Peace, on the right, in the photo above (with his colleague, Disho), was born in a tiny village in northern Botswana, and graduated from one of the most rigorous guide training on the continent of Africa 20 years ago, has been guiding people through what he thinks of as his backyard, ever since. Yet, it is one of the best places in the world to see animals in their own environment, and where I ended up living 20 years ago, in the frontier town of Maun. This is where our adventure begins. Maun was founded on the shores of the Thamalakane River in 1915 as the tribal capital of the Batawana people, and still feels like an outpost, overrun by wild donkeys. It is the gateway to the Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta in the world ~ where the river flowing down from Angola, just stops in the middle of the desert ~ and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Delta is one of the last unspoiled wilderness areas in the world. Here is a short video (be sure to start it at the beginning) about this unique place which after one night in Maun, we will begin our expedition: Click here 
Botswana is a very unique country... There are no political problems as we encounter in other African countries; crime is unusual. The man who was groomed his entire life to be King (Seretse Khama), abdicated his throne for the Englishwoman he met during law school at Oxford, due to pressure from the white-minority government in South Africa. He then founded the Botswana Democratic Party and was elected its first President in 1965, a position he held until his death in 1980. Botswana is now considered the model for democracy on the continent of Africa. It is the top producer of quality diamonds, an industry that is strongly monitored by the government which feeds profits into the country's infrastructure. The New York Times best-selling books, and the BBC movie, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" originated here and are a perfect snapshot of this gentle culture. I feel safe here. The people are friendly and you will be warmly welcomed.
It is a landlocked country directly above South Africa and is the size of France, with just over 2 million people (and over 4 million cows). More than one-third of the country is completely devoted to wild animals, in their own environment. The people have learned from other examples in the world and do not want what they have to be destroyed, so tourism is limited. Often my little group has been the only one in a vast area full of animals. You will see things very few people have the opportunity to see and experience things you will remember for the rest of your life.
There are 450 species of birds in the Okavango Delta...even if you are not a birder, you will most likely become one with so many exotic feathered friends to catch your attention. My favorite remains the African Fish Eagle because, when I lived on the Thamalakane River in Maun, it woke me up every morning with its haunting call. Click on this link to listen to the haunting call of the Fish Eagle: here
"It was an adventure that was amazing, robust, alternatingly gobsmacking and unbelievable (google lilac-breasted roller in flight), and filled with wonderful people and unforgetable sights. I have not yet mentally or emotionally recovered from the excitment and am loving every moment." ~ Richard Tremaine
Roanoke, Virginia 8/2023 "I joined this trip right after the Kalahari trip I did the week before. It was two weeks of magic. This trip is not for those who want a luxury safari lodge with half a day of safari jeep into the wilderness. We camped in different national parks for a few days and then drove to another spot and did it again and again. Our guides were so knowledgeable and friendly. They tried to make the experience unique and personal. We saw so many animals and birds, and also met villagers. I highly recommend this trip for people who are interested in camping and exploring the real wilderness of Africa. Debora did it again by giving us an unforgettable Experience. Thank you." Forouz Jowkar
Santa Fe, New Mexico 8/2023 
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I've been on safari over 100 times since I first arrived in Botswana in the year 2000. I'm familiar with Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland. I lived in Botswana for a couple years and always return. To me, it is the quintessential Africa; the Africa I dreamed of when I was little, and always wanted to see.
I've had guests who have spent a lot of time in east Africa, and tell me the same thing: Botswana includes it all, and is wilder ~ we are actually in the animal's true environment and become part of it. They return again, and again to Botswana. Peace, my friend, and long-time safari guide, and I have been tweaking our 2024 trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe. Every time we return from a trip, we do this, in an effort to provide an even more authentic experience for our guests ~ not just the usual safari for tourists. In 2023, after a several year covid absence, we were ecstatic to be taking folks into the Bush again. This time, we've been able to add some new adventures that we are sure will absolutely delight you! We will arrive in Maun, Botswana on Sunday, June 9 for a Welcome Dinner. The next day, we'll travel a few hours to the far western edge of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve where we'll spend 3 nights in a lodge whose guides are the San Bushmen. We'll learn about their culture - actually spending time with a San family - descendants of those considered the first people on earth. 
