Botswana�s top 5 unique travel experiences
Correspondent | Wednesday May 6, 2015 15:51
Look beyond the traditional game drive or boat cruise and be rewarded with an unforgettable adventure to compliment the wildlife experience on offer. Here are five unique Botswana experiences.
* Al Fresco slumber parties
Spend a night outside your tent and get acquainted with the map of the universe overhead. Botswana offers sleep-out experiences as varied as a traveller’s many interests. Sleep a stone’s throw from an elephants’ bedroom, follow the moon’s trajectory over the Makgadikgadi salt pans or bed down amidst the sounds of the bush and the croaking of frogs in the Okavango Delta.
* Get amongst the giants
Get up close and personal with the world’s largest land mammal. Walking through the Okavango Delta in the shadow of an elephant and learning about their social politics is one of the most awe-inspiring memories you’ll collect in the bush.
* Learn to survive in the desert
Botswana boasts one of the oldest communities of hunter-gatherers on earth, the San bushmen. For thousands of years the San have been surviving in the harsh conditions of the Kalahari where most would die of thirst in a few short days. Practice speaking in clicks as the San guide you in the desert and watch in disbelief as they pull hidden food, water and survival tools out of the sand.
* Blaze your own trail
So you’ve flown miles into the wilderness in a tiny charter plane, with nothing but bush in all directions, but it still doesn’t feel remote enough? Pack up a tent and head off on an exploration of Botswana’s waterways. Delve into the deepest Okavango Delta by mokoro, exploring islands and camping along the way. Alternatively, pick up your paddle and tackle the Selinda Spillway by canoe, stopping en-route to rest your weary arms and explore the bush on foot. You might end up with a few blisters, but you’ll take home even more stories - and they last longer!
* Catch the view from the top
There’s no better way to view the maze of the Okavango Delta than from above, either in a small charter plane or via helicopter. Trace the Okavango’s water channels from a unique perspective and try your hand at aerial photography as you hover above herds of plains game before stopping to take in your surrounds on a remote island with a glass of champagne in hand.
The Mombo Concession is the best place to see animals from above (and the only area with a chance of seeing rhino) whereas taking off from a water camp will give you the best idea of the lay of the land.
CLARE DOOLAN
(Africa Geographic Blog)