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| 9 Day Deserts of Botswana 4x4 |
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| Maun, (Okavango Delta – optional) Makgadikgadi National Park, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Khutse game reserve, Gaborone
There will be 2 nights in the Kalahari where you will overnight either in your rooftop tents or in a public campsite – lodge accommodation is not available.
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After your arrival in Maun you will be met by a representative and shown to your car. You will receive your maps and travel documentation and go through the usual formalities before driving away with your vehicle – based on the sometimes unpredictable terrain it is strongly suggested that you drive a 4x4 for this particular self drive. You will spend tonight in Maun – the gateway to the Okavango Delta.
Overnight Maun
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Travel
Tip: Click
here for Travel Tips in this region |
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distance: app 300 KM
Departing Maun you will drive towards Gweta. Gweta is your last stop before driving to the Makgadikgadi Pansand surrounds. From Gweta access is limited to 4x4 vehicles only. We suggest you also bring a good supply of water for your drive. The Makgadikgadi Pans were once the centre of a great lake that has now been dry for more than 2000 years. Today it is thought to be the largest saltpan in the world. Spend tonight in one of the world’s most stunning wilderness areas.
Overnight Makgadikgadi Pans area |
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Travel
Tip: Click
here for Travel Tips in this region |
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Today you will drive around the Makgadkigadi National Park and surrounding pans. Makgadikgadi consists of 2 large saltpans, Sowa and Ntwetwe, and a number of smaller pans. As the summer rains fill up the pans, fish and aquatic shrimp which have been dormant under the mud, come to life. This forms the breeding ground for the fabulous flamingos, pelicans and sometimes waders that are attracted by the rich food supply. The grasslands of Makgadikgadi National Park are home to large herds of antelope which in turn attract an impressive array of hungry predators – making an amazing natural eco-system.
Nxai Pan National park is set on the northern fringe of the Makgadikgadi basin and includes Nxai Pan, an ancient lakebed that was once part of the ancient lake Makgadikgadi.
Nxai Pan, Lake Ngami, Lake Xau, the Mababe Depression, Ntwetwe Pan, Sua Pan and the Okavango Delta are all remnants of this gigantic lake. Your lodge will also have quadbikes (in the dry winter months) available for you take across the pans where vehicles are to heavy to go. Also possible is a night of wilderness camping on the pans. Walks with a Bushman tracker and a visit to Chapman's Baobab - the historical baobab tree used by the early explorers are also possible.
Overnight on the Pans |
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Travel
Tip: Click
here for Travel Tips in this region |
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The Northern Part of the Kalahari is not very hospitable – please make sure you are well stocked with water and we strongly recommend that you be accompanied by a lead guide and vehicle.
After breakfast you will depart the Makgadikgadi National Park and head in a southerly direction to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Access to Matswere can be made via Rakops, where petrol and diesel are available most of the time. From Rakops it is 55 kilometres to the check-in point at Matswere. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the largest game reserve in Botswana covering 32 808 square miles (52,800 square kilometres) and has until recently been closed to the public.The brilliant stars in the Kalahari night skies with the cool desert breeze is a wild experience not to be missed.
Overnight Central Kalahari
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Travel
Tip: Click
here for Travel Tips in this region |
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The Kalahari is the largest sand basin in the world. It stretches from the north of South Africa, into Namibia and Angola and ending in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Kalahari is remote, unending, and has an unforgiving climate and incredibly harsh terrain. These factors have helped keep it pristine, and only the experienced 4x4 desert traveller would venture into the reserve alone. Tourists that do visit the Kalahari are rewarded with untamed Africa at its best. Safari lodges based in various parts of the Kalahari often hire people of Bushman origin to guidevisitors into the desert and to impart their wisdom of how to survive, by digging up tubers for water and catching ostriches. In the North of the Central Kalahari are Crail’s Pan, Piper Pan and Xade Pan where you can view the animals in their natural habitat.
Overnight Central Kalahari |
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Travel
Tip: Click
here for Travel Tips in this region |
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After breakfast and an early morning game drive you will drive south towards Khutse Game Reserve. The 2,500 km² Khutse Game Reserve was opened in 1971, on Bakwena tribal land. Prior to this date, very few people lived in this harsh area of undulating plains of dry Kalahari bush savannah. Those who did were subsistence farmers / gatherers and limited hunters as they could only keep “stock” for a limited period of time. A wildlife reserve was therefore considered to be a good alternative form of land use.
Overnight Khutse
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Travel
Tip: Click
here for Travel Tips in this region |
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Spend today enjoying activities in Khutse. Activities on offer are a complete range of bush experiences from game drives into the reserve, fly camping and the popular bush breakfast. Or you could try our guided walks that interpret the tracks and signs of the wild. All activities are focussed into the Khutse Game Reserve. The waterholes attract a wide variety of game and bird-life and in turn attracting the predators including leopard, cheetah and our famous black mane lion. Also on the actvitites list is cultural interaction with the people of the Kalahari.
Overnight Khutse
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Departing Khutse Kalahari Lodge you will drive to Gaborone where you will spend the night. Often described as Africa's fastest growing city, Botswana's capital Gaborone is a vibrant and colourful city, which lies in the flat valley between Kgale and Oodi hills, on the Notwane River in the south eastern corner of Botswana, 15km from the South African border post at Tlokweng.
The city is named after Kgosi (Chief) Gaborone who led the Batlokwa tribe into the area in the 1880s.
Today Gaborone is a bustling modern city, and the seat of power for one of Africa's most successful economies.
There are numerous busy shopping malls offering full range of imported and locally produced goods, excellent restaurants, top international quality hotels, sports clubs and various night clubs.
Overnight Gaborone
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Travel
Tip: Click
here for Travel Tips in this region |
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Today you will explore “Gabs” and work your way towards the airport dropping off your car before connecting with your international flight.
Overnight Gaborone |
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8 nights accommodation as per itinerary
Meals as per basis at Lodge / B&B / Hotel
9 days car hire
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Flights
Optional Activities
Travel insurance
Entrance / Concession fees
Additional meals and beverages
Personal insurance
Additional nights
Visas if required
Guide / driver
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* Please note that accommodation is limited and wilderness camping or a public campsite may be neccessary.
Prices are indications only and are subject to change.
Please note in rainy season this route becomes challenging and we recommend that you allow a guide / lead drive to drive in his own vehicle with you. |
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