From the Central Kalahari Game Reserve to the Okavango Delta, this itinerary will take you to some of Botswana’s most idyllic and iconic wildlife locations during the green season.
Our 'Kalahari in Bloom' trip idea is an opportunity to explore some of Botswana's lesser visited parks with the grand finale in the heart of the legendary Okavango Delta. This itinerary enables you to explore different terrain and, with that, unique species specially adapted to the biomes they call home. However, this itinerary is fully customisable and allows you to visit other locations in Botswana such as Chobe or Mashatu, or perhaps even a trip to neighbouring Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa or Namibia.
In Botswana the rains arrive during the summer months and with their arrival, the scenery undergoes a profound transformation. For this part of the year, the arid plains are rejuvenated as the bush becomes a vivid green and wild flowers begin to emerge. The wildlife is just as spectacular, as herbivores bear their young, filling the plains with youngsters which subsequently attract the attention of predators such as cheetah, lion, leopard and wild dog. All hoping to profiteer from the new arrivals.
By staying in comfortable and authentic safari camps you will be in prime position to see the wildlife as you venture out on game drives, walking safaris and, in the Delta, boat excursions. Visiting in the green season offers a completely contrasting, yet equally rewarding experience to the dry season, and the range of habitats on offer provides the chance to see a wealth of different mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates, including the Kalahari black-maned lion, wild dog, giraffe, elephant and thousands of migrant birds.
Suggested Itinerary
Day1: Depart UK
Depart the UK on an overnight flight to Maun via Johannesburg.
Day2: Arrive Maun & transfer by light aircraft to Tau Pan
After landing, you are greeted on arrival at Maun and taken to a light aircraft that will fly you to Tau Pan, which lies inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. You spend the next few nights at Tau Pan Camp whose private viewing decks allow you to enjoy the stunning landscape. A late afternoon game drive in the reserve will be your first opportunity to see some this area’s wonderful wildlife.
Days3-4: Explore the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
For the next two days you will explore Tau Pan and the rest of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve to enjoy the wildlife and the scenic backdrop. The activities on offer include game drives, full-day excursions and nature walks with local San Bushman trackers, who provide a unique cultural insight into this environment.
Day5: Transfer to Nxai Pan by light aircraft
After a morning excursion you transfer to the airport to catch an onward flight to Nxai Pan, and transfer to your camp, situated close to Nxai Pan National Park and the Makgadikgadi Pans. During the green season gemsbok, elephant and zebra migrate to the area for the good grazing, and zebra in particular come to bear their young, which attracts a number of predators.
Nxai Pan comes to life in the green season as the rains cover the landscape in verdant vegetation. You spend the next couple of days looking for the wildlife that roam across these plains. Activities include game drives, day trips to Baines’ Baobab and Khama Khama Pan, and perhaps some star gazing after dark.
Day8: Transfer to Kwara by light aircraft
Following breakfast and a morning excursion, transfer to the airstrip to fly to your next destination, Kwara Camp. This camp is nestled on the edge of the permanent waters of Okavango Delta, which you start to explore with an afternoon excursion.
The next two days will allow you to discover one of the best wildlife destinations in Africa. The Okavango Delta during the green season is the site of a wildlife frenzy with various species of mammal, reptile and bird to see. You can venture on to the water in a traditional dug-out canoe known as a mekoro to get the real delta experience. Furthermore, Kwara Camp has its own private concession, which means you will be able to enjoy both night drives and off-road driving whilst searching for wildlife.
Day11: Transfer to Maun & depart
After your morning safari activity, you will board a light aircraft flight back to Maun. Upon arrival you will transfer to the international terminal for your flight back to the UK via Johannesburg.
Day12: Arrive UK
Key info
Our trip ideas are offered to inspire you and can be tailored to suit your requirements.
Duration and price including flights from/to UK: 12 daysfrom £8,995 pp
Duration and price excluding international flights: 10 daysfrom £7,495 pp
Trip type:
Tailor-made Holiday
When to go: Nov-Mar: The green season in Botswana occurs during the summer months with the arrival of the rains causing the landscape to burst into life.
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
Located north-east of the Makgadikgadi Pans, Nxai Pan National Park covers the land surrounding a large salt pan that was once part of a great lake. Nowadays, during the green season between October and March, the area attracts large herds of springbok, gemsbok and zebra, alongside lions hunting for prey.
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Where: Northeastern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: gemsbok, cheetah, eland, lion, red hartebeest
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
This 1.6 million hectare wildlife paradise is a vast tapestry of crystal clear water channels, lagoons and small islands, and is known for its concentrations of large wildlife and birds. Outings by boat or on land, at day or night, yields fantastic sightings within the private concessions of exclusive accommodation.
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Where: Northern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: hippo, Nile crocodile, red lechwe, sitatunga, tsessebe
Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris, River safaris, Birdwatching
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
Situated in a private concession in the Okavango Delta, Kwara is a luxury camp bordering Moremi Game Reserve. Each of the nine en suite tents is raised on teak decking and guests can spend time on their private balconies watching the animal and birdlife in the hippo-filled lagoon.
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Nxai Pan is the only permanent camp situated inside the National Park and is nestled deep in Botswana’s wilderness overlooking the open plains just north of Makagadikgadi. It offers an intimate safari experience as there are only nine rooms, each with a private viewing deck to watch wildlife at the waterhole.
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Situated inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, this secluded camp offers an excellent safari experience in an idyllic setting. Its elegant rooms all have a private viewing deck, from where it is possible to see various bird species and herds of antelope, zebra and elephant wandering across the plains.
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