Botswana
This
1,110 km long and 960 km wide landlocked country sharing borders
with South Africa in the East & South, Namibia in the West
and both Zambia and Zimbabwe in the North-East offers a diversity
of pristine scenic beauty, most extensive and unspoiled wildlife
areas on the African continent, fauna life and vegetation. The
spectacular beauty of the country is enhanced by its warm-hearted,
friendly and hospitable people.
HIGHLIGHTS
OKAVANGO
DELTA
The Okavango Delta in the north-west area of Botswana, originating
from the Okavango River (named after the chief of the Mbukushu
tribe) flowing from the high mountains in Angola, fans out over
an area of 15,000 sq. km offering a mosaic of streams, forests,
islands, flood plains and lagoons, but it does not reach the sea.
Unique only to Botswana, this largest inland delta in the world
is home to an abundance of land and aquatic wildlife which integrate
with each other in this environment of diverse habitats.
Experience the mysteries which unravel the tranquillity, excitement,
reflections and the real African adventure. Allow yourself to
be poled through the reeds and water lilies of the delta, viewing
the prolific bird life, the occasional crocodile or hippo, the
abundant red lechwe or if you're lucky the elusive and rare sitatunga.
Listen to the call of the Fish Eagle and Kingfishers during the
day and in the evening feel the pulse of the African night, whilst
being mesmerised by the camp fire.
CHOBE
NATIONAL PARK
The 1160 square kilometers extent of the Chobe National Park contains
one of the largest concentrations of wild animals in Africa. May
to September - the dry season - is the best time of year to visit
this fascinating national park. Vast herds of buffalo feed in
the marshes. Elephant, eland, giraffe, impala, kudu, lechwe, oribi,
puku, roan, tsessebe, waterbuck, wildebeest and zebra are very
numerous. Predators - lion and leopard - and scavengers roam the
whole area. Hippos and crocodiles inhabit the waterways and bird
life is magnificent. The park was created in 1968 and named after
the Chobe River which forms its northern boundary. South of the
river lies an area of mopane forest, where there are numerous
large pans which contain water and provide drinking places for
an interesting variety of wild animals, including gemsbok, oribi,
reedbuck and roan.
MAKGADIKGADI
PANS AND NXAI PANS
These two associated wildlife sanctuaries cover over 10 000 square
kilometers. The game population of this area is essentially migratory.
From December to March a tremendous amount of wildlife is concentrated
in Nxai Pan (originally an ancient lake bed). Eland and sable
are less prolific, buffalo and elephant only appear during very
wet seasons. Cheetah, lion, hyenas, wild dogs and bat-eared fox
are plentiful. At the end of the rainy season - about May - the
game animals migrate from Nxai Pan south into the Makgadikgadi
Basin, where they disperse over the grassy plains
