Wilderness Dawning Safari
Wilderness Dawning offers very good overland safaris through northern Botswana for the more budget conscious traveler. These non-participation camping safaris accommodate a maximum of nine guests, and cover all the major game-viewing highlights of Botswana, including the Moremi Game Reserve, the Okavango Delta, the Savuti Channel, and Chobe National Park, ending in Victoria Falls. Guides have a minimum of ten years' experience conducting safaris.
Highlights of Botswana - 11 Day Safari
Day 1: Maun and Thamo Telele
Arrive in Maun at any time today before making the short drive to Thamo Telele, around 25 minutes outside town. There’s no fixed schedule, apart from a 6pm welcome meeting with your guide. Settle into your tent amongst the leadwood and acacia trees, take a dip in the pool, or head out for the camp's giraffe encounter with the resident herd - there are more than twenty of them here. Dinner is served under the stars around 7pm, with your safari officially underway. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 2: Moremi Game Reserve (Xakanaxa)
This morning, you'll make your way into the Khwai and Xakanaxa area of the Okavango Delta. Right on the eastern edge of the Delta and bordering Moremi Game Reserve, it really is one of the best game-viewing regions in Africa – and we know that’s a big claim!
For the next three nights, home is a wild camp within the reserve complete with comfy meru-style tents, private openair en-suites, real beds and duvets. It’s all pitched and struck by a dedicated crew, so all you have to worry about is falling asleep to the sound of hippos harrumphing nearby. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 3: Moremi Game Reserve
After a coffee and a rusk at dawn, it's straight out of camp and along the Okavango River for a game drive, followed by a boat trip. As you glide along the gin-clear channels and brush against the reeds, keep an eye out for painted reed frogs clinging to the papyrus, as well as kingfishers, fish eagles and pygmy geese. The Delta has a way of slowing everything down, and there’s plenty of time to simply take in the changing landscape as you move between waterways and islands. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 4: Moremi Game Reserve
Today brings two game into the northeastern reaches of the Delta, prime territory for hippo, crocodile and the elusive sitatunga, plus a serious cast of birdlife: fish eagles, herons, storks, weavers and bee-eaters among them. Brunch and a lazy midday siesta are a welcome gap before heading back out again for the afternoon drive. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 5: Moremi to Savuti
This morning, you'll cross the Khwai Bridge into Chobe National Park before travelling through the Mababe Depression towards Savuti. Botswana’s parks are unfenced, so wildlife can appear almost anywhere along the way – you may even find hippo, buffalo or lion before you reach camp.
Savuti is a landscape of wide-open plains, grasslands and dry marshes shaped by the unpredictable Savuti Channel. After settling into camp near the dry channel, head out on an afternoon game drive in search of the area’s famously large elephant bulls and lion prides. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 6: Savuti
Today brings a full day of exploring Savuti's wide-open plains and dry marshes all shaped by the unpredictable Savuti Channel, which ran dry for many years before flowing again in 2008. Elephant, lion and, with luck, leopard are all possible, while the birdlife keeps things interesting overhead. Look out for lilac-breasted rollers and kori bustards moving through the grasslands. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 7: Savuti
This is going to be another full day of adventure, with no schedule apart from whatever the wildlife decides to do next. Elephant bulls, lion prides and the possibility of seeing leopard are all still very much in play. There’s also a chance to climb one of Savuti's hills to see the ancient San rock paintings, a reminder that people have been drawn to this incredible wilderness for a very long time. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 8: Savuti to Chobe
The Chobe River is the second-largest river in Southern Africa after the Zambezi and home to some of the largest elephant herds in the world, alongside huge numbers of buffalo, hippo and lion. Today, we’ll drive from Savuti to the river with plenty of time to settle into the campsite and head out on an afternoon drive to see all the action on centre stage (the riverbank!). (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 9: Chobe River
A morning game drive along the southern bank will hopefully reveal bushbuck and puku antelope alongside the regulars, and in the afternoon it's time to swap the vehicle for a boat. The Chobe River cruise is one of the best ways in Africa to see elephant right at the water's edge, with leopard and wild dog making the occasional appearance too. And of course, it wouldn’t be a boat trip without sundowners and snacks. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 10: Chobe to Victoria Falls
Your guide will escort you smoothly across the border from Botswana into Zimbabwe, and the rest of the day is yours to marvel at Victoria Falls. At nearly a mile wide and over 100 metres high, with 550,000 tonnes of water thundering into the Zambezi Gorge every minute, it's every bit as awe-inspiring as its reputation suggests. If you're not ready to slow down, heart-pumping activities include white-water rafting, bungee jumping and even microlight flights for a magnificent birds-eye view over the landscape. (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner).
Day 11: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Savour a last breakfast before the journey home, or stay on a little longer. Victoria Falls has plenty to keep you busy
while you start planning your next trip! (Breakfast included).
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The typical camping experience. |
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The safari vehicle. |
Rates 2027
11 Day Highlights of Botswana SafariMoremi to Victoria Falls * Inquire for 2027 dates |
Tour CostUS$ |
From $5,750 per person sharing |
Single Supplement |
$400 |
Community, Conservation, and Reserve Fee |
$96 per person |
INCLUDED
Botswana Value Added Tax, Use of 4x4 vehicles, professional guide, back up vehicles and camp staff, all camping equipment (including camp bed, mattress, sleeping bag, fitted sheet, pillow and pillow case), camping on full board (excluding drinks), 1 night accommodation in Victoria Falls (B&B only), 1 night accommodation in Maun on the 14 day safari (B&B), Botswana National Parks entrance and camping fees, full day boating in the delta, charter flight into Xakanaxa on the 10 day safari.
NOT INCLUDED
Airfares, mineral water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, any gratuities, any personal expenses, visa fees and departure taxes, optional boat cruise in Chobe, travel insurance, extra activities not specified.