13 Day Botswana Explorer

13 Days, 12 Nights

Penduka takes you on a 13-day safari experience to include the Makgadikgadi Pans, Nxai Pan National Park, Moremi Wildlife Reserve, the Savuti Channel, Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls. Listen to the haunting cry of the fish eagle; see herds of elephant and buffalo, tsessebe and zebra as well as all large and small predators. A boating experience on the Chobe River is included. The safari ends with a transfer from Kasane to Victoria Falls or Livingstone. Optional 2-day extensions are available.

- Tour Itinerary -

Arrival at Maun Airport and immediate departure for Nxai Pan National Park.

We drive in a south easterly direction to the Nxai Pan & Makgadigadi National Parks. Weather permitting we visit Baines Baobabs on Kudiakam Pans (part of Makgadigadi Pans) and  thereafter drive into Nxai Pan. If heavy rains occurred it may be impossible to reach Baines Baobabs, but Nxai Pan is reachable in wet times. Large amount of game especially Zebras congregate here in the  rainy season on their yearly migration. 

Overnight Nxai Pan in wild campsite. 

An early morning game drive takes us along  Nxai Pan in search of game. The area has a variety of game that change according to the grass and availability of water. Zebra, wildebeest, springbok, impala, giraffe and ostrich can easily be seen. All the predators occur here and also buffalo and elephant in the wet season. The area also have a nice amount of  birds of prey  hunting around the waterhole.  We have brunch around midmorning in camp. Late afternoon game drives to the waterhole. Sundowners from an attractive spot.

Overnight Nxai Pan 

We depart after breakfast and our game-drive takes us onto the Kgamma-kgamma pan which serves as the northern boundary of Nxai Pan National Park. The area is host to large volumes of zebra and other plains game that migrate into the area. Bull elephants also favour the area and can be seen in small herds. The area adjacent to the salt pans may be undulated and not always reachable. In the afternoon we drive to Baines Baobabs some 35km away on Kudiakam Pan. On our return to Nxai pan we visit the waterhole in search of predators. 

Overnight Nxai Pan National Park. 

We depart Nxai Pan after breakfast and game drive en-route to the main road that leads us back to Maun.

Your guide will drop you at your Bed & Breakfast in Maun around lunch time and you will enjoy the afternoon at leisure.

Spend the morning relaxing at your hotel or exploring Maun.

After lunch a Penduka representative will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the Maun Airport, where you will be shown to your light aircraft for your flight to the Moremi Game Reserve.

Upon arrival at the Xakanaxa airstrip you will be met by your guide.

A large variety of game can be found along the rivers and floodplains of the Okavango, herds of red lechwe, buffalo and hippo are commonly seen. During midday we may encounter some breeding herds of elephants coming to drink along the rivers. Moremi is well known for its wild dog population; lions, leopard and cheetah are also frequently seen. 

We are in our camp in the late afternoon, in time to be shown to tents. Time to shower before sundowners round the campfire and dinner in the dining tent.

Camp near Xakanaxa in exclusive wilderness area.

 

Early morning coffee or tea, and we set off on a full morning’s game drive to return to camp at about 11h00 for a delicious brunch. Time now to shower, rest and relax in camp. After tea we set off on our afternoon game drive through Moremi with its wilderness of rivers and lagoons. We take a motorboat cruise on the Xaxanaka lagoon or Mboma waterways to visit the famous heronries of the eastern Okavango. Return to camp and relax around the campfire. 

Dinner served in dining tent.  

Camp near Xakanaxa in exclusive wilderness area. 

 

Having had breakfast we leave Xakanaxa and continue on an interesting riverine route through Moremi to arrive and set up camp within sight of Khwai River at Moremi’s North Gate. 

Camp near Khwai River in exclusive wilderness area.

Early morning and afternoon game drives exploring the Khwai River area should reveal a variety of game. Dombo Hippo Pools offer beautiful sunsets and plenty of Hippo. During the heat of the day you will have a chance to read, relax and enjoy the sounds of the wild, followed by afternoon tea and a sunset game drive. 

Camp near Khwai River in exclusive wilderness area. 

An early morning game drive to have one last look at the Khwai, before returning to our camp for breakfast.  We leave Moremi and our route takes us on an interesting day’s drive northwards to Savuti. We stop en route for lunch.  On the way to Savuti we pass over the Mababe depression, once a vast lake, here in summer months the zebra migrate from the Northern Chobe via Savuti and Mababe to Makgadigadi Pans. Approximately 20 000 zebras make this annual migration.

The Savuti channel and marsh have been dry since 1980 and finally received water again in 2009. The marsh is now partially covered in water and attract large concentrations of game and birds. Time will now tell how the water will influence the famous Savuti bull elephant population which it is well known for.  

Overnight Savuti in exclusive wilderness area. 

 

We depart on a early morning drive in search of the Savuti predators. Savuti has been host to most of the amazing wildlife documentaries filmed in the last 25 years. Many about the merciless competition between the different predators. Savuti also have a few rocky outcrops enabling us to see the Klipspringer antelope. There is also a small collection of Bushmen rock art.   

Morning and afternoon game drives with leisure time to relax during the heat of the day. 

Overnight Savuti in exclusive wilderness area. 

After breakfast we leave for the Chobe River and we should see the breeding herds of elephant and large herds of buffalo for which this park is famous. Chobe riverfront is without a doubt one of the best game viewing spots in Southern Africa. In a afternoon it is possible to see more than a thousand elephants and buffalo. Shy antelope species like the Chobe bushbuck, Roan and Sable antelope can also easily be seen. Along the Chobe floodplains is also a small population of Puku antelope common on the floodplains of Zambia.  

If you are a keen birdwatcher, Chobe will not disappoint, huge amounts of water birds congregate here especially in the summer months. In the afternoon on the second day, a boating excursion on the Chobe River offers a new dimension to game viewing.  

Camp along Chobe floodplains in exclusive wilderness area.

After a leisurely breakfast, we pack up and slowly make our way out of Chobe  National Park towards the town of Kasane, from here it is time to bid farewell and get transferred to Livingstone. Your transfer company will drop you off at the Airport in time for your international flight.  

(Visa and departure taxes are for own account)

 

- Map -

- Testimonials -

- 2023 Departures & Rates -

Dates: 13 Day Botswana Explorer

Low season rates: USD 6 300.00 pp sharing / Single supplement Euro 600.00

High season rates: USD 7 300.00 pp sharing / Single supplement Euro 600.00

- 2024 Departures & Rates -

Dates: 13 Day Botswana Explorer

Low season rates: USD 6 300.00 pp sharing / Single supplement Euro 600.00

High season rates: USD 7 300.00 pp sharing / Single supplement Euro 600.00