When Africa Delivers - Rogério and Cristina's Botswana Safari

Rogério and Cristina came to us with a very clear idea of what they wanted: the Okavango Delta, Botswana's best wildlife areas and Tanzania. They had already been to South Africa and Namibia. They already knew what a Southern African safari looked like.

What they were not quite ready for - and what Africa never quite lets you be ready for - was the moment the bush stops being scenery and becomes something that is looking back at you.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

Chobe - Where the Elephants Rule the River

The tour opened in Zambia before crossing into Botswana. From there it was straight into Chobe - and if you have never done a boat safari on the Chobe River, put it on the list right now.

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There is something about being at water level with the elephants that changes things. They are enormous - you know this, everyone knows this - but standing beside an SUV or watching from a safari vehicle, your brain quietly scales them down. On a boat, with a bull wading in up to his belly ten metres off the bow, pulling up reeds and flicking water, the scale clicks back into place. They are enormous. Properly, almost absurdly, enormous.

Rogério and Cristina stayed at Jackalberry Chobe - a lovely property right on the riverfront with one of the best sundowner decks in the business.

Morning boat safaris, afternoon drives into the reserve, evenings watching the hippos from that deck. It is an easy rhythm to fall into.

Thobolos and Mababe - the Quieter Botswana

Not everyone knows Thobolos. Not everyone knows Mababe. That is partly what makes them worth going to.

After Chobe the tour headed deeper inland, through Barangwe Pan and Thobolos - an area of scattered pans and mixed woodland where the game watching is unhurried and the roads are sandy and long. Then on to Mababe, a wide-open depression that draws game from across the northern wildlife corridor.

At Mababe the elephants do not wait for you to come to them.

A large tusked bull materialised from the scrub and walked straight up to the vehicle. He was not threatening. He simply had somewhere to be and the vehicle happened to be in the way. He assessed the situation, decided it was beneath his concern and moved on.

There is a particular feeling that comes from being that close to something that large and that unhurried. It does not leave you quickly.

Khwai - Into the Water

Khwai sits at the edge of the Okavango flood system, where channels push out through the reed beds and the land and water become hard to tell apart. It is one of those places that takes a day to settle into - and then you never really want to leave.

The mokoro is the way to move through it. A traditional dug-out canoe, poled from the stern by a guide who has read these waterways his whole life. No engine, no wake, no noise. You sit low in the hull with the reeds close on both sides and the guide poles you forward with the kind of quiet confidence that comes from knowing somewhere very well.

The world sounds completely different from water level. That is the thing nobody tells you until you have done it.

Moremi - Where the Game Finds You 

The Moremi Game Reserve is where the Okavango Delta meets the more traditional bushveld - mopane, floodplains, thick riverine forest. It is one of those reserves where the game is not just around you but threaded through everything, and you come to understand fairly quickly that the animals are navigating their world and you are simply passing through it.

A cow elephant and her calf crossed the track. She paused, looked back at the vehicle for a long moment, then moved her calf along into the trees. A full-maned male, resting but not asleep - watched unconcerned. He knew what was going on around him but he simply did not care.

There is a particular quality to that kind of sighting. Not a chase or a kill, just an animal completely at ease in his own world while you sit very still in yours and watch him.

That is the thing about Botswana. It keeps delivering, right until the very last game drive.

And then Tanzania

After a night in Maun the tour continued to Tanzania - Tarangire, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Another country, another chapter entirely. We will save that for a separate post.

The Safari That Goes the Distance

Rogério and Cristina came to us with a wish list and a lot of trust. We planned a route, booked the lodges, drove the vehicle and tracked the lions. They had the experience of a lifetime. That is the arrangement and it is one we take seriously every single time.

Fleet Foot Safaris - We know where to go, when to go and how to make it unforgettable.