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Day 1,2 & 3: Camping in Xakanaxa within the Moremi Game Reserve (Full Board)
A Game Trails representative will be there to welcome you on your arrival at Maun Airport and assist you with checking in and boarding your onward flight to Xakanaxa in a light aircraft. Your exact departure time from Maun Airport will be advised closer to the time (mid-day to early afternoon), as this depends on Air Botswana’s flight schedule. For those guests who plan on spending a pre-safari night in Maun (highly recommended after a long-haul flight), please arrange a hotel transfer to the airport to meet your guide at the specified time, or make an arrangement for your guide to meet you at the hotel before going to the airport.
The flight from Maun to Xakanaxa is approximately 25 minutes. Your guide will meet you on arrival at Xakanaxa airstrip in Moremi Game Reserve and transfer you to your pre-erected camp where the rest of the safari team will be awaiting your arrival. Spending the following three nights camping in the Xakanaxa region, we explore the surrounding wilderness and waterways on game drive and by motor boat.
You will embark on a water world adventure, exploring the endless network of crystal clear waterways and secret lagoons by motor boat, and the surrounding palm fringed islands on foot. After a full day on the water, we return to dry land for our last night in Xakanaxa.
Okavango Delta & Moremi Game Reserve
The Okavango Delta is a unique ecosystem, an inland delta situated in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the world – the Kalahari basin. This wetland lies like an oasis in an otherwise inhospitable landscape. Where land and delta meet, a mosaic of pans, grasslands, forests and lagoons provide an extremely rich and diverse habitat where a multitude of animals and birds flourish. This wetland is one of the natural wonders of the world, and is a fragile ecosystem that remains one of the world’s least spoilt and most beautiful wildernesses, and is home to various unique species e.g. sitatunga antelope and red lechwe.
Moremi Game Reserve is situated in the eastern corner of the Okavango Delta. Moremi is one of the most beautiful and varied reserves found on the African continent with huge concentrations of wildlife and incredible scenery.
Day 4: Fly-camping in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans (Full Board)
Following breakfast, we set off on the long road ahead to the vast salt pans of the Makgadikgadi, a stark contrast to the fertile Moremi Game Reserve. This is by far the longest transit day, and guests should be prepared to spend the full day on the road, arriving in camp late that afternoon.
The enchanting experience of the Makgadikgadi starts as the sun sets. The sun baked earth relaxes as the soft warm light washes over the barren landscape. You will spend the evening gazing up at the seemingly endless and mystical canopy of stars.
“Fly-camping” means to camp with only the bear essentials. In this case, simply your bed and bedroll set out on the pans, with one toilet and shower shared by all. This is the best way to fully appreciate the magic of the Makgadikgadi. However, tents will be available on request.
Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
The complex of salt pans found in Botswana’s eastern regions are a striking physical feature, and some of the largest of their kind in the world. The pans are huge, flat expanses of hot, sun-blasted terrain, fringed by vegetated islands and peninsulas, once part of a great super lake which covered much of northern Botswana. This desolate landscape offers nothing but sand and sky, and yet it’s eerily silent fossil beaches, stunted red baobab trees and mysterious stone walls, leave an impression on every visitor.
Day 5&6: Camping in Nxai Pan National Park (Full Board)
Leaving the pans at first light we make out way towards to rolling grasslands of Nxai Pan, arriving in time for lunch. Spending our last two nights camping in the Nxai Pan National Park, we explore the surrounding grass plains on game drives.
Nxai Pan
Although Nxai Pan was also once part of the great super lake, it is quite different in character to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, as it boasts broad hectares of short sweet grasslands with occasional “islands” of trees. The rich grassland provides good grazing and attracts springbok, impala, gemsbok, giraffe, kudu, hartebeest, zebra, wildebeest, all followed by leopard, lion and hyena, as well as a wide array of birdlife. Baines baobabs, a cluster of seven trees which have been immortalised by many painters and photographers over the years, are located within the park, and make an excellent picnic stop.
Nxai Pan is home to the now famous pride of lions filmed by Tim Liversage in conjunction with National Geographic in “ROAR – Lions Of The Kalahari”.
Day 7: Safari ends in Maun (B&L)
Following an early morning game drive, we return to Maun. On arrival in Maun at approximately 13:00, your guide will drop you off at Maun airport for your onward flight, or for pick-up by your hotel, should you be spending a night in Maun.
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