Spirits in Wild Botswana

Mokoro Canoe in the Okavango Delta

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Botswana Safari Field Reports
Meet our expert Botswana Safari Guides

" best guides = best safaris ~ a bad guide in the best camp will ruin your safari."

Okavango... Moremi... Chobe... Savute... Linyanti... Makgadikgadi... names that flow with the rhythms of some mystical chant. These are the wild places of Botswana, a country where rivers and the rains of summer dictate a fragile mosaic of desert and wetland. The whole - constructed out of the landscapes, the animals, the plants - is one of the true natural wonders of the world. The experiences and reflections of those who know these places and the animals of Africa, provide an intimate and fitting tribute to this miracle.

'Savuti breathes. I've never known any place like it. During the hot, dry days of October, it draws in a deep, hollow breath that sucks the moisture from all living things, plants and animals alike... Then, just as the last remaining elephants sway unsteadily on their feet ... the inhaling stops. Everything stills. The wind dies. The heat creeps up a notch or two. It is quiet - for a moment. Then the exhaling begins. First the little breaths, almost as if Savuti doesn't want to release its cruel grip but can't hold on any longer. A different wind stirs in small eddies. And then the whole of Savuti blows out like an awakening giant. The rains pelt the animals and soak the trees.'

'It's true that the high point of lion watching, and the focus of their lives, is killing. But ... the real beauty of lions is in their social behaviour...'
'Cubs are always fun to watch... Cubs look cute, of course, but it's their behaviour that fascinates us. They get to an age when everything is a new experience. At night if they are taken out with the adults, they often break away to check out a hole or movement in the grass, then have to run to catch up.'
DERECK JOUBERT The Lions of Savuti: Hunting with the Moon

'It hasn't rained in half a year; good grazing is gone. Buffalo in continuous search of pasture and water now rumble together...'
'Herds of buffalo lead the great movement of animals back to the Delta's edges in the dry season. Northern Botswana's wetlands may well support the largest population of buffalo on the African continent. Herds numbering in the thousands are not exceptional.'
FRANS LANTING Okavango: Africa's Last Eden

'The spotted hyaena is the most successful large carnivore in Africa. The reason is simple - it is good at scavenging and equally good at hunting. It is able to bring down wildebeest, gemsbok, impala and zebra as efficiently as the lion, but when it comes to scavenging it is far more adept than the lion at locating and consuming the carcasses of these animals. Only hyaenas have jaws strong enough to crush leg bones and obtain the highly nutritious marrow contained within.'
'Hyaenas are without doubt among the most intelligent and interesting of Africa's rich array of carnivores.'
GUS MILLS 'Dens of Security'

'The pair bond lasts until one mate dies. Black-backed couples do everything together except when one has to babysit: marking and defending the territory, hunting, sharing food, calling and answering when separated, howling in chorus with their cubs, and social grooming.'
RICHARD D. ESTES The Safari Companion

'With fewer than five thousand remaining in the world, the fate of the African wild dog is dependent on an immediate and collective commitment by the global community and the local stewards of Africa's remnant wilderness habitats. If, through unconstrained antipathy, misunderstanding or even apathy, we allow the existence of Lycaon pictus to slip between the cracks into extinction, then what are the chances of other species following the same path?'
JOHN McNUTT & LESLEY BOGGS

'The Okavango Delta stretches out all round us to the distant horizon. Below and behind us the river snakes its way through a maze of tangled vegetation which merges gently with the browns and yellows of the dry thornveld. The unfolding panorama is indescribable and no-one speaks - we are overwhelmed.'
CLIVE WALKER Running Wild: Dispelling the Myths of the African Wild Dog

'Everywhere here are birds. In and on the water; in the reeds and the trees; on the ground and in the air. Large and small; bright and dull; singly or in flocks that cloud the sky. Some live here permanently while others visit only for the summer and then move on, but everywhere they are present.'
PETER & BEVERLY PICKFORD Okavango from the Air

'Reaching down with her trunk, the mother sniffed at her baby; then, gently and tentatively, with one of her enormous feet, she prodded it. The baby lifted one of its forelegs in its first sign of life and the mother showered it in fine grey dust with her trunk. She moved around the prone form of the baby, alternately showering herself and the baby with sand...
The baby lifted its head. Spluttering and sneezing with its first breaths, it tested the discovery of its tiny, wiggling trunk... A few minutes later, with legs splayed, the baby made its first attempt to stand...'
PETER & BEVERLY PICKFORD The Miracle Rivers: The Okavango & Chobe of Botswana

