"You know you are truly alive when you are living among lions"
Isak Dinesen
It's that time of year again... I'm delighted to share the dates of my Botswana safari for 2025! Next June my small group of up to twelve travellers will join me in three of my favourite parts of Botswana. My group will explore the Okavango Delta, Khwai Private Reserve and Makgadigadi Pans National Park from 2-10 June, experiencing some of the best wildlife areas in Africa with me.
The safari kicks off at Mokolwane Camp, deep in the heart of an almost untouched part of the Okavango Delta in Xudum concession. National Geographic and Netflix film maker Brad Bestelink is based here and for good reason - the area is teeming with all the Okavango predators and has the third highest density of leopards in Africa. This small, relaxed, remote camp is tucked into 200,000 hectares of wilderness and has excellent populations of elephants, lions, giraffes, hyenas, crocodiles and hippos, as well as countless birds. Elephants love the Molokwane palms for which the camp is named.
Next, we're off to Little Sable Camp in the Khwai Private Reserve, a 200,000 hectare reserve bordering the Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park. On our safaris in this wildlife-rich part of Botswana we often come across critically endangered African wild dogs, leopards, lions and sometimes even cheetahs and sable antelopes. You can experience classic game drives, mokoro trips and boat safaris here (dependent on water levels). Every day is an adventure in Khwai! This camp runs in partnership with the Khwai local community, delivering direct benefits of income and jobs to local people adjoining the reserve.
While here, you'll have the chance to spend a night at the extraordinary Skybeds. Imagine a two-level tower in the middle of the African bush overlooking a waterhole frequented by elephants. With no roof, just a mosquito net over your head, this means you'll have the most incredible view of the star-studded African sky from your cosy, warm bed. With only three skybed towers, this intimate setting is an experience like no other and you can expect to hear lots of night time visitors to the water hole. You'll have the chance to spend some time at one of our favourite wilds near this camp, which, in the late afternoon of the dry season, attracts elephants aplenty, with your view being from the level of their feet - simply incredible!
Finally, we finish our safari at Meno a Kwena Camp bordering the semi-arid Makgadigadi Pans National Park. Famous for its elevated view over the Boteti River, this camp has one of the best views of the great zebra migration that you can get. We will go into the national park to experience the zebra migration up close and also to spend time with the many elephant bulls that live in this area. An optional activity is to spend some time in Meno a Kwena's floating hide on the Boteti River for a closer view of hippos, zebras and elephants, and to spend time with the San Bushmen who live here for part of the year.
To join me on safari from 2-10 June 2025, in a group of up to twelve people, drop me a line here and I will send you the itinerary. Botswana is one of the safest and easiest places to visit in Africa, and continually provides the top notch wildlife experiences that our guests expect, which is why I take a group there every year. Our partner in our Botswana safaris is the Natural Selection Foundation and your safari directly contributes to this in addition to ensuring that the areas we're visiting are conserved for the future of wildlife and for local communities to benefit. Read more about the impact of Natural Selection safaris here.
Don't forget that in addition to the safaris I personally lead, we also have excellent local guides who can take you on safari all across Africa, from Rwanda where you can experience the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, to Namibia's famous sand dunes and desert-adapted wildlife. We specialise in arranging safaris focused on the great migration in East Africa and have over a decade of experience of picking the timing and the places where you will experience the ultimate wildebeest migration experience. If you have a great idea for a group safari and you'd like me to lead it, do reach out for a conversation about my private guided tours. If you're thinking of going on safari any time soon, why not reach out to us for a chat about what's possible?