The Experts decide on Botswana's top 5

by Marco Monteiro-Silva, 1 June 2007

"A local, a safari-guide and a blonde walk into a bar...", it sounds like the build-up to a bad punchline, but this was very much the case when I sat down three Go2Africans, from very different departments and backgrounds, and asked them about their top 5 Botswana experiences.

The Unusual suspects

Leigh Kemp is the author of the soon-to-be published Go2Africa wildlife guide and has lived and guided in the Botswanan wilderness for some ten years.

Go2Africa Product Developer Catja Orford is an internationally respected conservationist. Catja grew up in Botswana and is the author of 'Tracking BUBU' - a non-fiction work chronicling her experiences while researching an elusive gorilla for 15 months from Mikongo Conservation Camp, through Lopé National Park, and Gabon.

Then there's Go2Africa Specialist Vacation Consultant Mary Hartley - radiant, intelligent, blonde. Mary just returned fresh-faced from her first trip to Botswana.

Without further adieu here's what these three unique Botswana travel experts had to say about the five best highlights of a Botswana safari holiday.

The Guide

- Leigh:

In my many years of guiding in Botswana many places have captured my imagination. The elephant experiences of the Chobe and Linyanti regions, the arid beauty of the Savuti and the lush reaches of the Okavango Delta add up to a safari experience that will scar you for life.

Although there are many means of experiencing this wilderness phenomenon, I have selected the five most rewarding to me.

Game drives in open 4WD vehicles are the epitome of the modern African safari, allowing for an up-close encounter with animals. To be a few meters away from a roaring lion or scenting an elephant towering over the vehicle cannot be described in words or photographs - it is something that has to be experienced.

Dig that dugout

Makoros or dugout canoes are hollowed out and shaped tree trunks piloted by an individual with a long pole standing in the back - the makoro has been the traditional mode of transport in the Okavango Delta for centuries, and guests can explore the inner reaches of the Okavango under the guidance of a 'poler' who has grown up in the area and knows the delta intimately.

Gliding through the channels the only sounds you will hear are the sounds of the wilderness and the gentle splash of the pole in the water.

Walking safaris allow visitors to learn of the smaller things about the wilderness. Spend time studying animal tracks and learning the science of dung, scenting plants and watching birds. With the extreme of desert and delta, Botswana is one of the finest walking areas in Africa.

My fourth highlight would have to involve boating. Motor boats are used on the Chobe River and Okavango Delta for game viewing, allowing visitors to view game from the water. The animals allow the boats to get very close while they are drinking.

Among the elephants

Botswana is renowned for its large elephant population and the best way to experience them from up close is to sit at a waterhole while they come down to drink. Many lodges have waterholes in the vicinity of the camp allowing guests to view the elephants from their rooms. In some areas hides have been erected close to waterholes to ensure a very up close encounter.

The Local

- Catja:

There are few places on earth where one can still travel for hours in the wilderness and not see another person. So, without doubt, my top activity would be to head into the Central Kalahari, in a clapped-out Toyota, to sleep under the vast African sky.

This humbling but chilly night-out would be followed by a much needed gin and tonic at sunset, amongst the ancient baobab trees on Kubu Island. Kubu, a Tswana word meaning hippo, is a strange place situated in the Nxai salt pans. It has absolutely nothing to do with hippos - it's more like a dry oasis in a lunar landscape.

After sipping on cocktails in the pans, I would then exchange the Toyota for a small plane and fly over the flooded Okavango Delta. To experience this world famous wetland from a bird's perspective is extraordinary - especially when all the wildlife is running away from the aircraft!

Down and dirty

I would land the aircraft in the Kwando concession which lies on the Namibian border. This is true Wild Dog country, a perfect place for perusing wildlife on foot and getting down and dirty in the Botswana dust.

Filthy and exhausted, my fifth and final activity would be to return to Botswana's capital, Gaborone ('Gabs' as we locals like to call it), groom myself, and enjoy a beer at the infamous Bull & Bush Bar, where I would brag about my recent Botswana adventures.

The first-time traveller

- Mary:

Given the choice to travel anywhere in the world, Botswana would have always been at the top of my list. The magical things I have read about the diversity that exists in the relatively small stretch of land between the Okavango Delta and the Chobe area have captivated my imagination for as long as I can remember.

I've dreamt of visiting the delta for years, so when I got offered a dream trip to Botswana at 48 hours notice, I raced home in a panic bordering on the ridiculous.

Ironically, the next few hours were spent standing dead still in my bedroom. I stared blankly into the bottom of my empty suitcase, while my mind grappled with the question, 'What does one pack for paradise?'.

Noisy hippos and silent reeds

My first highlight was lying awake in my tent on the night I arrived, hearing (slightly anxiously) every rustle of the wilderness beneath the platform of my tent, and being kept awake by a female hippo who positioned herself just outside my tent and called her mate until the early hours of the morning.

After that, it was off to the heart of the delta's wetlands, where my next highlight was a canoe excursion in an African mokoro. We didn't see masses of wild game, but the sunshine and the dry air, the still silent waters and reeds, and the sunset we shared with hippos and crocodiles that day, will stay with me for a long time."

Memories of Savuti

Next I was off to the Savute region, where another highlight was watching a pride of lions following a female lion as she tracked scents and hunted for their dinner. Unfortunately it soon got dark so we had to return to the lodge, but the following morning we saw three of the same lions, slightly fuller bellied and lazier in the sun.

Still in Savute, my fourth highlight was sitting around the fire at night overlooking a waterhole, watching a herd of easily 30 thirsty elephants and their young cruising around and drinking and splashing in the water just a few metres away from us. One baby elephant was so small it could almost fit underneath its mother's stomach.

My final highlight at the end of this phenomenal week was sitting overlooking the Chobe River, with a glass of red wine, reflecting on my magical trip and imaging the day when I will return to this amazing destination.

The verdict

The varying ideas and opinions of three Africa travel experts on Botswana's highlights shows you just how much this African tourist destination has to offer.

Speak to one of our travel experts and let them tailor a Botswana Safari holiday to suit your holiday needs.

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