I felt a bit nervous before our trip to Botswana. Would the whole family agree with my idea that the wildlife viewing should be the entire focus of the trip? Might I have jumped in too much at the deep end by going for a camping safari when we had never even been to Africa before?
But I needn’t have worried. Our guide, Vincent, was clearly an expert on not only the big mammals, but on the birds as well. His skill at spotting and tracking animals was so great that we were seeing fascinating animals everywhere we looked. Also, his enthusiasm for the animals was very clear.
Thanks to Vincent, we were able to see just about all of the possible predators. We saw a male lion striding calmly out in the open, not hiding away in the grass. A leopard walked past which would have been thrilling if that had been all, but Vincent was then able to follow it through the vegetation, and we got further excellent views of it in a tree. The photographers in the family were having a wonderful time with the big cats, but also with the beautiful zebras, giraffes and many kinds of antelopes.
Wild dogs are extremely rare, so to be able to see a pack of them making a kill, and then taking the food back to the pups at the den, was an amazing highlight. Another highlight was to sit eating our lunch on our longer drive between the two camps and watch a family of elephants bathing and drinking in the water, incredibly close to us.
Our trip in a mokoro (a boat a bit like a punt) was a peaceful parade of water birds. The bird life was incredibly varied, from tiny bee-eaters, to storks, eagles, and even owls. The winning bird for vibrant colours had to be the beautiful lilac-breasted roller.
As for the camping, it was a very special experience. We could hear hippos in the river from our tents. It put us right in the heart of the two reserves that we stayed in, so that we were seeing animals very quickly every time we set off on a drive, and we were very well looked after by the camp staff. The chill of the early morning wakeup call was compensated by the delicious breakfast, and then by the blankets and hot water bottles provided in the jeep.
The rather luxurious approach continued with a morning stop for hot drinks and home-made biscuits halfway through our morning drive, then when we got back to camp a delicious lunch was waiting, as was hot water in the camp showers which was plenty of water.
Then after our siesta, watching monkeys in the trees around the campsite, and afternoon tea, we went for our second game drive of the day followed by a drink by the camp fire and then a 3-course dinner, all cooked on a camp fire by the talented chef. Camping was certainly not a tough option; thanks to everything being provided for us, we were pretty spoilt.
The second part of our trip, after the camping, was spent staying in a lodge right next to the Chobe River. Warthog, bush buck and banded mongoose wandered past in the grounds. River boat trips brought us wonderful close up views of crocodiles and hippopotamus, and even an elephant swimming. And we could cool off in the swimming pool in the afternoons.
For anyone who has always wanted to go on a safari where you concentrate on seeing brilliant views of the animals and birds in their natural habitat, the Families Worldwide bush safari in Botswana with an expert guide is certainly the way to achieve that ambition.
Images by Paul & Daniel Curzon.
Find out more about our Okavango Delta Family Safari, or to book your place, speak to our team.
