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Botswana’s Legendary Okavango Delta – A Budget Group Tour
Tour Introduction
The Okavango Delta is on every wildlife lover’s bucket list. However, prices for lodges and concessions puts the Delta over budget for many. Now we have made the Okavango more affordable by utilising shared vehicles and a series of mobile tented camps dotted amongst some of the Okavango’s most wildlife-rich areas.
There are a many departures throughout the year from which to choose. You will be accompanied by expert naturalist guides and the camps are comfortable with private chefs, full size safari tents, complimentary drinks, camp fires, proper beds, en suite bathrooms and even hot water showers.
During this overland tour, you will cross a large expanse of the Okavango delta, starting with the famous Moremi Game Reserve, which is home to an astonishing array of African wildlife. Endangered wild dog, lion, leopard and cheetah all hunt in this patchwork landscape, with ample numbers of antelope present, including red lechwe . Close-knit family groups of elephant wander the mopane forest and scores of water-fowl wade in the marshes. A great number of bird species either reside in, or migrate to, northern Botswana, including many raptors, hornbills and Botswana’s national bird, the kori bustard. The rare and secretive Pel’s fishing owl prowls the waterways after dark.
You will then travel along the Khwai River and make camp for a night on its banks, taking time to witness the drama unfold in Dombo hippo pool.
Your final destination is the Mababe Private Reserve which contains some of the Okavango Delta’s more expensive concessions (e.g. a maximum of 20 vehicles are permitted in each concession at any one time) for a fraction of the usual cost. It also permits activities not allowed in the national parks such as offroad driving, walking safaris and spectacular night drives.
The Mababe region boasts substantial populations of both bull elephant and breeding herds. Lion, leopard, serval and African wildcat are common predators of the region with wild dog and cheetah less encountered compared with Moremi. Buffalo use this area seasonally with large herds moving in during the summer rains. Other ungulates include tsessebe, blue wildebeest, giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope and impala, with eland and oryx found in the west.
You finish with breathtaking aerial views of the Okavango Delta as you fly out, catching glimpses of larger mammals like elephant and buffalo moving through the patchwork of rivers, mopane forest and savannah.
Throughout the tour, you will witness an astonishing array of habitats in the company of like-minded travellers and explore the Okavango Delta while enjoying a wide variety of unforgettable experiences including safari game drives, walking safaris, night drives and traditional mokoro canoe trips. Please note that your exact programme of daily activities will be determined by your guide taking into account seasonal water levels, grass height, weather, recent sightings and other factors.
Tours are based on a minimum of two people with a maximum group size of seven. Transport will be in specially designed 4×4 safari vehicles, each with a fridge, retractable canvas roof and a guaranteed window seat for each passenger.
Note for Solo Travellers: No single supplement for the first three singles to book on each departure. Minimum age for children is 12 years.
Full Itinerary
Arrive at Maun International Airport, then take a charter flight into the Okavango Delta. Greeted on arrival by your guide. Enjoy your first game drive late that afternoon, then settle into your first camp where you will be for the first three nights.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Xakanaxa. Includes Dinner.
Morning and afternoon game drives within Moremi Game Reserve. Moremi is amongst the best game reserves in Africa for viewing the endangered African wild dog.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Xakanaxa. Includes All Meals.
Morning and afternoon game drives in the Xakanaxa area of the Moremi Game Reserve. Xakanaxa is home to a resident herd of several hundred buffalo whose range covers the territories of at least four prides of lion that can be seen following the transient herd.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Xakanaxa. Includes All Meals.
Following an early morning breakfast you take a slow drive through Moremi Game Reserve north-east towards the Khwai and Mababe Areas. You'll experience a mokoro excursion in the calmer back-waters of the Khwai and Mbudi channels. The Khwai river has a high density of hippo and huge bull elephants frequent the water's edge to cool themselves. Camp on the banks of the Khwai River this evening.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Khwai River. Includes All Meals.
Head further into the Mababe Private Reserve to your campsite for the final two nights of the tour. Enjoy morning and afternoon excursions, through game drives, walking, night drives and mokoro canoe trips.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Mababe. Includes All Meals.
Morning and afternoon excursions via game drives, bushwalks, night drives and mokoro canoe trips.
Staying at Letaka Tented Camp Mababe. Includes All Meals.
After breakfast, have a final game drive before reaching the Khwai airstrip. Take your scenic charter flight back to Maun airport.
Includes Breakfast.
