A Green Season Safari through Botswana

Explore the Okavango Delta by mokoro, gliding quietly through its channels in a traditional dugout canoe with a local guide. It is one of the most peaceful ways to experience the Delta and feel the stillness of the waterways as reeds, lilies and birdlife surround you. Water levels permitting, you may spot hippos, crocodiles and red lechwe along the way.

Slow the pace with a guided nature walk through the Okavango Delta. Exploring on foot gives you a more intimate sense of the surroundings, with time to track animals, observe insects and discover the plants that are often overlooked from a vehicle. Your private guide will help you read spoor and other subtle signs, revealing how much is happening at ground level.

Head out in an open safari vehicle at first light or in the late afternoon to explore the Delta on game drives. It is one of the best ways to cover more ground with the chance to look for elephants, lions and a variety of birdlife. There is often time to pause for coffee, snacks or sundowners along the way. And in private concession areas, drives can continue after dark, when the bush feels completely different and nocturnal wildlife begins to emerge.

Set out on a guided walk with San trackers, members of the San community who bring deep knowledge of spoor, plants and survival skills in the Kalahari. As you walk together, they will share tracking techniques and practical bush knowledge. It is a chance to look beyond the bigger game and understand the environment through the people who know it most closely.

Spend time in Dinaka Camp’s hides, including underground bunkers and above-ground, eye-level viewpoints. You will be remarkably close to the camp’s wildlife-rich waterholes. Sit quitely and observe, without disturbing the animals who will come and go at their own pace. Spot antelope, birds and other desert wildlife gathering to drink. We especially love the chance to watch their behaviour unfold naturally.

Spend the night on a sleep-out deck beneath a star-filled Kalahari sky. Falling asleep out here is a special experience, with only the sounds of the bush and no walls between you and the landscape. As darkness settles, the sense of space feels even greater, and the sky above is extraordinary on a clear night. Then wake with first light as the Kalahari eases into a new day.

Head out on game drives at first light, in the late afternoon and after dark across the Makgadikgadi Pans. This is a great way to explore the area as temperatures shift and wildlife becomes more active. Look out for zebra crossing the open plains with lion and brown hyena never far away. And because the salt crust holds their tracks so clearly, each drive also becomes a lesson in reading the land.

Spend the morning near one of Jack’s Camp’s habituated meerkat families as they emerge from their burrows and begin to forage. Observe how the family works together in search of food under the watchful eye of a lookout meerkat, often perched upright on a termite mound. It is a rare chance to spend time close to them at ground level, with very little to interrupt the scene. Their familiarity with a calm human presence makes the experience feel quietly intimate.

Walk with members of the Zu/’hoasi community at Jack’s Camp and discover a different way of reading the Makgadikgadi. As you go, they show you how they interpret tracks, identify edible and medicinal plants, and navigate this vast environment with remarkable ease. You will leave with a better understanding of the pans, and of the traditions and knowledge connected to them.