Camping Safari in Northern Botswana
Tour Introduction
A Reef and Rainforest first, this birding tour involves every night being spent at a mobile, tented campsite. This is an incredibly rewarding way of experiencing the African bush, in its purest form. An expert guide, as well as a team of camp crew (including a chef!), will travel along the same route as you, setting up the mobile camps prior to your arrival at each location.
The spacious tents are comfortable, with solid beds and bed linen provided, and private en suite toilet/shower areas. The quality of meals prepared, cooked and served is not akin to camping as you know it, whilst a selection of beers, wines and spirits are provided for your enjoyment. This is glamping.
The route explores the Okavango and Chobe regions of Northern Botswana, taking in the protected areas of Moremi Game Reserve, Mababe Private Reserve and Chobe National Park. You will explore the waterways of the Okavango Delta by Mokoro (a dugout canoe traditional to the area) and have the chance to see hippo, crocodile and greater kudu amongst plentiful wetland bird species. The endangered African Wild Dog is an expert hunter in the flooded plains.
You will travel north through Savuti, the temperamentally flooded marshland, famed for its lions that have learned how to hunt elephants. Delve into the enchanting teak woodlands of Chobe Forest Reserve and scan the expansive savannah of Chobe National Park for its iconic species. Finish your trip with a boat trip along the Chobe River to reach the riverside town of Kasane for your flight home.
Birds of prey to look out for: African hawk-eagle, Gabar goshawk, Shikra, Little sparrowhawk, Dark chanting goshawk, Tawny eagle, Steppe eagle, African fish eagle, African harrier hawk, Bat-hawk, Cuckoo hawk, Long-crested eagle, Black sparrowhawk, Martial eagle, Bateleur, Red-necked falcon, Lanner falcon, Secretary bird, Black-shouldered kite, Lesser-spotted eagle, Wahlberg’s eagle, Steppe buzzard, Yellow-billed kite, Montague’s harrier, Dickenson’s kestrel, Amur falcon, Peregrine falcon and Lizard buzzard, White-faced owl, Eurasian hobby falcon and Ovambo sparrowhawk
Other bird species: Red-billed, Southern yellow-billed, African grey, Bradfield’s and Southern Ground hornbills
Diederick cuckoo, Levaillant’s cuckoo, Jacobin cuckoo, Great-spotted cuckoo, African cuckoo, Common cuckoo, Shaft-tailed whydah, Pin-tailed whydah, Eastern paradise whydah, Greater honeyguide, and Lesser honeyguide
African rail, Coppery-tailed coucal, Black coucal, Red-chested flufftail, African crake, Black crake, Corncrake, chirping cisticola, Luapula cisticola, Purple swamphen, Allen’s gallinule, African skimmer, Saddle-billed stork, Yellow-billed stork, Intermediate egret, Goliath heron, Slaty egret and Wattled crane, Malachite kingfisher, Great white pelican
Red-headed weaver, Stierling’s wren-warbler, Scarlet-chested sunbird, Neddicky, Yellow-breasted apalis, Chin-spot batis, Quail finch, Long-legged bustard
Rosy-throated longclaw, Greater painted snipe, Lesser jacana and Lesser moorhen
Violet-eared waxbill, Black-cheeked waxbill, Village indigobird, Red-crested korhaan, Caspian plover Chestnut-backed sparrowlark, Grey-backed sparrowlark, Northern black korhaan, Rufous-naped lark, African pipit and Desert cisticola
Red-winged pratincole, black-winged pratincole, racket-tailed roller, tree pipit and Miombo rock-thrush.
Full Itinerary
Depart with your guide from Maun and head into the Moremi Game Reserve. Reach your first camp in the Xakanaxa region by the afternoon. Explore the area's diverse range of habitats, including woodlands, dry scrub, savannah, lagoons and floodplains. Your guide will take you out on morning and late afternoon game drives. Moremi Game Reserve is one of the best places in Africa to spot the endangered African wild dog.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Xakanaxa. Includes Dinner.
Xakanaxa exploration day with morning and afternoon game drives.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Xakanaxa. Includes All Meals.
Xakanaxa exploration day with morning and afternoon game drives.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Xakanaxa. Includes All Meals.
After breakfast, your guide will drive you north east to Mababe Private Reserve, where your campsite will be for the next three nights, on the banks of the Khwai River. The drive will be broken up however, stopping earlier in the day where the Kwai River's water still flows very calmly, to take a guided excursion in a mokoro. These traditional dugout boats are the best way to explore the waterways of the Okavango Delta; The lack of any engine noise meaning animals are less likely to get spooked and flee. Impressive numbers of hippo can be seen wallowing in the Khwai.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Mababe. Includes All Meals.
Mababe exploration day including game drives by both day and night. Some guided walking excursions may also be possible.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Mababe. Includes All Meals.
Mababe exploration day including game drives by both day and night. Some guided walking excursions may also be possible.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Mababe. Includes All Meals.
Leave your campsite in the private Mababe Reserve today, heading north into the Chobe Central area. You are very likely to see elephant if there is enough surface water around, and this more arid landscape is brilliant cheetah territory. Savuti, within Central Chobe, was once an expansive marsh. Now mostly dry, some lagoons and waterholes remain. The powerful lion pride of Savuti have famously learned to predate on elephants, under the cover of darkness.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Central Chobe. Includes All Meals.
Central Chobe exploration day with game drives and bushmen paintings walk.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Central Chobe. Includes All Meals.
Central Chobe exploration day with morning and afternoon game drives.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Central Chobe. Includes All Meals.