We'll also go rhino tracking from our lodge.
We'll go back to Maun for a couple nights (with a private tour of this eclectic town), and then our team will pick us up in safari vehicles and we'll be off to the Okavango Delta, where we will spend three nights in Moremi Game Reserve (1900 square miles), in my favorite area, called Khwai.
Our staff is phenomenal, and has gone ahead and set up our little village for us ~ very similar to the camps Ernest Hemingway stayed in years ago, with large walk-in tents, wonderful dinners seated under the stars, campfires to share at night, and two excursions per day to track animals. We'll see some of the most beautiful places imaginable with Peace and Disho, our guides. There is an abundance of lion, elephant, hyena, leopard, cheetah, rhino, wild dog, impala, and 450 species of birds here. The Delta is often referred to as a Garden of Eden.
Our fourth night, we'll stay in a safari lodge located on the banks of the year-round river Khwai, while our staff drives our "village" a long day to our next camp. We'll be going on a mokoro (traditional canoe poled through the waterways of the Delta) excursion before hopping on a bush plane the next morning to fly over the Delta to our next camp in Savuti. We will camp for the next three nights in Savuti (the name means "mystery"), which is a unique part of the almost 4600 sq. mile Chobe National Park. Savuti is known for its mysterious and fascinating channel. It runs a distance of 62 miles from the Chobe River, through a gap in the sand ridge, to the Mababe Depression. This channel brings water from the Chobe to Mababe, creating a small marsh where it enters the Depression. Flowing in Livingstone's time, the channel was dry in 1880, and remained dry for about 70 years. It flooded again in 1957. Savuti Marsh has been dry for the past 18 years. So, there are vast plains where animals gather in what was this huge marsh. Savuti is famous for its predators.
There is a 3000 year old Bushman painting, and a grove of 2,000 year old Baobob trees, standing like ancient cathedrals, on little hills here, some of the only hills in Botswana.
Northwest of Savuti and off the main tourist track lies Botswana's best kept secret: Linyanti and the western reaches of the Savuti Channel, where we will spend the next two nights in a permanent camp. This is considered one of the most beautiful areas in all of Botswana, and really off-the-beaten-path. Because this area is a private game reserve, the vehicle concentrations are very low and the wilderness experience is one of the best in all of Africa.
And, here, we'll get to know some of the customs and the culture of the folks who lives in this remote area (see photo lower left of the traditional doctor who came to visit us from the local village). Our last three nights camping in our mobile village will be near the Chobe riverfront. I never tire watching great herds of animals come down every evening to drink from the river. One afternoon, we saw a lone lion emerge from a bush next to our vehicle to go for a drink. Gradually, 19 of her friends joined her, coming out of bushes on all sides of us! One of our days will be spent on a boat, on the river, having lunch while watching animals along the river banks, and even swimming in front of us to some of the little islands. A real treat! 
People often comment that they have never seen so many stars at night as we do when on safari. There is no light pollution at all, and the night is silent except for the occasional roar of a lion in the distance; a sound I have come to love and long to hear when I'm home and think of Africa.
Silence....something we rarely have in our often hectic lives, is a quality that we'll experience on our mobile safari. We'll be in places that are extremely remote; more so than most people have ever experienced in their lives and may never again. Often, our guests comment they'd just like to sit for awhile and absorb it all, which is something we have started to incorporate into our time in the Bush.
Everyone has their own way of appreciating Nature, so, if desired, one of our two vehicles can, on occasion, be for those who'd like to experience "P&Q time" (peace and quiet) for a couple hours; just sitting in companionable silence. It is very restorative! And, you notice things you never did before… |
Finally, we will cross into Zimbabwe, and arrive at our exquisite safari lodge for our last two nights, in the town of Victoria Falls, and "Mosi-oa-Tunya" ~ the smoke that thunders, which is what the local people call Victoria Falls.
