Going on Safari has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and this was the year I was going to make it happen.
Choosing a safari - why Botswana?
When I started looking into safari, I was beyond overwhelmed with choices – what country to go to, how long to go for, type of safari, you name it.
I reached out to a few friends who had been on safari in different countries to get their feedback, and the responses I received on Botswana really stuck with me. Botswana is not only dedicated to anti-poaching, they have adopted an ecotourism policy which allows for lower volume of tourists, granted a bit higher price than some other countries, but it does mean a better protected wilderness. The country is also home to the largest elephant population in the world, as well as some of the world’s most threatened species. I was in – I had to go on safari in Botswana.
The perfect Botswana Safari package
So, with Botswana confirmed, it was on to picking a safari package. Here again the choices were plentiful, and having not been on safari before it was hard to decide on how long to go for. But I really only had two weeks to take off and I wanted to spend some time in South Africa (Cape Town & Garden Route) so after much deliberation I opted for a 4 day 3 night safari.
I decided to choose a package staying in one single location, so I could not only enjoy the game drives, but have some relaxing downtime in between.
We had considered doing a cheaper and longer mobile safari, staying in a few different lodges, but that wouldn’t guarantee seeing any different animals, more likely just more of the same (you will see so much in just the first day!).
I found the perfect package through a tour company called Indigo Safaris, who were extremely helpful and responsive. Indigo Safaris – Your Safari Experts
Where we stayed - Mogotlho lodge
I chose a lodge located in Mababe on the banks of the river Khwai on a private concession. It’s near the Moremi Game Reserve and the Chobe National Park in the Okavango Delta. I honestly couldn’t rave enough about our lodge and the whole experience.
The main lodge was something out of an interior design magazine, honestly it was safari chic! This incredible dining area, along with full bar and a swimming pool. We completely took advantage of having a cocktail, relaxing in the pool and watching the hippos and cape buffalo in the river below.
We had our own tented lodging, complete with a huge king size bed, our own private deck front, dual vanities and a glass shower – who knew glamping could be so luxurious. Our private lodge accomodation was about a 5 minute walk to the main communal lodge, and during the day walking to and from our room to the main lodge was fine, but as the entire lodge is located within a private game concession, walking at night was out of the question, unless you wanted to try your luck against the local lions, hyenas, hippos or whatever wild animal could be lurking outside. Once safely in our rooms at night it was quite surreal to hear the animals and their noises at night.
What to bring
I couldn’t go on safari and not make sure that I was decked out in appropriate safari get up, and that I had every essential needed.
We went in early November and the weather was HOT – 40°C or 100° F. I brought a few pairs of shorts and tank tops that I wore each day that worked well. There were some flies and mosquitos, but the Jungle Formula insect repellent spray worked perfectly. I did bring a hat; however, I didn’t really end up using it as we were in a covered jeep for each one of our drives, and you don’t really get out of the jeep too often. I’d say a hat isn’t really necessary unless you’re doing a walking safari, but probably good to have just in case.
I debated on which shoes to bring as I do have a good pair of hiking boots, but as I was not only packing for the Safari trip, but also for South Africa, I decided not to bring them. I just wore an old pair of running trainers each day and found that they were completely fine. Our lodge also had a pool, so I brought my bathing suit, and I enjoyed cooling off and relaxing in the pool every day!
What I would highly recommend is to bring a pair of binoculars and a camera with a zoom lens. Now you don’t need some crazy expensive pair of binoculars, in fact I bought one on Amazon for £30, and it didn’t disappoint.
Everything I read said that 10×42 binoculars are what worked best, and that’s what we opted for. I brought my Canon SLR camera with a 75-200mm zoom lens, and that was essential to get some great photos of the animals far off in the distance.
Packing List
- Shorts/Tank Tops/T-shirts
- Bathing suit (if your lodge has a pool)
- Inspect Spray with Maximum Deet
- Sun Block
- Trainers or Hiking Boots
- 10×42 Binoculars
- 75-300m zoom lens and camera
- Hat – only necessary for drives in uncovered jeeps
Getting there and Travel tips
For the lodge and safari package we booked, flying into Maun was the closest international airport. We flew from London via Johannesburg to Maun. The entire flight time was around 15 hours, so needless to say we were exhausted when we landed. It was essential for us to have some time to sleep and feel rested before we began our safari. We booked a one-night stay in Maun near the airport and had the majority of the day to rest and get an early night’s sleep, before our pickup from our lodge in the morning. We stayed in Maun Lodge, and really enjoyed the location and the friendly staff.
I would definitely recommend allowing a day to rest before starting the safari, especially as you’ll need to account for any flight or even luggage delays!
Game drives and Mokoro Safaris
Most safari packages include a morning game drive and an afternoon game drive, as that’s when the animals are the most active.
The morning game drive usually means you head off no later than 6:30 am for a lunctime return to the lunch. The afternoon game drives will start at 4pm and return back around 6:30 for dinner. Our lodge provided some other options if you wanted to mix things up, such as a mokoro safari experience.
A mokoro is a wooden hollowed out canoe traditional to the Okavango Delta, although these days they are made of fiber glass, but still maintain the style and design of the wooden ones. The boat is steered by a Poler using a long pole called a ngashi. We could not pass up the opportunity to glide through the water and be up close with the animals. I was worried we might come up against a hippo or a crocodile, but thankfully my fears were just that and we didn’t see any.
what you will See
I was truly blown away by all the animals we saw, and some so close to us you could touch them – and no we didn’t attempt that! Being home to the world’s largest elephant population, of course we saw more elephants than one could count. But for those of you that might wonder what animals you will encounter while on safari in Botswana here is a list of all that we were lucky enough to see:
- Elephants
- Giraffes
- Zebras
- Wildebeest
- Baboons
- Hippos
- Warthogs
- Lions
- Leopard (just one!)
- Crocodiles
- Black back Jackal
- Cape buffalo
- Impala
- Hyena
- African Wild Dogs
- Common Tsessebe
- Water Bucks
- Vervet monkeys
- Ostrich
- Vultures
- Tree Squirrel
- Kudu
- Eland
- Kori Bustard
- Secretary Bird
- Marabou Stork
Concluding thoughts
I had been dreaming about going on safari for so long and I can honestly say this safari was more than a dream come true.
It exceeded my expectations in every way. We had considered doing a longer mobile safari, staying in a few different lodges, but I felt the decision we made to have a shorter safari staying in a single location was exactly what we were looking for. We walked away with an incredible experience and were truly grateful for the time we had in on our game drives as well as the time we were able to spend relaxing in the lodge itself.