Delta & Desert
7 days/6 nights
Explore the two iconic and totally different features of Botswana -- the world’s largest inland Delta system and the Makgadikgadi, a salt pan system the size of Switzerland. Spend three nights on an authentic mobile safari expedition in the Delta where you will track lion, follow herds of elephant and explore the channels by boat. Then head off to Camp Kalahari for three nights in a traditional bush camp in the heart of the Makgadikgadi where you can explore the vast salt pans on quad bikes, walk with Bushmen guides, and get up close and personal with meerkats.
Brief Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Maun & fly to Moremi Reserve private camp
Day 4 Fly to Camp Kalahari on the edge of the Makgadikgadi
Day 7 Fly to Maun 
Note: This safari begins and ends in Maun, Botswana. We will be happy to suggest pre-safari or post-safari ideas that will pair easily with this set departure itinerary. This safari is for a minimum of 2 guests and a maximum of 12 guests. Children ages 12 and up are welcome.
Delta & Desert- Price
2012 Departures
$4,009 per person sharing
$ 858 Single supplement
- Prices include accommodations as specified on a shared basis, land and air transfers specified, all professional guide fees, activity fees, park fees & departure taxes, all food and beverages (mineral water, soft drinks, beer & wine, house drinks), laundry
Prices exclude international air, gratuities for your safari guides, camp crew & lodge staff, premium import brand drinks & champagne, passport & visa fees, travel insurance, any pre- or post-safari plans, or additional activities not specified
Delta & Desert - Departure Dates
2012
January 26 & 29, February 27, March 1 & 30, April 10, May 14 & 31, June 15, July 5 & 24, October 10 & 13, November 7 & 10, December 15 & 27
Note: Dry Season departures are April - October & Wet Season departures are November - March. The itinerary is adjusted to offer you the best of the season.
Delta & Desert - Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Okavango Delta, Moremi Reserve
You will be met upon arrival at Maun International Airport and transfer to your light aircraft flight into the Moremi Game Reserve. Your private guide will meet you upon arrival and your game viewing will begin as you make your way to your first private campsite. You will arrive in time to unpack and try the bucket shower before sitting down with your first gin and tonic to watch the sun set! Dinner, star gazing and falling asleep to the sounds of Africa will follow.
The private camp features large en-suite tents equipped in a luxurious fashion with Persian rugs and beds made up with pure cotton sheets. The private bathrooms have flush toilets and al fresco bucket showers.
You will use silver cutlery on damask table linens when you dine. Three course meals under the stars, include such treats as fresh tomato and basil soup, ostrich piccata, roast Botswana beef, delectable orange tarts and impossibly rich, but light, chocolate puddings. Teas are indulgent affairs with treats like triple layer, banana caramel cake, tangy lemon curd biscuits and the best brownies in the bush! All bread is baked daily, and delicious full cooked English breakfasts are on offer every morning.
The safari vehicles are top-of-the-line Toyota Land Cruisers which offer guests a comfortable seat for game viewing and multiple thoughtful extras like roof top seats, leather beanbags for photography and ponchos to keep you warm during sunrise drives.
The experienced guides are all qualified Biologist with at least two years experience guiding guests in the Kalahari. You are sure to gain a holistic understanding of this magical and pristine wilderness.
3 Nights at a private camp in the Okavango Delta
Day 2
You will breakfast in the first light of day and then head out in the safari vehicles for your introduction to some of the animals of the dry floodplain environment. You'll be looking for zebra, wildebeest, impala and predators such as wild dog and cheetah. Return to camp for lunch and a siesta. After a delicious spread of tea and cake, head out for sundowners. Park at the edge of a lagoon and watch herds of elephant and a myriad of birds coming down to drink whilst the sun sets. Your guide will fascinate you with the geological history of the area. Return to camp for a sumptuous dinner.
Day 3 
After breakfast, your guide will take you on a game drive to the lagoon’s edge where you will board a boat to explore the waters of the delta. The open lagoons provide a wonderful contrast in habitat after the dry forest areas and floodplains. Putt along the maze of channels, stopping to admire rare birds and the diversity of aquatic life. Spot small crocodiles basking in the sun on sparkling white sandbanks and hippos jousting for territories with spectacular splashes and clashes of jaws and some serious dental equipment. Lunch will be a picnic set on a sandy bank in the river where you can cool off at a safe swimming spot. Relax and sneak in a short siesta. Later you will head back along the waterways towards camp. Search out creatures typical of the ecosystem and explore the interrelationships of species and the systems in which they live. Arrive at camp in time for sundowners and enjoy the camp fire and your last candle light dinner in the Moremi.
