Botswana Safaris

A safari in Botswana is like no other. Not only is the destination unrivalled for wildlife but it also hosts some of the smartest lodges out there. Hidden in private pockets of romantic wilderness, these East-African style camps and slick, sustainable outposts are designed to make you feel like the savannah is yours alone to explore. And yes, it may be expensive, but the space and the silence are privileges worth paying for.

The Okavango Delta, Botswana’s watery heartland, sparkles so brightly under the warm African sun, it almost feels like a mirage. Arriving by Cessna aircraft fuels the bubbling anticipation, with a birds-eye view of the sprawling wetlands, so verdant and wild you feel as though you’ve stumbled upon uncharted land. Here, everything is off-road. There’s not one person to be seen nor any engine noise to drown out the sound of chattering birds. Paddling silently through the lily pads in a traditional mokoro canoe allows you to get closer to the smaller, less conspicuous wildlife like tiny marbled reed frogs and great swooping fish eagles that make their home among the reed-studded waterways. On the Delta’s eastern side, Moremi, a spellbinding game reserve is full of roaming big cats and wild dogs to track. The Chobe National Park is where you can explore in zero-emission 4×4 vehicles and riverboats to spot herds of elephant shambling to the riverbank and hippo grunting in the lagoons. 

In the northern Kalahari Desert, the Makgadikgadi feels otherworldly. Its ephemeral salt pans, some so large they’re visible from space, transform into lunar landscapes with blinding white salt crust that crunches underfoot. During the rains, the pans turn into turquoise pools drawing vast numbers of wildlife including flocks of bright pink flamingoes and migratory zebra who make their 250km linear pilgrimage to graze on the palm-studded grassland. It’s the perfect place for a unique safari; exploring ancient terrain with the Zu’Hoasi bushmen under gaping big skies. 

Botswana is as remote as it is exclusive, so a chat with a destination insider will help you get your head around the finer details of how to access Africa’s undisputed safari champion.