Botswana: 18 days self-drive & luxury safari

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Tour Details

Your journey will start with an overnight stay in Johannesburg, after which you will drive to the north of South Africa with your own 4 x 2 and stay in the Mapuse Private Game Reserve. Then to Botswana to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, where you will explore the park independently and certainly see rhinos in the wild!

Further inland you will make your first bush camp with the team of Bush Calls Safaris in the Central Kalahari. After two days you will continue the route to Gweta, located on the Makgadikgadi Salt Plans where you will spend the night outdoors. Then towards Maun, just below the Okavango Delta, for a scenic flight and a fly-in to the fabulous Moremi Crossings. Here, in the middle of the Okavango you will experience the rhythm of nature and you will explore the delta per mokoro, bushwalk and game drive. The bushplane then puts you in the middle of the bush to continue the safari with the Bush Calls Team in the Moremi Game Reserve. This amazing wildlife park guarantees a wide variety of wild animals and birds.

Your adventure continues north to the Savuti Marshes in the Chobe National Park and we say goodbye in Kasane. Here you can relax for a few days in an all inclusive luxury lodge with included activities of your choice such as game drives, visit the Victoria Falls and a private boat trip on the Chobe River. And then…. unfortunately, home – hopefully looking back on a great journey & experience!

Why you choose this package!

variety of good & luxury
beautiful spots of Botswana
luxury in Okavango Delta Camp

Day 1,Johannesburg

With this trip we assume arrival in the afternoon of in the evening in Johannesburg. We can book several flights for you - the direct dayly flight from KLM arrives at 21: 20h in Johannesburg. Various alternative flights are possible of course, depending on your preference. A transfer from the comfortable Safari Club Johannesburg which will await you at the airport will take you safely to the lodge 10 minutes away.

Days 2,3,4 ,Mesina | Mopane Bush Lodge

The transfer from the Safari Club takes you to the depot of the car rental company, near the airport. Pick up the car here and then travel via Pretoria, Mokopane and Polokwane to the northerly Mapunugubwe. The Mapungupwe Area is part of the world heritage because of the culture's historical significance of the country. This area is situated around the Limpopo River, which is the countries Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa borders. The side arms of the river, the river beds, the canyons and the rugged landscape are one breathtaking scene of the habitat of African wildlife. Almost everything happens here; from elephants, lions, to leopards and various types of goats. And also bird lovers will get their money's worth here. Stay on an all inclusive basis at the Mopane Bush Lodge in the Mapuse Private Game Reserve.

Day 5,Serowe | Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Today via Pontdrift towards Botswana, to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. This is in the south east of Botswana and is about 10ha in size. Under the indispensable protection of the Botswana Army, besome 60 white and black rhinos are protected and raised here. You can make gamedrives her independently or with a ranger. Besides the rhinoceros, there are several other species of African Animals to see (zebras, wildebeest, giraffes etc). With your visit to the Khama Reserve you contribute immediately to the conservation of the rhinoceros population in Botswana! You will stay in the Serowe Hotel, in the nearby town of Serowe, about 15min drive from the entrance gate of Khama Rhino Sanctuary.

Days 6 & 7,Central Kalahari | Deception Pan BOGA bushcamp

You will continue the journey towards Rakops, located on the edge of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). This is the largest and most remote reserve in Botswana and with 52,800 square kilometers it is also the second largest wild park in the world. The reserve is located in the Kalahari Desert, which stretches on the countries of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. The reserve is home to a great diversity of wild animals, but is an unpardonable environment - no water of significance and dry heat. Large numbers of oryx, springbok, honeybasses and black-headed lions. Leopards and cheetahs, as well as giraffes and for some years elephants show up in the north of the park. You will park the car for the next few days at a lodge and get into the 4x4 game viewer of the safari team and go into the Kalahari. Decepetion Pan is located in the northeastern part of the reserve, about 2 hours drive from the gate. Here a bush camp is set up and from there various game drives are made in the area.

Day 8,Gweta | Makgadikgadi Zoutvlaktes

We wil leave the Kalahari and the team drops you off at the car. After this you will continue the journey towards Gweta, a small village on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans and a number of comfortable accommodations, which organize excursions to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. You will go with a guide per 4x4 the salt plains, visit a meerkats colony and then have a braai on the salt plains where you will spend the night in the open air. A phenomenal spectacle of an immense starry sky!

Days 9 & 10,Maun | Thamalakane River Lodge

You will return to the lodge where you can freshen up and if desired, have breakfast and then through to Maun. This is a lively town in the heart of Botswana, south of the Okavango Delta is often also called the gateway to the Okavango. In Maun there is a small game park, coffee shops (internet!) and various restaurants (Indian, Orient, South American and Western cuisine). Maun Airport offers also a number of aviation companies that offer sightseeing flights above the Okavango, in addition to ferry work to the lodges. You will stay in the wonderful lodge outside the city along the Thamalakane River .

Dag 11,Okavango Delta | Moremi Crossings

Your day begins with a scenic flight of an hour above the Okavango Delta , where you are viewing the biggest the inland delta in the world from the air and get a good idea why this is such a special area. Upon your return you will check in for the flight to Moremi Crossings, your next accommodation, located in the middle of the Okavango.

Days 12 & 13,Moremi Game Reserve | Khwai River BOGA bushcamp

The adventure continues as you fly from Moremi Crossings to Xakanaka airstrip in the northern part of the Moremi Game Reserve. Here the Bush Calls team awaits you (again) and takes you to Khwai River. This limits the Moremi Game Reserve on the north-east side of the Okavango Delta. The floodplains and the river itself provide a diverse population of bird species and wild animals, living in and out of the water, such as hippos, buffalo, lions etc. Game drives in this area guarantee a lot of wildlife spotting! Your guide will make game drives with you in the area in the (very) early morning or in the afternoon and in between you will be pampered with breakfast, lunch and a 3 course dinner. More than 400 species of birds live in this area. There are many migratory birds, but also a number of endangered birds. Moremi Game Reserve has a wide variety of wild animals such as buffalos, giraffes, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, impalas, red lechwes and much more!

Day 14,Chobe National Park | Savuti BOGA bushcamp

We will leave Moremi and go north to Chobe National Park to the Savuti Marshes. These are the "wetlands" between the Moremi Game Reserve (Okavango Delta) and the Chobe National Park. The Savuti is a savanna area that becomes marsh-like and muddy during and after the rainy season and is therefore poorly accessible. In the dry season this is a food-rich area for herbivores and therefore also carnivores. Large herds of zebra, buffalo and wilde beasts are hunted by large groups of lions. Cheetahs and leopards also occur here and in exceptional cases groups of wild dogs from the north are found here. In short, game drives in this area guarantee beautiful views, lots of wildlife and a visit to Leopard Rock for bushman art.

Days 15 - 18,Kasane | Bakwena Lodge

After the morning game drive the camp is broken up and you go back to civilization, towards Kasane. This is located in the North East of Botswana and right next to the river, part of the Chobe National Park. Kasane is a cozy, but busy, tourist destination, because it is relatively quick and easy to make a game drive in the park or a (private) boat trip on the Chobe River. A day trip to the nearby Victoria Falls is also a popular excursion. You will arrive in Kasane in the afternoon and stay in the luxurious Bakwena Lodge. The stay in Bakwena is on a all-inclusive basis, which means that all meals, drinks (soft-drinks & alcohol, except "spirits, whiskeys & premium wines"), laundry service and all local taxes are included. Also 2 activities per day - including game drive in the Chobe National Park, boat trip or the day excursion to the Victoria Falls (this counts as 2 activities) are included.