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This Botswana Kingfisher Safari is designed so that you can enjoy the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
when it is at its most productive. During the ‘rainy’ season, great black clouds can gather and roll over the
undulating valleys of ancient sand dunes. Following the rains, large numbers of plains game and their young
migrate into these fertile river valleys, which in turn attracts predators to the area. In stark contrast to
the Kalahari’s wide open spaces, you spend two nights at a top lodge in Moremi Game Reserve from where
you can explore the Okavango Delta waterways surrounded by an abundance of flora and fauna.
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Woodland Kingfisher 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 |
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Makgadikgadi National Park, adventurer camp |
| Day 5, 6 & 7 |
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Central Kalahari, adventurer camp |
| Day 8 & 9 |
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Moremi Game Reserve, lodge |
| Day 10 |
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Flight to London |
| Day 11 |
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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 the Okavango Delta and the
starting point of your Botswana safari.
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 the small but rapidly growing town of Maun:
you could choose to 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 & 4 – Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
After a leisurely breakfast at Motsentsela, you are met at the lodge by your guide and the rest of the group.
From here you drive on to the western edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park and your Adventurer mobile
safari camp overlooking the now dry Boteti River.
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The Boteti River was once a major river that carved a channel across the central Botswana, carrying the waters of
the Okavango Delta into the Makgadikgadi basin. Today a great breadth of sandy watercourse lined with riverine
woodland remains. A chain of rain filled pools along the river bed, a few of which retain permanent water
throughout the year, provide necessary water to a surprising variety of wildlife here, including two white
rhino! With the coming of the rainy season, desert-adapted species all begin to give birth to their young making
these months (November to March) a particularly special time to visit this area.
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Day 5, 6 & 7 – Central Kalahari Game Reserve
After an early breakfast, you set out past villages and cattle posts before driving deep into the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve and your Adventurer Camp there for the next three nights. Despite what is generally said,
in fact the Kalahari isn’t a desert at all but rather a vast sand-sheet, a fossil desert, now largely covered in
bushes, trees and grasses. Fortunately man hasn’t yet found a use for all this sand, so most of the Kalahari
remains untouched, as it has been for about 65 million years.
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the ultimate in remote destinations. It covers over 50,000km², most of which
is inaccessible. It was, until very recently, closed to the public, although there have always been small groups
of Bushmen living in the reserve. The best-known account of the area is the haunting book Cry of the Kalahari,
written by American biologists Mark and Delia Owens about their research in Deception Valley.
Deception Valley is a fossil riverbed of fine clay, flanked by petrified dunes. When the rains arrive in the
Kalahari, they herald a short period when ancient river valleys like this one break out in new growth of
nutritious grasses. This attracts huge herds of springbok, oryx and zebra from all over the park, creating a
short yet incredibly prolific period of wildlife viewing. During this time you may also see large congregations
of ostrich, giraffe and wildebeest, as well as cheetah and the Kalahari’s famous black-maned lions. Leopard and
brown hyena are also resident, though rarely seen. All of this combines to create some really outstanding game
viewing – and it’s witnessed by remarkably few people!
Day 8 & 9 – Moremi, Okavango Delta
From the Central Kalahari it is around a 6-hour drive to Maun, where you transfer to light aircraft for a short
flight into the Okavango Delta. Your destination is Xigera (pronounced ‘keejera’), a private and permanently
flooded area inside Moremi Game Reserve. Here you will find a profusion of plant and animal life, within a
paradise of remote islands ringed by clear-water channels.
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Although there is game in the area, including red lechwe, sitatunga and elephant, it isn’t the main focus of your
visit. You come to Xigera to experience one of the Okavango Delta’s lushest and most tropical areas, and to seek
out the spectacular birdlife. Here you can spend your time exploring the waterways by mokoro (dug-out canoe), and
walking and camping on small, vegetated islands. Expect to see numerous herons, egrets, cranes and smaller
water-birds – and usually the occasional rarity like the Pel’s fishing owl.
Xigera Camp is a permanent tented camp situated in a lush riverine forest in the heart of the Okavango Delta.
Each room is raised off the ground on a wooden deck, and has views over the seasonal floodplain and waterhole.
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Day 10 – Flight to London
After a final morning activity and a relaxed breakfast you will fly to Maun by light aircraft in time to catch
your scheduled flight back to the UK and the end of an unforgettable safari experience in Botswana.
Day 11 – 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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| 29/02/08 - 10/03/08 | £2257 | | 18/03/08 - 28/03/08 | £2355 | | 06/04/08 - 16/04/08 | £2257 | | 08/04/08 - 18/04/08 | £2257 | | 19/04/08 - 29/04/08 | £2257 | | 22/04/08 - 02/05/08 | £2257 | | 21/11/08 - 01/12/08 | £2381 | | 02/12/08 - 12/12/08 | £2381 | | 05/12/08 - 15/12/08 | £2381 | | 20/12/08 - 30/12/08 | £2728 | | 27/12/08 - 06/01/09 | £2279 | | | |
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This itinerary can be downloaded from our Downloads Page
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