Botswana Citizen Owned Fly Camp Safari

Itinerary Overview
Introduction to Botswana
Fly Camp Overview
Xakanaxa Fly Camp, Okavango Delta – 3 Nights
Khwai Fly Camp, Okavango Delta – 3 Nights – 3 Nights
Savuti, Fly Camp, Chobe National Park – 3 Nights
Flexible Itinerary Available

Itinerary Overview

The Trip:

Start Maun, Botswana. All transfers are on included bush flights.
3 Nights Xakanaxa Fly Camp
3 Nights Khwai Fly Camp
3 Nights Savuti Fly Camp
End Maun

Cost with $3,495 per person sharing

This includes all internal flight transfers between camps, accommodation, meals, activities, park fees, and drinks.

Not Included Out of Pocket Costs to Consider

International Air to Maun
Tips/Gratuities
Travel Insurance

Introduction to Botswana

Northern Botswana spanning from the Okavango Delta to Chobe National Park is considered to be one of the premier safari destinations. Low density tourism is the hallmark of Botswana safaris allowing you to explore magical locations without hordes of other tourists as occurs in some other famed safari areas. The standard of guiding is very high, critical to having a phenomenal experience. Due to the remote and wild nature of the area you will have short flights between locations, an incredibly scenic way to change camps as you take in the scenery below and can often spot wildlife and this ensures all of your safari is quality time with no long wasteful driving transfers from one point to the next. This safari is custom designed to provide you with a vintage exploration of the Okavango Delta, Moremi, and Savuti regions. You will have astounding wildlife viewing in some of Botswana’s most wildlife rich areas. The locations and activities are diverse to ensure the full wilderness safari experience.

Fly Camp Overview

Many talented safari guides work hard for many years at the traditional luxury camps before eventually saving money and striking out with their own mobile operations. They have skill, work ethic, and purchase top notch vehicles and equipment but what most lack is marketing reach and the logistical capability to be in the field guiding and yet coordinate bookings, continue marketing etc. The Wild Source has partnered with Footsteps in Africa to identify some of the top independent local guides and support their individual business ownership but coordinate them under one marketing and logistical umbrella to help them succeed and find a market for their services. These are very talented guides who are self-starters and thus succeeded to the point of starting their own operations.

The innovation of this initiative did not stop with the formation of this special coalition of entrepreneurs. Instead a new twist to the mobile product has been created. Rather than having one guide drive from area to area, wasting long hours between locations each guide is based in one park or reserve area and guests are flown to each location. This maximizes the time for quality wildlife viewing and for simple relaxation in the best wildlife locations instead of always rushing and relocating. This also provides a big advantage as the location based guide knows what has been happening and seen in his general location over time as opposed to moving every two to three days and not being up to date on the latest activity in an area when you arrive.

We are very excited to be supporting this new initiative and believe it offers the highest quality value safari available in Botswana, keeping cost down with simple, comfortable camps at private locations but making no compromise on the experience with top guides in prime wildlife areas.

All of the Fly Camps are of the same standard of accommodation. These are brand new tents with twin beds and linens, end tables, and en-suite open air bathrooms with chemical flush toilets and a bucket shower. Each camp has just six tents and vehicles are limited to 6 guests ensuring that everyone has a prime seat in these open sided vehicles.

Good Food is an essential part of the Fly Camp Experience

Xakanaxa Fly Camp, Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta – 3 Nights

Journey into the heart of the Moremi Game Reserve, an intricate part of the Okavango Delta comprising permanently swamped areas, seasonally swamped areas, and dry land creating wonderful diversity of scenery and species. The area is extremely beautiful, composed of vast grass flats, low tree-covered ridges and lagoons. The Moremi Game Reserve is considered by many to have the best wildlife viewing in all of Africa. When the concept of the Fly Camp operations was hatched the local guide/owners were asked for locations and it was unanimous that Xakanaxa was the most game rich area. It is a popular area so there is a little more traffic here but the wildlife is truly exceptional and starting from a remote private campsite helps reach more remote parts of the reserve. Permanent water supports a spectacular array of animals: Lion, Leopard, African Wild Dog and Cheetah are frequently encountered whilst Elephants are common throughout the reserve as are Giraffe, Zebra and many other species.

Guided activities focus on game drives inside the Moremi Game Reserve but another highlight is the opportunity to powerboat through the Delta, visiting magnificent lagoons that support enormous breeding colonies of birds from September through December. Your guide will be a local independent owner operating the Fly Camp, working as part of new coalition formed in support of a small number of highly talented independent entrepreneurial guides. Vehicle seating is limited to just 6 passengers ensuring that everyone has a ‘window’ seat within the open sided vehicle. This is a critical quality component for game viewing as no one is stuck in a middle seat with obscured views and it is simply much more comfortable this way.

Cape Buffalo are among the more common animals you may see at Moremi Game Reserve

The independent owner/guides operating the Fly Camps have great standing in the campsite permitting process and thus are able to secure the best located and most beautiful private campsites in the area ensuring exclusivity for your camp, which will contain no more than 6 tents for guests. The private campsites have another huge advantage, by starting at a location more far a field you can often distance yourself from the more heavily trafficked areas and get deeper into the reserve where vehicles from the public camp areas and lodges outside of the park do not have time to reach. Camp consists of dome mobile tents that have twin beds with linen, side table, lamps and ensuite bathrooms (bucket shower and chemical/flush loo). A camp cook provides three good meals a day.

Khwai Fly Camp, Okavango Delta – 3 Nights

The Khwai River brings water to an otherwise arid area on the eastern edge of the Okavango Delta serving as a magnet for animals. The adjacent open floodplains are especially good for cheetah and African wild dog as well as a host of grazing species.

Guided activities focus on game drives, mostly inside of the Moremi Game Reserve with night drives available outside of the Reserve to provide a well-rounded safari experience. Your guide will be a local independent owner operating the Fly Camp, with the same excellent service, guiding, and vehicles that are the standard at all 4 of the Fly Camps. This is a vintage safari experience at its best.

Savuti, Fly Camp, Savuti Region of Chobe National Park – 3 Nights

Discover the pride of Chobe National Park -- Savuti lies within the remote western part of Chobe National Park and boasts one of the highest concentrations of wildlife on the African continent. Savuti is famous for its predators, particularly its large prides of resident lions and huge spotted hyena populations but the area also supports giraffe, elephant, zebra, impala, tsessebe, roan, sable, wildebeest, kudu, buffalo, waterbuck, warthog, eland, jackal, bat-eared fox and many other species.

Guided activities are included, with the focus on game drives in open 4x4 safari vehicles limited to 6 guests. You may also make a visit to the ancient San bushman rock paintings at Gubatsa Hills.

Here you will have another of the independent owner/guide Fly Camps and utilize a private campsite with a limit of six guest tents. All of the camps use dome mobile tents that have twin beds with linen, side table, lamps and ensuite open to the sky bathrooms (bucket shower and chemical/flush loo). A camp cook provides three good meals a day. The camps are unfenced and a true part of the wild, where animals can come and go and with luck your canvas walls will be pierced by the roar of the lion.

This Itinerary Is Flexible

PLEASE NOTE: This is a custom independent trip with no set departure dates. We have similar camps at the Chobe Riverfront, in the heart of the Okavango Delta for a mokoro and walking focus, and in the extremely rich Santawani Private Concession that can be added or used to replace one of these camps with price adjustments based only on the bush plane costs to transfer. We also have some of Botswana’s best priced luxury camps that can be added on if desired.