Walk On The Wild Side: Botswana, Safari Style

 As we touched down in Botswana, I (rather un-ceremoniously) fell out of the plane, the heavens opened and I couldn’t believe the London weather had followed me all the way to Afice. ‘Don’t worry – rain is a blessing’ my guide shouted as he ushered me to the waiting Land Rover where I leapt in, thankful for cover. 

It was a short drive to Kings Pool, the first camp on my tour. It’s located in the very north of the country on the Linyanti River and the border of Namibia.

The smell of wild sage filled the dusk air and with a few sightings of elephant, giraffe and impala on the short drive into camp alone, it was by far the most scenic and thrilling airport transfer of my life.

The Land Rover pulled into camp after the sun had set, which I love, as I find waking up to new surroundings rather exhilarating (particularly when teamed with an invigorating morning shower outdoors!). I found my sense of hearing heightened as I happily nodded off in my vast canvas and thatch room listening to hippo chomping on the grass, warthog scratching on some nearby wood and frogs calling to one another in the distance.

In the days that followed I fell blissfully into a routine of early morning and late afternoon game drives organised as such to give the best chance of sighting as much game activity as possible. I was spoilt from the start - baboons scampering across the road, jittery herds of impala nibbling the grass before darting off in every direction and warthog families waddling around in the shade were all seen on a daily basis, however, on other occasions we witnessed some rarer and even more special sightings.

The most memorable by far was pulling up on the banks of the Linyanti River for the daily morning tea break (safari’s are so civilised!). My guide pointed into the distance and highlighted a large herd of elephants (tiny dots on the horizon at that time) who were over in Namibia and heading our way. We sat quietly, waited and watched as they came ever closer and before long they were cooling off in the river and crossing the border into Botswana. At this point I was desperately trying to watch with my own eyes and not through my camera lens but it’s so hard as you want to be able to capture every moment. They were headed straight for us and I asked my guide if it was going to be best to hop back into the vehicle but he assured me that wouldn’t be necessary. The elephants knew we were there and cautiously walked past us stopping only to raise their trunks to give us a quick smell before realising we were of no harm to them and walking on. As the final few disappeared into the bush all I wanted to do was press rewind and experience it all over again, however, it was time to move on and who knew what lay ahead.

With the game drives taking place when they do, it allows for plenty of time to sneak in some much needed late morning/early afternoon snoozes, refreshing dips your private plunge pool and to realise that life in the wilderness really is rather heavenly!

One animal I was desperate to see whilst at Kings Pool was the Hippo and everyone assured me I was in with a good chance….I wasn’t disappointed. As an alternative to one of our afternoon game drives, we took a boat trip out onto the Linyanti. Our guide started to point out ripples indicating Hippo were nearby and slowly we started to see a few sets of eyes and ears poking out of the water. They didn’t stay above water for long however before submerging themselves never to be seen again. My delight came however as my guide spotted one on land moving towards the water. It was a brief sighting but a wonderful one as the enormous creature shuffled down the bank and splashed into the water.

Our next stop was Vumbura Plains. Vumbura sits in the northern part of the Okavnago Delta and is home to probably the most sumptuous rooms imaginable. It’s contemporary in design with huge open spaces throughout allowing for breathtaking views across the Delta. Privacy is one thing that Vumbura offers too, from people that is – animals have a free reign to wander wherever and whenever they like!

The game viewing here was incomparable and even though I visited at a time when the bush was very dense, making it harder to spot the animals, this didn’t seem to hinder sightings one bit and my guides expertly tracked footprints and located animals purely by noting which birds were flying overhead.

Lion, sable antelope, waterbuck, zebra, giraffe, the list is endless but what surprised me most is that I became, and I’m not ashamed to admit it, something of a twitcher. The array of birds was incredible and again the guides excelled by identifying each and every species - the lilac breasted roller being my favourite. Vumbura also offers water based activities so one afternoon I headed out on a Mokoro, a must when in the Delta. Originally, these dug out canoes would have been made from trees however these days fibreglass options are preferable. My guide expertly guided the Mokoro through the water in a similar style to punting and found the stillness and smooth ride to be a wonderfully relaxing experience.

I knew it was going to be a wrench to leave, but as we rumbled along to the airstrip I treasured the final few sightings and, as the locals would say, ‘ke tla boa gape’ ­– I will return.

Kathryn was a guest of The Zambezi Safari & Travel Company and Wilderness Safaris.

A 6 night Botswana safari with The Zambezi Safari and Travel Company (www.zambezi.com; 01548 830059) staying at Wilderness Safaris' camps costs from £3,927 per person. This includes two nights at Kings Pool, two nights at Kwetsani, two nights at Vumbura Plains, all meals, drinks and activities, transfers, park fees and light aircraft charter flights. This is valid for travel 01 November - 19 December 2011.

Please add £1514 per person for international flights from London Heathrow to Johannesburg with BA and from Johannesburg to Maun with Air Botswana.

For further information on any of the camps visit www.wilderness-safaris.com

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