Botswana - African Safari Wildlife Highlights

Okavango Delta - The Okavanago River flows into the Kalahari Desert to form an enchanting lush wetland of lagoons and channels, palm fringed islands and fertile floodplains. The Big 5 are prolific in this area, as well as an amazing array of wildlife including the more rare animals such as red lechwe, sitatunga, wild dog and wattled crane. The best time for game viewing is during May to October when animal life is concentrated along the deltas' flooded areas. Mekoro (local dugout canoe) is an ideal way to view game on the delta banks and numerous waterways.

Moremi Game Reserve showcases floodplains, lagoons, acacia forest and mopane woodland along with a huge diversity of animal and plant life.

Chobe National Park - Covering 10 566 square kilometres/4079 square miles, this park has one of the largest concentration of game in Africa. Four different ecosystems can be found here including Linyanti Swamps, the Savuti Marsh, the dense forests of the Chobe Rives and lush savanna grasslands of Serondela.

Linyanti Game Reserve - Renowned for its predators including the African wild dog, this private reserve is home to great concentrations of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, impala and roan antelope who congregate along the river during the dry season. The Kwando and Linyanti rivers flow into a 900 square kilometer/347 square mile flood plain known as the Linyanti Marshes.

Makgadikgadi Pans National Park - Incorporates some of the largest salt pans in the world, covering 16 000 square kilometers/6177 square miles. These pans are spectacular during the dry and wet season. During the rains from November until March, these pans transform into vast areas of water which attract a multitude of birds and animals. Large breeding flocks of flamingo congregate here and the rainy season triggers dramatic migrations of zebra and wildebeest to the area. The pans are home to ancient towering Baobab trees (known as "upside down" trees) and palm groves. Makgadikgadi Pans National park is home to four distinct habitats of salt pans, grassland, scrubland and riverine woodland. Wildlife here includes the black-maned Kalahari lion, wild dog, leopard, cheetah, hyena, springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest, waterbuck, bushbuck and hippo.

Tuli Block - Known as "The Land of the Giants", Tuli incorporates a number of game reserves and is more than 350km long and between 20km to 30km wide. Wildlife that can be seen here includes elephant, kudu, impala, wildebeest, giraffe, lion, zebra, cheetah, waterbuck, eland, caracal, aardwolf, hyena and jackal including over 350 species of bird. The terrain is quite different to anywhere else in Botswana, with rugged rocky terrain and outcrops, a network of dry riverbeds and larger rivers with impressive Mashatu trees and Fever trees lining the banks.

Weather: Subtropical climate with hot, humid, wet summers (September to April) and warm to cool, dry winters (May to August). Daytime summer temperatures may rise above 35ºC/95ºF, and winter nights rarely drop below 10ºC/50ºF.

A Botswana Safari is unique and will be remembered for many years.

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