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Bordering the southern edges of Chief’s Island is a well-established and long-standing community area of the
Okavango Delta known as Santantadibe which you will visit on this Eagle Safari to Botswana. A mobile
camping holiday is a great way to experience the Okavango Delta and we recommend a three-night stay here as
part of your holiday in Botswana. Santantadibe is situated in a private area where walking and night drives
are allowed, which is not the case with camps set in national parks and game reserves. Safari drives in this
pretty area of Botswana are often very rewarding, whilst more relaxing excursions include canoe trips and
fishing.
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Long-crested Eagle Safari Summary:
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| Day 1 |
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Maun to Santantadibe |
| Day 2 & 3 |
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Santantadibe, mobile camp |
| Day 4 |
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Santantadibe to Maun |
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DETAILED ITINERARY:
Day 1 – Maun to Santantadibe
Grant Truthe, who leads the safari, will be at Maun Airport to welcome you when you arrive, usually in the late morning. Alternatively, if you spent the previous night in Maun as part of a longer holiday to Botswana, Grant will meet you at your accommodation after breakfast.
From Maun you will drive north through rural Botswana, passing villages and cattle posts, before reaching the veterinary cordon fence that separates wildlife from cattle. The drive from Maun to the vet fence lasts almost an hour. From this point onward, your game viewing experience begins. The remainder of your journey to the Santantadibe Mobile Camp will take approximately two hours, depending on what you stop to look at on the way.
The camp team will have travelled ahead of you to set up the camp and have everything prepared for your arrival. The tents are pitched in the shade of tall jackalberry and sausage trees, overlooking open marshy plains and a natural waterhole.
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An alternative way to reach Santantadibe is by helicopter, which gives you a fantastic aerial view of the Okavango Delta. This option is possible for a group of up to four people. If you are not booking the Long-crested Eagle Safari as part of a longer holiday in Botswana, during which you would normally take a light aircraft transfer between camps, the aerial view of this massive floodplain is so spectacular that we do recommend you book the helicopter to transfer you either from Maun to the camp or vice versa.
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Day 2 & 3 – Santantadibe, Okavango Delta
This Santantadibe area is dotted with palm-covered islands and river systems which fill with water after good rains. Herds of buffalo and giraffe can be found here, along with lion, cheetah, leopard and, occasionally, wild dog.
As this is a community area, visitors can gain a real insight into how local people continue to live in harmony with the bush. For example, you may see villagers cutting reeds for their huts, or fishing.
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You spend the next two days exploring the area with Grant. This is the place where he grew up in, so he knows it like the back of his hand and is immensely informative about the resident wildlife. As this is a private concession area, it is possible to off-road to reach less accessible game, explore slowly on a guided walk or search for nocturnal animals on a night drive – as well, of course, as doing the usual and rewarding game drives by day. More relaxing options include excursions by mekoro (dug-out canoe), and fishing – bring fresh bream back for dinner! In mekoros you can glide along the waterways without disturbing game, hearing the tiny natural sounds – the plop of a thumb-sized frog hopping into the stream, or papyrus rustling in the breeze - that would be drowned by the engine of a motorboat.
Day 4 – Santantadibe to Maun
After a leisurely breakfast, you begin your game drive back towards the vet cordon fence and the end of the wildlife reserve. You reach Maun Airport in time for your scheduled homeward flight to the UK; or, if you are combining this with another safari, you will be transferred to your next accommodation.
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Find out more about this safari on the general
Eagle Safaris
page.
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Departures:
Cost is per person sharing, departing and returning Maun
There is no single supplement on this trip.
Children aged 2-11 years get discounts - contact us for details
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| 2 Pax | 3 Pax | 4 Pax | 5 Pax | 6 to 10 Pax | | 15/03/08 - 31/03/08 | £1369 | £1069 | £919 | £844 | £769 | | 01/04/08 - 31/05/08 | £1544 | £1244 | £1094 | £969 | £919 | | 01/06/08 - 30/06/08 | £1369 | £1069 | £919 | £844 | £769 | | 01/07/08 - 30/09/08 | £1544 | £1244 | £1094 | £969 | £919 | | 01/10/08 - 20/12/08 | £1369 | £1069 | £919 | £844 | £769 |
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This itinerary can be downloaded from our Downloads Page
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