Travel
A legendary bucket list experience in one of Africa’s most diverse and nature-friendly countries
Sunsets lighting up the heavens of Botswana don’t just get under your skin; they flay you alive. This vast cobalt sky smothers an endless savannah that hosts the kind of exotic wildlife, memorable hospitality, fascinating history, and unexpected discovery that epitomizes a peak, bucket list experience.
I’m lounging on the veranda of my stylish thatched chalet, watching elephants, giraffes, kudu, and impala drink from the watering hole just metres away. On a game drive that morning, I gazed directly into the eyes of a muscled male lion, ruling over his pride beneath the shade of a mopani tree. I’m still processing the week’s ancient rock art, electric boat safaris, mokoro rides (a type of canoe), copious wildlife, and several flights over a legendary ecosystem. This barrage of wonder is a lot to take in. Best, I start with the Chobe Angels, and a classic Hollywood romance I recently stumbled upon in Mexico.
Desert and Delta Safaris have operated all-inclusive wildlife lodges in Botswana since the early 1980s, and I’m here to explore three of their nine properties spread across Chobe National Park and the sprawling Okavango Delta. Staff sing in joyous Setswana harmony upon my arrival at the first destination, the iconic and luxurious Chobe Game Lodge. Botswana’s oldest five-star hotel is the only lodge located along the river inside Botswana’s massive 11,700 square kilometre Chobe National Park. Wildlife viewing here is done on land and water, thanks to a fleet of open-sided safari vehicles and solar-powered safari pontoons. Located outside of Kasane, Chobe Game Lodge is where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Burton continued a romance kindled in Mexico, one that I stumbled upon, rather coincidentally, reporting from Puerto Vallarta last month. Forget the classic Hollywood scandal hounds, I’m here for the real stars: the 45,000-plus elephants that call Chobe home, along with countless exotic animals and nearly two dozen angels too. One of them has invited me onto her boat for a late afternoon safari cruise fuelled by the power of African sunshine.
In the mid-2000s, Chobe Game Lodge’s general manager noticed that guests responded positively to the lone female safari guide. Deserts and Delta is a Botswana-owned company committed to community development, so he pitched the idea for an all-female guide team, a first for the continent. Sourcing, training and supporting these ‘Chobe Angels’ quickly created equitable employment opportunities, boosting interest from international clients and media. By 2010, the lodge’s safari guides were all female, and it currently has 20 female guides on staff.
“Women are better communicators, we drive nicely, and we don’t break things so much,” laughs Vivian Diphupu, a veteran of this remarkable program. Vivian sports one of those generous, toothy smiles you only see in Botswana, a smile as big as the sky. It adds to my “feelies” when I see dozens of elephants descend into the river at sunset, soaking at leisure in the treasured waters of the Chobe River. This year, Botswana is in the midst of yet another drought. Bless the rains all you want, Toto, because the wet months of summer failed to deliver. Both wildlife and people face a long, hot, and harsh season lies ahead.
Seventy per cent of Botswana is comprised of the Kalahari, an expansive plateau of red sand, thorny trees, and few permanent sources of water. Rain, which the Tswana people call “pula”, is so rare and treasured the word is also used to wish someone good fortune or to toast over drinks. Pula is so valuable for the success of crops and cattle posts that it is the name of Botswana’s official currency, too. It costs a few pula to make several stops on Desert and Delta’s established safari circuit, but the range of accommodations and experiences on offer is extraordinary. Heading northwest in a small bush plane, I see the flat, copper-toned earth stretch in every direction, pockmarked by dried-up watering holes thirsting for pula of their own. Not a single road cuts through the semi-arid, tree-dotted savannah as it bakes in June’s winter sun.
Suddenly, the landscape shifts into an expansive inland wetland known as the Okavango Delta. It is here where rivers from the Angolan highlands drain into a massive trough caused by shifting tectonic plates. Depending on the season, the resulting swamplands cover up to 20,000 square kilometres. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the unique, giant claw-shaped ecosystem supports vast numbers of animals, along with human settlements that date back millennia. I hop from the plane to a van to a Jeep to a boat and soon find myself in a 70-kilometre-long, northern rectangular stretch known as the Okavango Panhandle. The boat gently shepherds me through water lily-lined channels cut by elephants and hippos across the shallow marshes. I can hear Nxamaseri Island Lodge before I see it, for staff are already singing and dancing an enthusiastic welcome beyond the tall reeds.
Nxamaseri Island is a birder’s heaven, with more than 350 species in the area: sharp-eyed fish eagles patrol from the tree-tops, X-raying the waters for tiger fish, bream, catfish, tilapia and other river fish. Knotted mopani and jackalberry trees provide ideal perches for little bee-eaters, malachite kingfishers, great white egrets, glossy ibis and cheeky hornbills. African jacana swoop between tall papyrus and sharp bushels of reed. The lodge’s ensuite chalets are built into the forest canopy to face the glimmering river channel, with meals and drinks served on a shaded communal patio frequented by vervet monkeys. Blankets and a large fire provide warmth when the nighttime temperatures plummet. High-season winter can get quite warm, but the evenings and early mornings see a dramatic temperature swing, a fair trade-off for the lack of biting insects. I cuddle a hot water bottle thoughtfully provided each night in my bed, listening to the strange and unnerving cries of the hippos as they venture close to the lodge. Their wild lullaby is accompanied by the soothing sounds of frogs, birds and insects.
