Botswana

Towards the end of the rainy season, when pools have filled and foliage is rich, the salt pans of Makgadikgadi National Park are abundant with life. Wildebeest, pelicans, kudu, giraffe, springbok and one of Africa’s largest zebra populations fill the region, and of course, the predators that continually shadow them in their migrations. Best experienced on a luxury Botswana fly camp, a night on the plains in the barren dry season is like camping on a different planet. The pans are also home to majestic baobab trees, their rotund trunks swollen with water that can sustain them through even the harshest of droughts.

The fascinating San peoples are among the oldest cultures in the world, likely descendants of the first inhabitants of Botswana, with artefacts discovered dating back some 45,000 years. The egalitarian hunter-gatherer culture has afforded the San an exceptional knowledge of their somewhat inhospitable homeland, wisdom frequently shared with guests and visitors. The Tsodilo Hills offer a glimpse back in time, the site of numerous archeological finds and impeccable, ancient cave art.

Chobe encapsulates the iconic luxury Botswana safari experience. Numerous luxury camps are dispersed throughout the park, with the Chobe River on its northern border attracting vast herds of herbivore, wildfowl and larger game. Chobe entertains some of the most accessible elephant colonies in Africa, and is one of the best destinations to witness the Big Five; lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo.

Covering one-third of the Okavango Delta, Moremi also contains wide expanses of scrub and grasslands. Home to a populous array of wildlife.

Understandably considered Botswana’s foremost attraction, the magical Okavango Delta is the nation’s thriving heart. Home to a wealth of nature, including elephant, hippo, big cats and migratory waterfowl, it is a dream destination for wildlife photographers. Spectacular, unique luxury villas and camps nestle upon the water’s edge and the sounds of nature immerse you day and night. Few things can surpass silently plying the waters of the delta in a mokoro, or hand-carved timber canoe, to view animals from a wonderfully tranquil, uniquely Motswana perspective.

Best visited shortly after the rainy season, the expansive grasslands are one of the finest exhibitions of the circle of life. Newborn herbivores are corralled by their protective herds, prowling carnivores or on constant vigil, ready to pounce upon unattentive stragglers and the abundance of nature is simply staggering.