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Highlights of this Bee-eater Safari holiday to Botswana are varied and include: the game-rich Xakanaxa
area in Moremi Game Reserve where the environs range from riverine forests and lagoons to open
savannah; guided walks and 4WD safari day and night drives in the Khwai Community Area, well known for
its leopard sightings; the strange Savuti Marsh in Chobe National Park where large prides of lions
hunt elephants; a boat trip on the Chobe River with the sight of the majestic Victoria Falls as
a grand finale.
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Carmine Bee-eater Safari Summary:
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| Day 1 |
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Flight to Botswana |
| Day 2 |
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Maun, lodge |
| Day 3, 4 & 5 |
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Moremi Game Reserve, mobile camp |
| Day 6, 7 & 8 |
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Khwai community area, mobile camp |
| Day 9, 10 & 11 |
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Savuti, mobile camp |
| Day 12 & 13 |
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Chobe Naitonal Park, lodge |
| Day 14 & 15 |
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Livingstone, lodge |
| Day 16 |
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Flight to London |
| Day 17 |
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Arrive in London |
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DETAILED ITINERARY:
Day 1 – Flight to Botswana
Scheduled overnight flight from London, via Johannesburg, to Maun: the gateway to Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
Day 2 – Maun
On arrival you are met and driven to Motsentsela Tree Lodge to relax after your flight. This delightful tented lodge is situated on a small private game farm on the outskirts of Maun. Named after the wild plum tree, this delightful lodge is a lovely spot in which to relax to get over your flight: spend the afternoon by the pool or stroll around some of the property’s marked nature trails. The reserve is home to game species including springbok, kudu, zebra and giraffe.
Day 3 – Moremi Game Reserve
After a leisurely breakfast you return to Maun to meet the rest of the group before transferring to a light aircraft for the flight to the Moremi Game Reserve, where you will meet your guide. On arrival at the mobile camp you are shown to your tents and introduced to camping Botswana style, before heading out on a short afternoon drive during which sundowners are served at some scenic spot. Your day ends with a three-course dinner back at camp.
The Okavango is a unique ecosystem, an inland delta situated in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the world – the Kalahari basin. In 1962 the local BaTawana people set aside a third of the Okavango Delta to protect for the future. They named this the Moremi Game Reserve, and it now forms the core of the region’s reserves. Moremi encompasses a large area of the Okavango Delta’s eastern wetlands. The main dry peninsula that juts into the Delta here is known as the Mopane Tongue, and it is at the tip of this tongue that the Xakanaxa Lagoon lies.
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Where land and delta meet, a patchwork of lagoons, grasslands, forests and pans provides an extremely rich and diverse habitat in which a multitude of animals flourish. Leopard and cheetah are regularly seen and the density of antelope is amazing. The area’s birdlife is exceptionally varied, from innumerable herons, egrets, storks and other waders to many species of harrier, buzzard and kite.
Day 4 – Moremi Game Reserve
After early coffee and a light breakfast you continue your exploration of this game-rich area on a game drive. After it you return to camp for a sumptuous brunch and the relaxation of an afternoon siesta, followed by hot or cold showers depending on the temperature of the day. Tea is then served, just before the afternoon game drive, after which you return to camp for dinner.
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Day 5 – Moremi Game Reserve
The morning again starts with a light, early breakfast followed by a game drive and then brunch. In the afternoon you head for the Xakanaxa boat station, from where you will pick up a motorboat to explore the channels of the Xakanaxa Lediba (Lagoon) and see the permanent waterways and the associated birds and wildlife. After sunset you return to the boat station and transfer to your camp for dinner.
Day 6 – Khwai Community Area
The support team breaks down camp while a game drive takes you to your next camp, in Botswana’s Khwai region just north of the Moremi Reserve. This area is somewhat drier as it is east of the delta proper. The change in habitat heralds a change in the dominant wildlife species and you have the opportunity to explore all of this before arriving at your new camp. After lunch there is time for a siesta before an armed guide takes you out on your afternoon bush walk. You return to camp for dinner and the option of a night drive to see the area’s nocturnal wildlife.
Day 7 & 8 – Khwai Community Area
Each day of this part of your Botswana holiday begins with another early-morning walk combined with a game drive. The lengths of all the walks are determined by the fitness and comfort level of the group. You stay in the Khwai area and explore the vast floodplains, which support a great variety of game and birds.
You may have the opportunity to watch hippo in action, if they are ‘at home’ in one of the many pools they utilise along the Khwai River. After lunch and siesta, a late-afternoon game drive gives you a final exploration of the area, including a break to watch the sunset and take in the sounds of the African bush. The break is followed by a night drive. Finally, each day ends with dinner at camp, and the background chorus of owls which is characteristic of this area at night.