Hot water bottles and blankets await guests who sign up for sunrise boat or mokoro rides into the waterways. “Mokoros” are traditional dugout canoes steered by a standing oarsman using a long pole to push the boat forward, typically in search of fish, wood or game. Balanced at the back of the narrow vessel, oarsmen cautiously navigate the labyrinth of channels, keeping an eye out for crocodiles and the planet’s deadliest land mammal. Fiercely territorial and spontaneously aggressive, hippos kill about five hundred people a year in Africa. On a motorboat safari that evening, we observe a hippo’s curious eyes rise above the river ahead, giving it as wide a berth as possible so we can join up with the main Okavango River. We berth onshore for champagne and another magnificent African sunset, indescribable glowing shades reflecting the continent’s dream to reach for the stars. Boi, the matriarch of Nxamaseri Island Lodge, senses I’m having a moment and gives me a warm, reassuring hug. I expect she sees her guests frequently tear up as they behold a beautiful Botswana sunset. They say if you only visit two continents in your life, you should visit Africa, twice.
Desert and Delta Safaris operate their own fleet of small bush planes, handy for shuttling guests, staff and supplies around their circuit. Leaving the snaking waters of the delta behind, my final lodge lies in the parched interior of Chobe National Park and is renowned for some of the best game viewing in Botswana. We land on a dusty strip to meet a customized safari Landcruiser for the short, dusty drive to the newly-refurbished Savute Safari Lodge. The scene on arrival is nothing short of extraordinary: spacious guest chalets, the communal dining area, lounge, pool, bar, photo hide and fire pit all gaze directly onto a watering hole. With few sources of water for hundreds of kilometres in every direction, water attracts a reliable parade of animals in close proximity throughout the day, most notably large herds of elephants. As before, staff go out of their way to learn my name and my drink preference (Pimms and lemonade or a gin and tonic complement any fine safari) before forming a festive choir to share their culture before every meal. Occasionally, elephants in the watering hole contribute with grunts and trumpets, unbothered by the singing, laughing, and clinking of wine glasses.
With its river channel bone-dry, Savute’s few watering holes are fed by boreholes drilled deep into the sands, tapping into an extensive underwater river. Conservation officers made the decision to pump water into several pools to allow wildlife to thrive in this area of the national park, relieving heavy strain on the watered Chobe River region. Balancing the ecosystem is taken seriously, as too many elephants can wreak havoc inside the habitat. Famous for appearing in a number of nature documentaries, Savute’s Marsh Pride of lions diligently patrol their territory, making Savute particularly popular for visitors seeking big cat encounters.
A fragrance of wild African sage washes over the windowless Landcruiser as Isaac, my experienced guide, checks for animal tracks in the sand. Raised in the Okavango, he’s tuned into the behaviour of giraffes, lions, elephants, and the direction of the wind. Isaac explains that relaxed animals will get close to the vehicle but advises we limit movement inside in the event lions or elephants get too close. Animals here are accustomed to the dozens of safari lodges and self-drive 4×4 vehicles that explore Savute daily, perhaps explaining why several elephants get so close I can touch their tough hides. Shortly after sunrise, tracks lead to the famous Marsh Pride, where young male lions wrestle under the gaze of their parents. For a moment, the dominant male looks curiously into my eyes, and I feel his power roar into my soul.
During my two game drives that day, I see a hyena nursing six cubs in her den, a string of wildebeest, various antelope, giraffes, African wild dogs, mongoose, and lions tearing into the remains of a recently deceased elephant. Survival in the unforgiving Kalahari is a tense dance, and not every animal will make it through the night. At the lodge, herds of elephants play out their dramas at the watering hole while skittish giraffes and kudu keep an anxious eye out for predators. It’s all witnessed during festive meals that feature local Botswana recipes, fine wine and lively conversation. Any promise of a bucket list African safari has been met and exceeded.
I didn’t get to sample mopane worms, the protein-rich, mild-tasting caterpillars enjoyed throughout Botswana. But on my final night, I make do with a tumbler of Amarula, that sweet African cream liquor produced with fermented marula berries. At the bar, a German tourist runs through his impressive safari exploits in Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and South Africa. “But, if you want to really be in nature, nobody does it like Botswana,” he tells me, gesturing to a half dozen moonlit elephants lounging in the watering hole. Oh yes, the animals this week were remarkable, but so was the searing landscape, immaculate lodges, and the Chobe Angels. Beyond the safari itself, I appreciated conversations with Lesh, Isaac, Boi, Mr. P, Yompy, and Vivian, all wonderful ambassadors for their craft, company, and country. Perhaps most of all, I relished those unforgettable big-sky African sunsets. In this sparsely populated, drought-stricken, semi-arid country, the pula flows deep.
Desert and Delta Safaris operate nine lodges throughout Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta. Having pioneered all-inclusive safari experiences in Botswana, most lodges are solar-powered and eco-certified, with a devoted staff sourced from local communities. Botswana is especially popular during the dusty, dry season between May and October, with the busiest months being July and August. The days are warm and sunny, but nights and early mornings get chilly. December through March brings migrating birds and package deals. For more information, visit: https://desertdelta.com/
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