After breakfast continue travelling north with your guide. You will leave your camp near Savuti in Central Chobe and head towards the Chobe River itself. The stunted mopane scrub region around Ghoha hills has natural waterholes that hold water well into the dry season, drawing in good numbers of elephant, Burchell's zebra, buffalo and greater kudu. You will stop for a scenic lunch en route and be able to enjoy the beauty of the Zambezi teak woodlands of the Chobe Forest Reserve. Roan and Sable antelope prefer these forested areas.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Chobe River. Includes All Meals.
Chobe River exploration day. Much of the Chobe’s wildlife come to drink in the latter half of the morning and early afternoon when the heat stimulates their thirst. Breeding herds of elephant are very numerous around the river, as are lion, with perhaps the highest densities of the iconic predator in Southern Africa. Spend your last night at the Chobe River camp.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Chobe River. Includes All Meals.
After an early start, you will travel by boat along the Chobe River. You will then be dropped off at Kasane Airport. After saying goodbye to your guide, catch your onward flight.
Includes Breakfast.
Tour Accommodation
Letaka Mobile Tented Camps
Overview
A mobile safari tour is an intrepid and unique way of experiencing Africa’s remaining wilderness regions. Venturing further off the increasingly beaten bush trails of Southern Africa is likely to reward you with extraordinary wildlife viewing. Within Botswana, Letaka Safaris are experts in this type of tour. Their access to private reserves and remote campsites, exceptional staff, and superb regional knowledge, provides them with a cutting edge.
A team of guides and crew will join you and your travel companions, setting up the mobile camp at each location along your itinerary route. The safari chef and camp assistants will ensure you are well supplied with excellent meals, which are eaten in a communal setting with your companions. Drinking water is readily available, along with soft drinks and a selection of alcoholic beverages. Mobile showers are even available within your private ensuite area, adjacent to your tent.
Their modern fleet of open-sided, four-wheel drive vehicles ensure excellent wildlife viewing potential in comfort, whilst the guides are highly professional and experienced.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
The tents are a 4 x 3m Sahara style with a high roof, 2 x 3m ensuite bathroom and a 2 x 3m covered (open-sided) private porch area.
Solid base camp beds made up with mattresses, sheets, duvets and pillows. Ensuite areas consist of a long drop toilet and a bucket shower. Showers can be ordered as hot, cold or warm. *The guide withholds the right to limit water use and showering depending upon the availability of water. Towels and basic toiletries provided.
Tents have an oil/paraffin lamp on the veranda and in the bathroom and within the tent itself, a LED rechargeable camp light is supplied.
Local Wildlife
Depending on the region and campsite location, certain species may be more prevalent and easier to spot than others. In the Kalahari, Okavango and Chobe regions however, you could possibly see: Lion (including black-maned), cheetah, leopard, brown hyena, spotted hyena, wild dog, aardwolf, caracal, honey badger, elephant, giraffe, zebra, greater kudu, impala, gemsbok, steenbok, springbok, oryx and eland. Hundreds of bird species including good numbers of raptors and ostrich are present.
Optional Activities
Game drives, bushmen guided walks, mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) excursions.
Route Map
Departure Dates
Tour Dates
Adult Price
Single Supp
Travel Information
Are International Flights Included?
No. Please contact us for a quote if required.
Best Visited:
November to March
Are you ATOL Registered?
Yes. This means we are legally able to book your international flights in conjunction with your ground arrangements so you can book with us with complete confidence. Read more about our ATOL license here.
Jonathan Morris
Area Specialist
Don’t forget to bring a decent pair of binoculars!
For families travelling with younger children on private trips; a family safari tent is available, ensuring the children’s safety and the parent’s peace of mind. The family tent is a two-bedroom unit with an adjoining bathroom and lockable exit/entrance with each tent taking 2 people in each.
If you have any questions regarding this Tour, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
On behalf of my wife and myself, I would like to thank all at Reef and Rainforest for arranging so superbly yet another exceptional wildlife experience. As you are aware our ‘expeditions’ tend to be species led and this year’s brief was to observe and photograph the ‘Three Big Cats of Africa’ in a truly wild setting (i.e. no fences). Your recommended destination, Botswana, did not let us down, in fact the whole trip proved an outstanding success in all aspects.
We stayed in three camps (three nights in each) across the Okavango Delta and surrounding area, each provided a different environment which ensured our aims were met. Each camp was run to a very high standard, was extremely comfortable and provided excellent meals. The quality of guiding and tracking in all our camps was of the highest standard. As Botswana manages its natural resources so well all the camps were small (no more than 18 guests) ensuring a very intimate safari experience in pristine wild African habitat.
I am delighted to report our big cat objectives were realised. All observations were lengthy and offered excellent photographic opportunities. However, unexpectedly, the highlight of our spectacular trip turned out to be sightings of two separate packs of African Painted Dogs. We visited two dens, the first had a very healthy number of adult dogs, approximately fifteen and eighteen pups. The second had seven adult dogs and sixteen pups. At Lebala we had the privilege of spending a prolonged period of time following the pack of dogs as they hunted, an experience we will never forget.
When one also considers the significant mammal and bird species we observed, Botswana is truly a must visit destination for the wildlife enthusiast. Incidentally we also observed three serval and two African wild cats. We also thoroughly enjoyed our few days at Victoria Falls, possibly the most spectacular waterfall in the world, the hotel in Zimbabwe was excellent. Viewing the falls from the Zambian side and also the helicopter flight are both well worth doing.
This was our third consecutive trip with Reef and Rainforest, and I would be very surprised if there is not a fourth being planned very soon. Thank you all once again.
