
Although growing in popularity now, the Central Kalahari is a park which is largely skipped by visitors to Botswana. This means you can experience the park in privacy, taking advantage of the excellent and unique wildlife sightings, without seeing many other people at all on the vast plains and ancient river beds which make up the landscape.
Gemsbok (oryx) and springbok dominate the wildlife, while lions, honey badgers, cheetahs and zebra are also easily found.
Tau Pan is the first semi-permanent camp inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and offers truly incredible views from the elevated ridge of an ancient sand dune, an unusual experience in a land as flat as Botswana, and overlooks the famous Tau Pan - recognised for its stark beauty and remoteness.
Activities offered at Tau Pan are game drives, day trips to the well-known Deception Valley, Sunday, Piper and Passarge Pans, star gazing, and nature walks with Bushman trackers.
‘Tau’ which means lion in Setswana, is so named for the pride of iconic black-maned Kalahari lions who frequent the camp (with a particular preference for the family tent!).
Species that can be found in the Kalahari include oryx, the desert-adapted springbok, jackals, the rare brown hyena, red-crested Korhaan and herds of wildebeest.
As with its sister camp, Nxai Pan, Tau Pan has been constructed with the areas ecologies in mind. Both utilise only solar power for the generation of electricity, heating of water and pumping of water from deep under the Kalahari sands. Waste water is treated in a state-of-the-art sewerage treatment plant and the fully treated water is returned to the sands from whence it came.
9 environmentally adapted en-suite tents including 1 family tent are set on raised decks, affording the same spectacular views over the plains. Each has an indoor and outdoor shower, double-basin vanity, open wardrobe, King-sized double bed, living area and writing desk.
The main area of the camp is set around the fireplace, which is the ideal spot for game viewing down to the waterhole. A telescope is also provided for guests’ use. The bar, lounge, curio shop and dining area all encircle the fire place.
The camp also has a sleep-out deck, which is on the eastern side of the camp. In an area as remote and isolated in the Kalahari desert, the light pollution is minimal to none, and consequently the star-gazing is simply magnificent and unrivalled by most other locations on earth. Having an unobstructed view of the night sky to fall asleep under is a truly memorable experience. The elevated sleep-out deck consists of a double bed, and a basin and WC. This experience is available on a ‘first come first serve’ basis upon arrival in camp, however guests staying 3 nights or more in Tau Pan can reserve this pre-arrival with their agent.
