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Botswana Safari 2 - Spirit of Botswana - Kaie Tours

SAFARI 2 - Spirit of Botswana

Section 1: Into the Kalahari with Bushman guides and Botswana Safari

See also:

• Section 2: 4 Days, canoe trip (mokoro) into the Okavango Delta and village visit
• Section 3: 6 Days Moremi and Chobe cultural safari

Introduction

This is the southern part of the 'Spirit of Botswana' package. For the first three days we are camped in the Kalahari. Our hosts and guides are Bushmen who will teach you about their hunter/gatherer way of life. As you walk with them the guides will explain the uses of different plants, identify animal spoor and demonstrate how to find everything necessary for survival in this desert wilderness.

We break our journey at a hillside retreat with fabulous views and comfortable chalets before heading north for the Okavango Delta.

The next morning we start our safari to the north of Botswana following the route taken by the early explorers and traders to Serowe. This village is the home of the Khama family and important in the history of Botswana. Those with a special interest in this history can take a guided tour of the displays in the Serowe museum. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary is a large reserve run by a community trust a short distance along the road to Maun. We settle into our chalet accommodation and take a late afternoon game drive. There is a good chance of spotting both black and white rhino as well as an abundance of other game in this attractive reserve.

Continuing on our way to Maun after the two nights at Khama Rhino Sanctuary we pass by the diamond-mining town of Orapa. From there the newly tarred road skirts around the western edge of the vast Makgadikgadi pans and takes us into Maun, the gateway into the Okavango delta.

The ITINERARY

Day 1: Into the Kalahari

We leave Gaborone at a pre-arranged time heading north-west through Molepolole and Lethlakeng. The journey takes about four hours with a picnic lunch in a local homestead. After Lethlakeng the road surface changes to gravel passing through several attractive rural communities. At Kaudwane, a recently established settlement a few kilometres from Khutse Game Reserve gate, we pick up our Bushman guides. Our camp is in a wilderness environment just outside the reserve. Having set up camp and had refreshments we take a late afternoon walk to investigate the environment close to the camp. The guides point out both food and medicinal plants and reveal the amazing variety of life in this apparently harsh landscape. The sun is dipping down into the Kalahari as we return to camp in time for sundowners, dinner cooked over the fire, and the tranquillity of an evening in a remote wilderness environment.

The evening after supper is spent stargazing and sharing stories with our hosts, the Bushmen.

Day 2: The art of surviving in the bush

You will be given a dawn wake-up call and hot drink before we set off on foot into the bush. The duration of the walks is open-ended depending on the weather and your energy! The emphasis during this outing is on bush survival techniques and the guides will demonstrate how they make use of plants to provide for their needs.

You may wish to try your hand at some of these techniques! After a leisurely brunch we break camp and drive into Khutse Reserve. Along the route to our next campsite we pass through a landscape characteristic of the Kalahari with wide vistas of bush dotted with clumps of trees and interspersed with open plains or 'pans'.

The game tends to concentrate on the pans and our chances of spotting the more elusive species are enhanced by the sharp eyes of the Bushmen. Lunch is a picnic stop in a shady spot overlooking a pan. Our campsite is isolated from others, situated under mature Camel Thorn trees overlooking a pan. After settling into our camp we investigate the pan with the bushman guides, animal tracking and game viewing.

Day 3: Pans and plains game

After the usual dawn wake-up call and hot drink we set off in the vehicle to explore a string of pans to the north of our campsite. Wherever we stop to stretch our legs the guides will give you the story behind the animal tracks and point to the fascinating detail that is too easily missed from a vehicle. The midday is passed relaxing in the shade back at camp perhaps reading up in the reference books what was seen in the field. Also the Bushmen will demonstrate more of their survival techniques. As the sun starts to dip down we take a late afternoon drive to a pan with the Kalahari sunset as a backdrop for sundowners and where there is a good chance of seeing game coming to drink.

