HIGHLIGHTS OF BOTSWANA

Day 1
Depart London

Day 2
Arrive Maun and transfer (30 mins) to our campsite located on the banks of the Thamalakane River. The campsite has hot showers, bar, swimming pool, and the restaurant is known for its good food and ambience.

Day 3
We pack minimal gear for 2 nights into a smaller bag, before a 4x4 transfer into the Okavango Delta. At the 'polers' station' we meet a new team of local staff from a nearby village who will look after us during our stay in the delta. With them we travel in mokoros deep into the Okavango Delta. We have lunch at our campsite on the banks of the river, and in the late afternoon we head out on our first game walk. We return to camp before sunset and enjoy our first meal in the African bush.

Day 4
We get up early this morning for a game walk with a guide from the poling team. Game walks do not always deliver on big game, but there is the chance of seeing elephant, buffalo, and other smaller game. We return to camp for a well deserved brunch and some time to relax. In the afternoon we take a short mokoro trip on the river to view the sunset before returning to camp.

Day 5
This morning we board our mokoros for the trip back to the polers' station. We meet our vehicle and transfer back into Maun for the night where we will purchase supplies for the days ahead. The afternoon is free to relax by the pool or take an optional scenic flight over the Delta.

Day 6
After a relaxed breakfast we head east to the vast Makgadikgadi saltpan. Depending on the season or if the pans are wet, we will camp wild on the pan or one of the campsites nearby. The Makgadikgadi saltpan covers an area over 16,000 square kilometres and forms the bed of an ancient lake - now dried up. The sunsets on the pan are truly spectacular.

Day 7
A long drive north towards Livingstone, crossing the Zambezi by ferry at Kazangula. Please note that there are sometimes delays at the ferry crossing depending on the number of vehicles wanting to cross. The border here is the meeting point of four countries, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Once we have crossed into Zambia we drive directly to our campsite on the banks of the Zambezi, and have the chance to book the optional activities available in Livingstone and Victoria Falls for the next day.

Day 8
Free day in Livingstone for optional activities such as white water rafting, elephant back safari or a helicopter flight over the falls.

Day 9
This morning there is an opportunity to view Victoria Falls themselves (park entry fee not included) from the Zambian side. From here we drive back to the Kazangula border, and take the ferry and cross back into Botswana. A short drive takes us to the town of Kasane, where we camp on the banks of the Thebe River, a tributary of the mighty Zambezi. The afternoon is free, with an option to view game on the famous Chobe Waterfront by taking an exciting river cruise on the Chobe River. This is widely regarded as one of the best game cruises in Africa with a very good chance of seeing the elephant herds coming down to the river to drink before the sun sets.

Day 10
We take an early morning game drive back to the Chobe Waterfront area. Chobe is famous for its large population of elephants, but is also home to plenty of other exciting game including lion and wild dog. After exploring the Northern end of this huge park, we head south into remote and rugged terrain, passing in and out of the national park, before finally reaching the Savuti area at the southern edge of Chobe National Park. The Savuti Marsh, often dry, is fed by the Savuti river channel which alternately flows and then dries up for years at a time. Recent flooding in 2010 and 2011 has given this area new life. This area is also home to plenty of game, but is especially well known for its lions, and the large numbers of elephant that walk enormous distances to find fodder.

Day 11
We take morning and afternoon game drives on the Savuti Marsh. There is a good chance to see lion, cheetah and hyena that follow the seasonal zebra migration through this area. Large secretary birds and kori bustards are often seen strutting around the Savuti marsh and small red-billed francolins provide a noisy morning wake up call.

Day 12
After breaking camp we drive all the way to Moremi Game Reserve. We pass through a variety of habitats including the Mbabe depression, Mopani forest and past great Acacia trees before arriving at Khwai village and the North Gate entrance of Moremi Game Reserve. Moremi National Park is the jewel in Botswana's wildllife crow. Protecting much of the northern part of the Okavango Delta, it is made up of waterways, marshes, islands and open grasslands.

Day 13
We'll go on morning and afternoon game drives through this beautiful protected area, trying to find the large variety of animals that live here. Despite its wet reputation, there is plenty of dry land in Moremi, which allows our game drives to cover significant distances while spotting game in the sometimes dense vegetation. As well as elephant and lion, Moremi is a good place to spot leopard and cheetah, and the red lechwe, a water dwelling antelope, often seen grazing amongst the lillies.

Day 14
We enjoy our last morning game drive through the park before travelling back to Maun, and back to our riverside campsite. We can enjoy the swimming pool before enjoying our last dinner at the campsite restaurant.

Day 15
End Maun.

Day 16
Arrive London