Day 4 Camp Kalahari
Today you will bid farewell to the Okavango Delta as you fly over this magical water paradise you've experienced for the past three days. You will arrive at Camp Kalahari, nestled amongst the acacias and Mokolwane palms of Brown Hyaena Island, on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, adjacent to the Makgadikgadi-Nxai Pans National Park.
Camp Kalahari has ten spacious tents (including a family tent which has two tents with an inter-leading bathroom). All tents have en-suite outdoor bathrooms, flush toilets, hot and cold running water along with comfy beds with cotton sheets, African blankets and hot water bottles in the winter. The main camp areas include a thatched library, lounge and dining area.
This afternoon you will head out with your guide and learn how the Makgadikgadi pans, the remnants of the world's largest ever super-lake, were formed. Watch the sun set and listen to the quiet. Return to camp for a delicious pan African dinner.
Day 5
This morning you will visit some of the Kalahari's most fascinating inhabitants, the meerkats! Due to an ongoing habituation program here, it is possible to get up close and personal with these captivating creatures. They are not tame, but they are used to humans as a non-threatening presence. If it is a chilly morning, they might snuggle up to you for warmth. Or, in the absence of a termite mound, they might try to use your head as a sentry lookout post. By spending quality time with these incredibly social, superbly adapted animals, you will be able to see how they interact with each other and their environment.
After a picnic breakfast you will visit a remote cattle post to learn about the traditional culture of the Batswana people. Nearby is the famous Chapman's Baobab (also known as the Seven Sisters) which is acknowledged to be the third largest tree in Africa! Many of the early explorers like Livingstone and Selous camped here and your guide will tell you some of the stories.
Return to camp for lunch and siesta. Later you will travel out to the pans where you will be given a brief safety briefing before mounting your trusty quad bike. As you head off across the pans you will realize that there is not one visual landmark to be seen, just 16,000 square kilometers of baking soda! Watch the sun set and the stars rise. This is one of the only places in the world where the silence is so complete you can hear the blood circulating through your ears.
Day 6 (Dry Season Itinerary)
Early this morning you'll comb the edge of the extinct lakeshore to find some of the many stone tools and fossils that litter the pan surface. Your guide will enlighten you on the origins of early man. Return to camp for brunch and some time to catch up on your journal writing. After tea you will set out in search of some unique desert species -- aardvark, bat eared foxes, aardwolves and the elusive brown hyena which is the third rarest large carnivore in Africa. Currently there are only about 8,000 in the wild. Brown hyenas are the consummate desert specialists, surviving in arid areas where both food and water are scarce. This timid, nocturnal species can be a rare sighting. In spite of being solitary foragers, they are very social animals living in clans of up to a dozen animals.
Enjoy your last night in the Kalahari with a lamp lit dinner and a promise to return!
Day 6 (Wet Season Itinerary)
After enjoying your delicious breakfast you will head off for a full day in the Makgadikgadi National Park to see the zebra and wildebeest migration. In the Kalahari Desert rain is the ‘currency of life’ and as soon as the rains arrive, the desert transforms into a green oasis teeming with life. Within days of the first rain, thousands of Burchell’s zebra and blue wildebeest make their way across the Makgadikgadi National Park to feed on the sweet summer grasses, and benefit from the high mineral content found in the salt pans.
This is the second largest migration of African ungulates, with an estimated 30,000 animals, the majority being zebra, participate each year. Close behind, you may encounter lion, cheetah, leopard or wild dog. You may also see the rare brown hyena, which do not hunt, but mainly scavenge. These fascinating and somewhat misunderstood animals benefit hugely from the arrival of the migration, as do the many birds of prey and vultures.
Bird life here is as fascinating as the animals and you are sure to spot some unique desert birds, such as ostrich and sand grouse, as well as the water birds which arrive with the rains. Your guide will explain the evolution of mammals, the relationship between predator and prey, the origins of hunting and water sourcing and its influence on man's development.
Return to camp in time for a hot shower, cold sundowner and your final delicious dinner in the Kalahari!
Day 7
Spend the morning walking with Zu/’hoasi Bushmen trackers. This is an extraordinary opportunity to walk with these guides who are part of a unique, but sadly fast-vanishing culture. Offering a window into the past, they will teach you how they have survived in this harshest of environments, using their vast and ancient knowledge of plants, animal behavior and survival skills.
You will enjoy lunch at Camp Kalahari before you bid farewell and prepare for your onward journey.
Notes
- Departures are subject to a minimum of 2 guests travelling.
- Single supplements will apply for single accommodation. Solo travelers who do not want to pay the single supplement will be matched with another guest of the same gender when possible.
- Minimum age limit is 12 years on this safari unless it is an exclusive group booking.
Contact Duffle & Compass for availability and further information.
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