“Roughly the size of Texas with the population of San Antonio.” That’s how a safari guide once described Botswana’s immense scale and sense of personal space. But we’re yet to find anything that quite describes the way Africa’s most magical Big Five safari destination makes you feel. It’s tough to beat the experience of a remote and wild Botswana safari tour.
A geological masterpiece, nearly three-quarters of the country’s surface area is diamond-rich desert. Its scrubby sands and white salt pans – relics of pre-historic super lakes – are visible from space. As is the lush, flatter-than-flat Okavango Delta, reaching out from the north west like a glittering, open hand.
Once a fast-flowing river, seismic shifts in the tectonic plates below the Okavango formed a sudden and dramatic plateau, knocking the river off course. With no place to go but elegantly sideways, the waters fanned out among termite mounds to form the world’s largest inland delta, teeming with bird life and big game. All the ingredients for the perfect African safari tour.
With a desert eco-system carefully balanced on a knife-edge, every drop of water here is celebrated, and you’ll hear the word pula–meaning rain–often. If someone says it as you clink glasses, don’t be alarmed. It’s not a weather forecast, nor is it an indicator that it’s your turn to pay (It’s also the name of the local currency). It’s just a hearty good wish that points to water’s great importance, from the annual floods of the delta to the warm summer rains.
A Botswana safari is unrivalled. The action centres around a handful of large national parks and game reserves, and a myriad of exclusive private concessions hidden away between them. Barring the occasional buffalo fence to restrict the spread of foot and mouth disease between wildlife and livestock, large swathes of the country remain fence-free. Natural migration patterns continue undisturbed, and wildlife moves with abandon through this pristine, untouched wilderness.
In the north, Chobe National Park attracts almost as many visitors as it does elephants in the dry season, and on the edge of the delta, wildlife sightings in the Moremi Game Reserve are legendary. With its flamingo-filled pans and dazzles of zebra – Botswana’s national animal – the Makgadikgadi National Park’s stark lunar landscape is eerily breath-taking. Further south, with its fossilised rivers, starry night skies and black-maned lions, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is as remote as it is remarkable. (Not to mention bloody freezing at night.) When planning a tour to Botswana try to include some time in the salt pans and the desert.
Far from the madding crowd, it’s Botswana’s intimate private concessions that hold its real power. Hidden from sight, their heady mix of five-star luxury hospitality, craft G&Ts, and outstanding wildlife encounters will absolutely knock your long-haul compression socks off. From the enclaves of the game-rich Chief’s Island to romantic desert sleepouts under the stars, here your every wish is the ever-smiling Batswana’s command. Whether you’re after the birdlife, the private life or the holiday of a lifetime, a Botswana safari tour offers an experience like no other on earth.