Day 4: A place to relax before continuing north

We take a final early morning stroll from the camp to the edge of the pan to see what nocturnal visitors have passed through. While you make the most of the solitude in this remote place the camp assistants break camp and pack in time for an early game drive through the reserve to the gate. We bid farewell to our Bushman guides and stop off for a lunch of tasty Tswana dishes at Glenda’s Restaurant in the sprawling village of Molepolole. Our overnight stop is a peaceful hillside retreat where you may spend the late afternoon relaxing, horse riding or simply enjoying the panoramic views across the plains. The chalet accommodation has ensuite showers and an outdoor cooking area overlooking the plains below.

Day 5: Northwards along the old explorers route

This is the route followed by Livingstone, Oswell and a host of early travellers. Nowadays an excellent tarred road runs through the hills, plains and distant horizons of central Botswana. We pass through Serowe, capital of the Ngwato people. The Serowe Museum is housed in the building that was the home of the Khama dynasty, sometimes referred to as the ‘royal family’ of Botswana and, if there is interest, we will take a short guided tour of the museum. It is a short drive from Serowe to our destination for the day, the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. This reserve which is run by a community trust is one of the few places in Botswana where it is possible to view both the White and the rare Black Rhinocerous. As well as Rhino the 4,300 hectare sanctuary is home to a wide variety other game and birdlife.

After settling in our chalets we go for a late afternoon game drive through the attractive spacious pan landscape that characterizes this reserve.

Day 6: At Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Day 7: Transfer to Maun

At this stage we continue the journey on a good tarmac road surface to Maun. Breakfast is taken en route in Granny’s Kitchen, a charming local restaurant. Along this route you will be able to observe stark changes in landscape and geology with basalt outcrops giving way to the red sands of the Kalahari. In the latter part of the drive you will catch glimpses of the vast Makgadikgadi pan system. It is soon after this point that the enormous dumps from Orapa diamond mine appear dominating the landscape. This is the place where in 1967 significant numbers of diamonds were first discovered in Botswana. A short refreshments stop is made on the final stretch to Maun. Your arrival there in late afternoon will give you time to explore this colourful town with its rich mixture of Herero, Hambukushi, Bakgalagadi and Bayei people. Or you may prefer to just relax in the pleasant surroundings of Audi Camp and prepare for the next journey in the 'Spirit of Botswana'.

PRICES:

‘Spirit of Botswana’, 6 days with the Kalahari Bushmen and Botswana safari.

Rates per person sharing (Mohata level):

• US$ 2,308.00 - 2 people
• US$ 1,305.00 - 3 or 4 people
• US$ 990.00 - 5 or 6 people

Singles supplement $59

A 10% discount is available when all three sections of the seventeen day package are booked. Also free accommodation is provided for the night in Maun before travelling to Moremi game reserve.

The specifications for all equipment can be found on the facts page. Those requiring more comfort can choose the ‘Motlopi’ level camping with the following: camp beds, walk-in tents, a dining tent and minimal assistance from guests in camp. For ‘Motlopi’ level camping add US$18 per person sharing per night to the above rates.

Please note:

• Guidelines for what to pack are included in the pre-departure information but all that you need should fit into a medium-sized soft bag and a small day pack to keep inside the vehicle.
• The Kalahari camp is a true wilderness experience. There is a pit latrine and bucket shower at the campsite but the use of water is limited to what we carry in.
• This is a 'self-help' safari with camp duties shared by the participants although the Bushman camp assistants have now learned most of the chores.
• All clients must have travel insurance - both in case of cancellation penalties and also for medical cover while on safari.

Included: Tented accommodation, bedding and camping equipment, meals with limited wine & beer, reserve fees, 4WD transport, the services of a full professional guide and bushman guides.

Not included: Hard liquor, fizzy drinks and gratuities.

Children aged 5 to 12 travel half-price.

See also:

• Section 2: 4 Days, canoe trip (mokoro) into the Okavango Delta and village visit
• Section 3: 6 Days Moremi and Chobe cultural safari