The Falls is the largest continuous sheet of falling water in the world - 5,604 ft. wide (over one mile!), and 354 ft. tall. The spray rises 1300 feet above the falls during the dry season when we will be there, and can be seen from many miles away. We will say our goodbyes from our lodge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe on Saturday, June 29, and return from our great adventure!
The Falls is the largest continuous sheet of falling water in the world - 5,604 ft. wide (over one mile!), and 354 ft. tall. The spray rises 1300 feet above the falls during the dry season when we will be there, and can be seen from many miles away. We will say our goodbyes from our lodge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe on Saturday, June 29, and return from our great adventure!
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Prices increased everywhere in the world after covid, but we have been working hard to keep ours reasonable. One thing we have done is to omit our 2023 Kalahari pre-trip the week before our longer expedition, and instead we added 4 days/3 nights at a lodge on the western edge of the Kalahari, with Bushmen guides, to our Botswana Wilderness Adventure itinerary. This eliminates the extremely long drives we did before, yet still allows us to experience the great interaction with the Bushmen, and saves us quite a bit of money. So, we are combining that with our updated trek through northern Botswana, for one lower price of $9995 USD/person/double occupancy, if space is reserved prior to November 1, 2023.
After that date, the price is $10,950, which is still less than our two combined 2023 trips, yet includes the best of both.
Includes all lodging (double occupancy), and breakfasts during the dates above; welcome dinner in Maun June 9, mokoro excursion in Khwai, Chobe river lunch excursion, airport transfers last day of adventure. During mobile safari: expert guides and staff 24 hrs./day (see review above), all meals freshly prepared, wine/soft drinks/purified water, all camping equipment, all ground transport, campsite fees, bush plane flight from Khwai to Savuti, transport and assistance through Zimbabwe border to Victoria Falls hotel.
Not included: airfare to Maun, Botswana or from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe after the safari. Tips, some meals, extra activities you may want to do on your own.
*** Please also see the pages "Africa Logistics", and "A Wild Night" on this website for more info.
This is not a challenging trip, physically, in fact, you may want to bring a travel yoga mat with you....but, you will need mobility to climb into and out of the safari vehicles, unattended, several times every day. And, to get into and out of mokoros (canoes), unattended.
Space on this adventure is limited to 10 guests ; this trip is to an extremely remote place that is difficult to plan. For this reason, it is necessary to reserve your space with a nonrefundable deposit of $1500. To do so, just click on the green "Book Now" button below, which will take you to a secure site.
After that date, the price is $10,950, which is still less than our two combined 2023 trips, yet includes the best of both.
Includes all lodging (double occupancy), and breakfasts during the dates above; welcome dinner in Maun June 9, mokoro excursion in Khwai, Chobe river lunch excursion, airport transfers last day of adventure. During mobile safari: expert guides and staff 24 hrs./day (see review above), all meals freshly prepared, wine/soft drinks/purified water, all camping equipment, all ground transport, campsite fees, bush plane flight from Khwai to Savuti, transport and assistance through Zimbabwe border to Victoria Falls hotel.
Not included: airfare to Maun, Botswana or from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe after the safari. Tips, some meals, extra activities you may want to do on your own.
*** Please also see the pages "Africa Logistics", and "A Wild Night" on this website for more info.
This is not a challenging trip, physically, in fact, you may want to bring a travel yoga mat with you....but, you will need mobility to climb into and out of the safari vehicles, unattended, several times every day. And, to get into and out of mokoros (canoes), unattended.
Space on this adventure is limited to 10 guests ; this trip is to an extremely remote place that is difficult to plan. For this reason, it is necessary to reserve your space with a nonrefundable deposit of $1500. To do so, just click on the green "Book Now" button below, which will take you to a secure site.