Visiting two of Botswana’s less visited national parks, this small group mobile camping safari goes in search of some of the region's more obscure species, including the elusive aardvark, brown hyena and aardwolf.
Limited to just six participants and travelling throughout in an open sided vehicle, this pioneering new mobile camping safari is the perfect option for those fortunate enough to have visited Botswana’s Okavango Delta and who now wish to see something else of Botswana and, with luck, encounter some difficult to see mammals.
Occupying an area of over 52,800 square kilometres, making it the second largest game reserve in the world, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is a vast area of semi-arid desert, home to striking black maned lions, cheetah and abundant prey animals including springbok and majestic gemsbok. To the north, the open grasslands of Makgadikgadi Pans National Park attract up to 30,000 migrating zebra and smaller numbers of wildebeest, with accompanying predators.
These species alone provide reason enough to visit these areas and will indeed be an important focus of the trip, but there is also a range of smaller, less well-known mammals that we will be hoping to find, including such sought-after species as aardwolf, brown hyena, meerkat and the near mythical aardvark.
Typical Itinerary
Day1: Depart UK
Depart the UK on an overnight flight to Maun via Johannesburg.
Day2: Arrive Maun & transfer to Makgadikgadi National Park
On arrival in Maun, you will be met by our guide and transferred by vehicle heading south to Makgadikgadi National Park. Driving through a landscape of open acacia scrub, interspersed with small rural villages, we begin to see some of the region’s common avian inhabitants with likely species including fork-tailed drongo, Burchell’s and blue-eared starling, magpie shrike and white-browed sparrow weaver, their nests hanging prominently on roadside bushes.
Arriving at the western entrance gate of Makgadikgadi National Park we then have to travel a further 40 kilometres across the park to our campsite located in the eastern half of the park. Here, away from the lodges that line the Boteti River on the western boundary, we find an area of vast open grasslands stretching as far as the eye can see.
Our camp crew wil be waiting for us and after freshening up we will enjoy dinner under the stars.
Accommodation: Fully-serviced Mobile Camping, 9-nights
Days3-4: Vehicle safaris in Makgadikgadi National Park
We have two full days to explore the vast grasslands of the Makgadikgadi National Park. Following a similar programme as our time in CKGR we will venture out at the first opportunity, returning to camp in the middle of the day for a siesta, before heading back out in the late afternoon, driving until just after nightfall.
Up to 30,000 zebra migrate from Angola, through the Caprivi Strip and Okavango Delta and into the seasonally rich grasslands of Nxai Pan National Park and Malgadikgadi National Park. Arriving in the east of the park they gradually filter westwards towards the Boteti River, alongside smaller herds of wildebeest and springbok.
Such a congregation of prey animals inevitably attracts the attention of predators and the herds are trailed by lion and cheetah alike, but unlike the big cats of the Delta and the Kalahari these cats have often had limited exposure to vehicles and can be quite aggressive or skittish.
Both spotted and brown hyena occurs in the park and the open plains in the east can be very good for aardwolf. This area is also the realm of the much sought after meerkat and it is possible to encounter small clans, either at the burrow or whilst out foraging for food.
Days5-8: Vehicle safaris in Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR)
Leaving Makgadikgadi National Park behind we head south east to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), passing once again through Botswana’s beautiful countryside and enjoying a myriad of bird species en route. A vast area of semi-arid desert, the CKGR is home to striking black maned lions, cheetah and abundant prey animals including springbok and majestic gemsbok.
Over the course of the next four days we will explore the surrounding valleys and pans, seeking out some of the region's most famed wildlife inhabitants through a mix of morning and afternoon game drives. With temperatures soaring once the sun is up, an early start is essential and we’ll likely leave camp before dawn each morning, travelling to the open plains where we will have the opportunity to scan for nocturnal and crepuscular species like brown hyena and aardwolf.
Days9-10: Wildlife watching around Lake Ngami
After four nights in CKGR, it will be time to move camp and travel north to Lake Ngami for a two night stay. If time allows, we can enjoy some late afternoon birding on the lakeshore, before sitting down for dinner and getting ready for an extended night drive later that evening.
During a recent recce to Lake Ngami, over the course of a two-night stay, we encountered African wild cat, black backed jackal, lesser galago, Cape porcupine, tiny fat mouse, Selous’s mongoose, scrub hare, small spotted genet, striped polecat and - most significantly - aardvark on both nights.
Today’s programme will be determined by the success of the previous evening. As a minimum we will enjoy an extended night drive again this evening however we may also undertake a pre-dawn drive.
There is limited mammal interest during daylight hours and much of the day will be spent catching up on sleep. However, depending on water levels, the birding can be superb with a vast array of waterbirds present on the lake including African spoonbill, pied avocet, ruff, wood sandpiper, black-winged stilt, goliath heron, great white and pink backed pelican, greater and lesser flamingo and marabou stork. The surrounding scrub attracts blue-cheeked and southern carmine bee-eaters, common scimitar-bill, red-billed woodhoopoe, acacia pied barbet, African hoopoe and the stunning sulphur breasted bush-shrike. Likely raptors include tawny eagle, African fish eagle, lanner falcon, red-necked falcon, black shouldered kite, African harrier hawk and soaring white-backed vultures.
Day11: Transfer to Maun & depart
This morning we begin our drive back to Maun for a flight back to the UK via Johannesburg.
Day12: Arrive UK
Key info
Duration and price including flights from/to UK: 12 daysfrom £6,495 pp
Duration and price excluding international flights: 10 daysfrom £5,995 pp
Nothing quite prepares you for the size of this reserve, nor its wild and mysterious beauty. Covering 9% of Botswana, Central Kalahari Game Reserve was established as a sanctuary for the nomadic San Bushmen and is now home to large herds of plains wildlife and accompanying predators.
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Where: Northern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: lion, brown hyena, gemsbok, aardwolf, eland
Despite this giant arid region being a harsh environment, scored with the beds of dried up rivers and vast salt pans, it not only provides the setting for fine wildlife-viewing but also for encountering San bushmen, hunter gatherers who precariously cling to their traditional ways of life throughout this region.
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Where: Southern Africa
Ideal for viewing: blue wildebeest, cheetah, eland, ostrich, springbok
One of Africa’s most important wetland sites, Makgadikgadi is the only area in Southern Africa to witness a migration of tens of thousands of blue wildebeest and Burchell’s zebra when, during the rains, the dry salt pans transform into lakes, attracting vast flocks of flamingos and migratory birds.
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Where: Northern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: blue wildebeest, brown hyena, lesser flamingo, gemsbok, Burchell’s zebra
