Botswana Explorer

Fly overnight from London Heathrow, via Johannesburg, to Maun.

On arrival, transfer to the light-aircraft flight (40mins) to Nxai Pan, the only airstrip on the pan, and the only permanent camp in the park. Three nights at Nxai Pan Camp, where all verandas face the waterhole. Afternoon game drive.
(L, D)

A National Park since 1992, Nxai Pan’s 2,578sq.kms spread around one of the largest saltpans in Africa, and sit on the wildlife migration route between Hwange and the Okavango Delta. With acacia trees tempting giraffes to the area, the reserve is also a favoured spot for springboks and elephants, and is visited in the rainy season by large herds of zebra and antelope seeking the lush grass, and by their predators, lions, cheetahs and jackals. A full day game drive is punctuated by a picnic lunch in the shadow of the Baines Baobabs.
(B, L, D)

A rewarding walk with one of the San bushman trackers provides a fascinating insight of the age-old customs, beliefs, and way of life of the original Kalahari dwellers, and of their survival knowledge as hunter gatherers, finding water sources, and identifying medicinal plants. Return to the camp for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive.
(B, L, D)

After a last morning game drive in the Nxai Pan reserve, fly to the Okavango Delta and enjoy a bird’s eye view of its vast, watery wilderness as you approach the landing at Moremi Crossing. This afternoon, game and birdlife viewing in Moremi National Park is by ‘mokoro’ traditional canoes, plying the delta’s clear water channels, cloaked with lilies, cutting through grassland and woodland, and punctuated with papyrus and palm islets (replaced by land-based safari if water levels are low). Two nights at the eco-conscious Moremi Crossing tented camp.
(B, L, D)

After a guided bush walk this morning, your afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the camp’s pool, bar, unique setting, and glorious sunset skies.
(B, L, D)

A morning mokoro trip or game drive gives you a last look at the breathtaking beauty and diverse ecosystems of the Big Five reserve; before flying to Pom Pom Island, a private concession at the heart of Okavango Delta, where a sunset cruise sets the easy tempo. Three nights at the Pom Pom Island Camp, with verandas at each of the nine tents overlooking the water-lily lagoon. 
(B, L, D)

A truly pristine wilderness, for an uncrowded, undiluted safari experience, Pom Pom Island’s permanent lagoon provides the habitats for hippos and brilliant birdlife, and wildlife sightings in the area can include lions and leopards, spotted hyenas, elephants, and giraffes. After morning and afternoon game drives, relax with a sundowner as you listen to the bush sounds and perhaps watch bushbucks grazing the grass and monkeys meeting in the trees.
(B, L, D)

Enjoy a morning game drive or push the boat out (literally) with a spectacular optional tour over and in the Delta. Departing at dawn, this thrilling tour first takes to the air with a helicopter flight above the wilds of the Okavango (15minutes, each way), then returns to the serenity and sounds of nature on the water, for the gentle glide of a mokoro safari, where your guide propels the craft silently through the channels with a long ‘nkashi’ pole (£385, bookable locally). Afternoon game drive.
(B, L, D)

After a morning wildlife-watching safari, fly to Maun for your overnight return flight.
(B)

Arrival at London Heathrow.