Green Season in Botswana: the Makgadikgadi Pans & the Okavango Delta

Receive a warm welcome upon landing and assistance with customs and check-in formalities on the flight to Maun, plus access to the lounge at Johannesburg airport during the stopover. Take your flight to Maun, which takes around 90 minutes. On arrival in Maun, look forward to a personal welcome at the airport from one of our team on the ground and private transfer to your hotel. It's around a 25-minute drive. Enjoy an overnight stay in a lovely lodge on the banks of the Thamalakane River, about 12 miles outside the city. Each small stone bungalow and wooden deck overlooks the river, sometimes extended by a small, private swimming pool. As night falls, the setting sun sets fire to the river and the sky, an even more astonishing spectacle when there is cloud cover. Snug under the mosquito net around the bed, an African adventure feels tantalisingly close. This is a lovely stop for the night before pressing deeper into the wilderness of Botswana.

In the morning, the driver takes you back to Maun airport, to board a small taxi plane to the huge, flat expanses of the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans. Enjoy a two-night stay in a simple and utterly charming camp, lost in the middle of this vast, arid land, the only one in this region. Small bungalows with whitewashed walls and topped with a thatched roof are dotted under the shade of acacia trees, on either side of a lovely swimming pool that is perfect at the hottest times of day, facing east and so with views of the sunrise over the plains. The decor is simple and fresh; there has been a noticeable effort to minimise the camp's impact on the surrounding environment.

Nxai Pan National Park itself is a fossil lakebed. Together with the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, it now forms a complex spanning 1,000 square miles. During the wet and green season (outside the southern hemisphere winter), it's known for welcoming some of the largest herds of wildebeest and zebras. It's also renowned for its thousand-year-old baobab trees, commonly known as Baine's baobabs, named after Thomas Baine, a British artist and adventurer who travelled through southern Africa and Australia in the 19th century.
Things to see and experience – Safaris in the pan in a 4x4, or on foot, stargazing, learning about the baobab trees.

Today, press on deep into the heart of Botswana, into one of Planet Earth's rarest ecosystems, the fabulous Okavango Delta. Fly by taxi plane to the Khwai Reserve, with a stop en route in Maun. Fly low, skimming the tops of the trees and palms that cover the ground. Upon arrival, two-night stay in a camp located in the land of the Khwai community, at the entrance to the Moremi Game Reserve, around a grassy lagoon that feeds the Khwai River. The site is made up of just a few rustic tents pitched under the trees that line an arm of the river. A feature of this camp is a passion for wildlife photography and guests are welcome to give it a try themselves. During the safaris, there are tips on taking shots, composing and editing pictures, and then later again in the evening, around the campfire.

In the northern part of the delta in far-northern Botswana, the small village of Khwai lies at the entrance to the Moremi Reserve, which has been focussing its efforts on ecotourism for several years now. While in Khwai, you'll meet the BaBukakhwe River Bushmen who have lived in the region for thousands of years. It also allows you to see some of Africa's richest wildlife, including elephants, giraffes, leopards, buffaloes, and wildebeest. Between the Okavango Delta and the mouth of the Khwai River and their floodplains, a trip to Khwai in the green season offers exceptional bird-watching opportunities, especially for waterfowl and birds of prey.
Included in the itinerary – Guided safaris on the Khwai Reserve. At dawn and dusk, during the cooler times of day when animals are most active, set off on safari on foot or in a kitted out 4x4, in the company of experienced rangers.

On the airstrip, a small taxi plane is waiting and flies lower over the meandering water channels of the delta to your camp, sometimes landing on the way to drop off other explorers at different lodges and then taking off again, an experience that is always fun, especially when skimming low over herds of giraffes and elephants. So much more than a simple transfer, flying over the delta is the best way to appreciate the topography of vast area of water. Enjoy a three-night stay in a lovely tented camp, completely camouflaged among nature, pitched along the Gomoti River. During the heat of the day while the animals laze in the shade, cool off in the beautiful swimming pool or relax on your private veranda. The atmosphere here recreates the vibe of explorers' camps during the golden age of safari. In the evening, enjoy a charmingly authentic meal under the stars, dining by the light of storm lanterns and listening to the soundtrack of the wilderness.

This area is one of the best preserved in Africa and is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed natural site. The labyrinth of canals and lagoons is a world in itself, with gentle light, carried sounds and brightly coloured flowers blooming. Water sustains the area's abundant and diverse wildlife, with an array of birds, reptiles and different-sized mammals. In the green season, the light is the warmest and loveliest, life abounds, and there are countless birds.
Included in the itinerary – Safaris on foot, in a 4x4, by boat or 'mokoro' traditional canoe. These four types of safaris, all complementary, are all possible in this mixed land and wetland environment.

Bid a final farewell to this unforgettable part of the world, from the window of the little bush taxi on the way to Maun International Airport, at the gateway to the delta. Leave behind a truly magical place that very few people will ever be lucky enough to visit. In Maun, catch your flight home. Overnight flight, arriving the next day.