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Day 9 – Savuti
After a leisurely breakfast, you depart for Savuti in Botswana’s Chobe National Park. The drive takes you through the ever-changing scenery of the famous Mababe Depression and Savuti Marsh to arrive at your new camp along the Savuti channel. Savuti is famous for its large population of bull elephant which are dependant on the three waterholes in the region. Because they must visit the waterholes, you are almost certain to see some elephant interaction as the loose herds gather and split up again after quenching their thirst.
An afternoon drive takes you to the famous Pump Pan, where the sun sets behind the camelthorn trees with elephants silhouetted in the foreground. Back at camp you should hear the plaintive call of the jackal, often referred to as the 'cry of the Kalahari', and the eerie whooping of the region’s most infamous inhabitants, the hyenas.
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There are no fences between Botswana’s private reserves and its national parks, so animals move freely between them. The predators are numerous: lion are often sighted, whilst leopard favour the wooded areas in more broken country, and cheetah and wild dog range through the open plains.
Day 10 & 11 – Savuti
Whilst in Savuti, your explorations will take you to the 'Big Baobab' and the Bushman paintings on Bushman Hill. As well as exploring the vast open grasslands of the old marsh, you may also get sightings of some of the rarer game in the region, including cheetah and the solitary leopard. You will head back to either Pump Pan or Disaster Pan for sunset, to catch the last haunting rays of each day.
Day 12 – Chobe National Park
Leaving Savuti, you cross the Goha sand ridge en route to the northern region of Chobe National Park along the Chobe River. After passing through town of Kasane, you will arrive at your accommodation, the delightful Elephant Valley Lodge. After a short time to settle in, your guide leads you on an afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River.
This river supports a large number of game species but is particularly renowned for its breeding herds of elephants, which sometimes gather along the river in their hundreds to drink at the end of the day. This will give you a hippo's eye view of the surrounding countryside and provide good opportunities to see elephant drinking from the river. Birdlife abounds here, and depending on the time of year there are numerous rarities awaiting discovery.
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Day 13 – Chobe National Park
Elephant Valley Lodge overlooks a waterhole popular with elephants and other game species. This creates a great environment to explore on foot with your guide. Back at the lodge its brunch and siesta time again. During the afternoon you have the choice of relaxing by the pool and watching the animals drink at the lodge’s waterhole, a second boat cruise on the Chobe River or a last walk with your safari guide.
Day 14 & 15 – Livingstone, Zambia
After breakfast you bid farewell to your guide before a transfer to the Kazangula border post, to connect with your road transfer to Livingstone (Zambia) where you will stay two nights at Taita Falcon Lodge near the Victoria Falls.
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The lodge is perched above rapid 17 on the very edge of the Batoka Gorge, offering superb views of the raging Zambezi River 200 metres below. Each of its comfortable chalets is individually designed and decorated with local materials. Offering a getaway from the usual tourist crowd, the lodge is the perfect place to enjoy all the excitement and action of the Victoria Falls whilst retaining peace and tranquillity.
The surrounding gardens are a colourful blend of indigenous plants and are a bird watcher’s paradise with over 210 birds identified including, of course, the rare Taita Falcon. A resident pair of Vereaux Eagles soars at eye level, along with a host of other raptors regularly sighted from the lodge.
Livingstone itself is not a wildlife destination, but rather an access point for the Victoria Falls area. Various activities are included during your stay at Taita Falcon Lodge, including a visit to the magnificent falls, a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, a tour of Livingstone town and its markets, a guided tour of a traditional village and a game drive to Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. There are also many exciting optional activities such as white-water rafting and bungee jumping, as well as elephant back riding. You can spend your days out and about enjoying the Victoria Falls area, or more quietly by the pool at the lodge, doing some gentle bird-watching.
Day 16 – Flight to London
Taita Falcon Lodge will arrange your transfer to Livingstone Airport, to connect with your scheduled homeward flight and the end of your Botswana holiday.
Day 17 – Arrive in London
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Departures:
Cost is per person sharing, departing and returning UK
There is no single supplement on this trip.
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| 08/07/08 - 24/07/08 | £3995 | | 09/09/08 - 25/09/08 | £4069 | | 17/09/08 - 03/10/08 | £4069 | | 01/10/08 - 17/10/08 | £4069 | | 08/10/08 - 24/10/08 | £4069 | | 29/10/08 - 14/11/08 | £3669 | | 30/10/08 - 15/11/08 | £3669 | | | | | | |
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This itinerary can be downloaded from our Downloads Page
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