Botswana is truly one of Africa’s last Edens. Most notable are the huge protected natural heritage areas, which have recently gained UNESCO status of The Okavango Delta and Tsodilo hills. The Okavango Delta is an incredible array of islands, waterways, lagoons and plains, surrounded by a dry semi-arid region, and in that way forms a natural Eden for the wildlife to find permanent sources of water and food in an otherwise dry and arid country.
To the north of this amazing ecosystem are the Savute, and Linyanti areas, which form the southern reaches of the Chobe National Park. Arider, but also with some water channels that flood periodically, this forms the next link in an ongoing chain of the incredibly rich diversity in animals and plant life. Then in the far north of Chobe National Park is the Kasane, Chobe river region, which teems with thousands of elephants, and is also a short day trip away from Victoria Falls (both Zambia and Zimbabwe)
Our favourite form of travel in this area is by fly-in safaris, where you can fly between lodges and camps, otherwise unreachable by land and or boat at certain times of the year. The recommended hub in the Delta is the town of Maun, which really acts as an access point to the Okavango Delta, and then in the northern part of Chobe National park, the border town of Kasane.
Favourite lodges in these regions vary from excellent value 4-star products belonging to Desert and Delta, namely Camp Okavango, Xakanaxa Camp, Savute Safari Lodge and Chobe Game Lodge. For the more 5-star traveller, Sanctuary Baines, Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero and Sanctuary Chiefs deserve mention. There are the rare lodges that offer almost the best on the continent, namely Zarafa camp belonging to Great Plains conservation and their sister camps of Selinda camp.