'...we waken to a glittering morning, raindrops hanging like jewels from the grass and leaves wherever we look. We head down the track to the Savuti Marsh, now at least beginning to look less like the desert it was during the dry winter, splashing through deep puddles as we drive. The sky above is clear, however, a few wispy cirrus clouds all that break the monotony of the vast eggshell-blue expanse... At last the countryside is taking on its summer colours - where only a few weeks ago all was drab and brown, now fresh grasses carpet the landscape and the trees are in full leaf.'

DARYL & SHARNA BALFOUR Chobe: Africa's Untamed Wilderness

'The Okavango's magic is as subtle as the whisper of a breeze; you can't quite put your finger on it. The tranquillity, painted in a thousand shades of blue and green, cut by the brilliant colour of a diving malachite kingfisher. The reflections of water lilies and reeds, clouds and trees, like a Japanese silkscreen. The night sounds of bell frogs, silenced by a lion's roar. The torpid stillness of noondays broken by birdsong, the splash of rising fish or the thunder of a thousand flying hooves. A wilderness distilled through time. A fairy-tale place, removed from the world of modern man, that never fails to draw wonder from those who see it.'
KAREN ROSS, writing in The Miracle Rivers: The Okavango & Chobe of Botswana by Peter & Beverly Pickford

Getting there:
There are good roads to Botswana from South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. However, Botswana is a large country and for many visitors, especially those from overseas, time constraints make touring by car inconvenient and impractical. The capital, Gaborone, and the towns of Maun (Okavango) and Kasane (northern Chobe) are well served by air. Vehicles, including 4x4, may be hired in both Maun and Gaborone.

Entry requirements:
A passport valid for at least six months, and a visa for all countries other than the USA and British Commonwealth and European Union countries.

Health requirements:
No immunisations are needed, but malaria prophylactics are essential, as are effective insect repellents. Medical insurance is recommended.

When to visit:
The winter months (when days are cool, dry and cloudless) are generally regarded as the best for game-viewing, but remember that this is also the peak season when the cost of a safari is higher. For birding fanatics, the wet summer months are the time for many migrant specials.

What to pack:
Lightweight casual clothing, with a warm jersey for night drives, especially in the winter months. Remember, too, that Botswana is often punishingly hot, so a hat and sunscreen should always be part of your travel kit. Do be aware that the light aircraft often used for camp-to-camp transfers have a baggage limit of 10 kilograms per person.

Getting around:
Most of Botswana's roads are in fairly good condition and can accommodate standard vehicles, but wilder areas (Makgadikgadi, Moremi, Chobe, etc.) are definitely 4x4 country. Light aircraft are undoubtedly the quickest and easiest way to get around the Delta.

Further reading:
Most of the established guide-book publishers have good general guides on Botswana, but you may also want to take along with you a copy of Newman's Birds of Botswana (Southern Books) and Sasol Birds of Southern Africa (Struik) - and you shouldn't be without Chris and Tilde Stuart's Field Guide to the Mammals of Southern Africa (Struik). But don't go laden with literature, as most of the lodges have reasonable libraries. Make a point of browsing through the array of magnificent coffe-table volumes and fine reference works on Botswana, especially Richard D. Estes' The Safari Companion (Russel Friedman Books, 1993), Adrian Bailey's Okavango: Africa's Wetland Wilderness (Struik, 1998), Chris Harvey's Beyond the Endless Mopane (Southern, 1997), Dereck and Beverly Joubert's The Lions of Savuti: Hunting with the Moon (National Geographic Society, 1997), John McNutt and Lesley Boggs' Running Wild (Southern, 1996), Herman Potgieter and Clive Walker's Okavango from the Air (Struikhof, 1989), Frans Lanting's Okavango: Africa's Last Eden (Russel Friedman Books, 1993), Peter and Beverly Pickford's The Miracle Rivers (Southern, 1999), and Daryl and Sharna Balfour's Chobe: Africa's Untamed Wilderness (Southern, 1997).

The Shell Tourist Map of Botswana is an excellent reference guide.

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