Tour Accommodation
Overview
A mobile safari tour is an intrepid and unique way of experiencing Africa’s remaining wilderness regions. Venturing further off the increasingly beaten bush trails of Southern Africa is likely to reward you with extraordinary wildlife viewing. Within Botswana, Letaka Safaris are experts in this type of tour. Their access to private reserves and remote campsites, exceptional staff, and superb regional knowledge, provides them with a cutting edge.
A team of guides and crew will join you and your travel companions, setting up the mobile camp at each location along your itinerary route. The safari chef and camp assistants will ensure you are well supplied with excellent meals, which are eaten in a communal setting with your companions. Drinking water, soft drinks and a selection of alcoholic beverages are all included in your stay. Mobile showers are even available within your private ensuite area, adjacent to your tent.
Their modern fleet of open-sided, four-wheel drive vehicles ensure excellent wildlife viewing potential in comfort, whilst the guides are highly professional and experienced.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
The tents are a 4 x 3m Sahara style with a high roof, 2 x 3m ensuite bathroom and a 2 x 3m covered (open-sided) private porch area.
Solid base camp beds made up with mattresses, sheets, duvets and pillows. Ensuite areas consist of a long drop toilet and a bucket shower. Showers can be ordered as hot, cold or warm. *The guide withholds the right to limit water use and showering depending upon the availability of water. Towels and basic toiletries provided.
Tents have an oil/paraffin lamp on the veranda and in the bathroom and within the tent itself, a LED rechargeable camp light is supplied.
Local Wildlife
Depending on the region and campsite location, certain species may be more prevalent and easier to spot than others. In the Kalahari, Okavango and Chobe regions however, you could possibly see: Lion (including black-maned), cheetah, leopard, brown hyena, spotted hyena, wild dog, aardwolf, caracal, honey badger, elephant, giraffe, zebra, greater kudu, impala, gemsbok, steenbok, springbok, oryx and eland. Hundreds of bird species including good numbers of raptors and ostrich are present.
Optional Activities
Game drives, bushmen guided walks, mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) excursions.
Route Map
Departure Dates
Tour Dates
Adult Price
Single Supp
Travel Information
Are International Flights Included?
Yes
Best Visited:
January to December
Are you ATOL Registered?
Yes. This means we are legally able to book your international flights in conjunction with your ground arrangements so you can book with us with complete confidence. Read more about our ATOL license here.
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Jonathan Morris
Area Specialist
This trip is perfect for those with limited time and/or budget. If you have a bit more of both, you can continue to Chobe on our Okavango and Chobe Wildlife Adventure group. Extend your trip to Victoria Falls from here for a complete African adventure.
If you have any questions regarding this Tour, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
On behalf of my wife and myself, I would like to thank all at Reef and Rainforest for arranging so superbly yet another exceptional wildlife experience. As you are aware our ‘expeditions’ tend to be species led and this year’s brief was to observe and photograph the ‘Three Big Cats of Africa’ in a truly wild setting (i.e. no fences). Your recommended destination, Botswana, did not let us down, in fact the whole trip proved an outstanding success in all aspects.
We stayed in three camps (three nights in each) across the Okavango Delta and surrounding area, each provided a different environment which ensured our aims were met. Each camp was run to a very high standard, was extremely comfortable and provided excellent meals. The quality of guiding and tracking in all our camps was of the highest standard. As Botswana manages its natural resources so well all the camps were small (no more than 18 guests) ensuring a very intimate safari experience in pristine wild African habitat.
I am delighted to report our big cat objectives were realised. All observations were lengthy and offered excellent photographic opportunities. However, unexpectedly, the highlight of our spectacular trip turned out to be sightings of two separate packs of African Painted Dogs. We visited two dens, the first had a very healthy number of adult dogs, approximately fifteen and eighteen pups. The second had seven adult dogs and sixteen pups. At Lebala we had the privilege of spending a prolonged period of time following the pack of dogs as they hunted, an experience we will never forget.
When one also considers the significant mammal and bird species we observed, Botswana is truly a must visit destination for the wildlife enthusiast. Incidentally we also observed three serval and two African wild cats. We also thoroughly enjoyed our few days at Victoria Falls, possibly the most spectacular waterfall in the world, the hotel in Zimbabwe was excellent. Viewing the falls from the Zambian side and also the helicopter flight are both well worth doing.
This was our third consecutive trip with Reef and Rainforest, and I would be very surprised if there is not a fourth being planned very soon. Thank you all once again.