At the end of January I was fortunate enough to head up North into Botswana for a week to view some of the Wilderness Safaris properties that I will be using in our Botswana Packages. In order to celebrate the addition of these magnificent packages to our portfolio, the month of February will focus on a variety of travel related aspects in Botswana. Over the next couple of weeks I will be covering the following aspects of travel in Botswana:
- Botswana Travel Diary | Days 1-3 | Chitabe & Jao
- Botswana Travel Diary | Days 4 – 6 | Little Vumbura and Kings Poool
- Botswana FAQ’s and General Travel Information
- The Okavango Delta | The Story Behind The World’s Largest Inland Delta System
- Fully inclusive travel packages to Botswana (Premier Packages & Classsic Packages)
- We will also have some amazing SPECIAL OFFERS for South African Residents
This is the second in a series of two posts where I will relive this magical experience and share some of my thoughts and images from the trip with you. This week we focus on the second leg of the trip, days 4-6 which took us from the Jao concession to the Little Vumbura and Kings Pool Camps. Enjoy!
Day 4 – 6 | Little Vumbura
After a fantastic couple of days on the floodplains of the Jao concession on the western edge of the delta, we headed east into the Kwedi Concession and the Little Vumbura Camp. This beautiful camp (one of my favourites from the entire trip) is situated on a wooded island in the same region as its sister camp, the Prmeier class Vumbura Plains. After landing at the airstrip we embarked on a 40 minute drive towards the camp before hopping into a motor boat for a short shuttle to the island.
The six roomed tented camp also boasts a fantastic family unit and is surrounded by water. Lying so close to large rivers its no suprise that water-based activities are the main focus in this region with mokoros traversing the floodplains and motor boats cruising the permanent channels. Wildlife viewing and birding in this area is consistently good all year round and game drives in open vehicles provide excellent viewing in the savannah regions of the main island.
Our drives provided excellent birding and game viewing, the highlight of which was undoubtedly spending more than half an hour outside of a spotted hyena den. The light was perfect as we sat back and snapped away with our cameras as the pups emerged from the den – which interestingly enough was literally right next door to a warthog burrow! Other sightings in this area included elephant, impala, giraffe, zebra and we were unfortunate to miss seeing lions despite having heard them during our sundowner drinks stop on the first evening.
With great game viewing and a variety of water activities, Little Vumbura really has it all and would certainly be my first choice for a single camp, 4 night trip into the Delta. The nearby Vumbura Plains is also a fantastic choice for this sort of trip in the Premier Class.
Day 6 & 7 | Kings Pool
Despite the best attempts by some serious thunder storms, we eventually were able to fly out from Little Vumbura and the Kwedi Concession and make our way North East towards the Linyanti Concesison and the Premier Class Kings Pool Camp. This 125 000 hectare concession borders onto Chobe National Park’s western boundary and consists mainly of varying mopane woodland associations, but along the Linyanti River is a strip of riparian forest and open floodplains. The concession is bisected by an ancient watercourse – the now flowing Savute Channel – which provides a year round water source.
The area is famed for herds of elephant that reach the world’s highest densities in the dry winter months. Other species that are abundant include zebra, wildebeest, impala, giraffe, lechwe, reedbuck, kudu and some of the rarer species such as Sable and Roan. In addition to Lion, spotted hyaena and leopard, the area also plays host to healthy populations of cheetah and wild dog. Our trip allowed for just one night in this stunning area but we were not disappointed.
Our game drive on the final morning of our stay in Botswana provided lots of excitement with fresh tracks of Leopard, Wild Dog, Spotted Hyaena and some great sightings of general game. Unfortunately the predators managed to elude us this time around! We were however treated to a spectacular sighting of two massive Water Monitors enagegd in what appeared to be a battle over territory. The two were sizing each-other up as we arrived and after a couple of minutes they suddenly exploded into a wrestling match. The two were locked in this fight for dominance, both of them attempting to stay clear of powerful blows inflicted by the tail, before the smaller of the two scurried away and dissapered into the water filled depression. A rare and special sighting for us all!
Our journey to the airstrip on our final day took us beyond the Savute Channel, where our vehicle was surrounded by carmine bee-eaters catching insects as they were disturbed by the vehcile, to the Savuti Camp for Breakfast. This camp is one of three Classic Camps in this concession and is beautifully appointed. Since the Savute Channel has started to flow again after a 28 year absence in the region, this camp now offers canoe trips along the channel, a must for anyone staying in the area.
It was with great sorrow that I boarded the plane for our flight back to Maun that morning. This trip had really opened my eyes to what Botswana had to offer and I had never felt more at home in the bush. I believe that the Okavango Delta and its surrounding eco-systems represent some of the last true wilderness regions on the African continent and I am very excited to be extending our portfolio and including the Wilderness Safaris properties in our Botswana Packages. The standard of accommodation and levels of service offered in all of the properties that we visited are consistent with the extremely high standards which I have set for Moya Wa Tenga Safaris and I am confident that all of my guests will be looked after in they way that they are accustomed to when visiting the Wilderness Properties.
I would like to thank all of the crew that were part of this trip – I really enjoyed getting to know you guys and exploring this region together! A special thank you to Zania Claassen of Wilderness Safaris for arranging this fantastic educational and opening the door for Moya Wa Tenga’s clients to explore the wonders of Botswana.
Be sure to keep you eye on the latest news section of the website as we continue to explore various travel related aspects Botswana throughout the month of February!
Too much awesome, sho!!!!