7 Day Okavango Gateway

Day 1

Arrive at Johannesburg International Airport,where you will be met in the Arrivals Hall by our representative. He will be holding a board with your names on it, and will hand you your Air Botswana tickets, and then show you to the Air Botswana check-in terminals.

Flight BP212 departs Johannesburg at 10h10, arriving at Maun Airport at 11h50. Check-in time for this flight will be 1.5 hours prior to departure time.

Upon arrival at Maun Airport, having cleared customs there, you will be met in the Arrivals Hall by a representative of Delta Air, who will assist you with your luggage, and then show you to the light aircraft for your charter flight to Xakanaxa Camp. This flight will take around 25 minutes, and provides you with amazing views of the Okavango Delta itself.

At Xakanaxa Camp airstrip, you will be met by the Guide who will be taking care of you for the next couple of days, and he will drive you to the camp which lies around 10 minutes away.

You will be accommodated in a double ‘walk-in’ meru style tent with en-suite facilities.

Xakanaxa Camp is a true year round land and water experience. Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Wild Dog, Hyena, Giraffe, Hippo, Sable Antelope, Wildebeest, Kudu, Lechwe, Sitatunga and many more predator and antelope are resident. Most of Botswana’s national bird list of 550 species are resident or migrants, and include Pel’s Fishing Owl and Slaty Egret.

This is one of the few Botswana lodges that can offer all year round boating trips, as well as extensive 4×4 drives into outstanding game country. The Moremi Reserve is rated as one of Africa’s finest game-viewing areas, offering sanctuary to abundant herds of elephant, sable, giraffe, tsessebe, lechwe, wildebeest, impala and waterbuck. Lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog and hyena complete the picture.

Birding is quite spectacular, especially during spring and summer when the migrants breed. Huge numbers of breeding storks and herons are attracted to the world-famous heronries which lies to the north of the lodge. Nature walks on nearby Falcons.

After your afternoon activity you will return to the Camp for cocktails and a dinner served overlooking the lagoons.

Day 2-3

An early morning wake-up call, some tea, coffee and cereals before going out on a Game Drive. The area around Xakanaxa Camp is varied in its vegetation; Savannah, Mopane forest and lakeside, each offers different game viewing opportunities.

After around 4 hours game viewing you will return to the Camp for a Brunch and a rest during the heat of the day. Xakanaxa has a plunge pool and sun deck.

High tea is served in the afternoon after which you will go out on safari again, either by game viewing vehicle or motor boat – your choice.

Your final Xakanaxa dinner accompanied by the sounds of the bush.

Day 4

After a light breakfast, you will board a motorised Delta craft, for the boat transfer to Kwara Camp. This transfer will take around 1.5 hours, and will take you through the many twisting channels of the Okavango, with an opportunity to see the prolific bird life, crocodiles and hippo.

Arrive at Kwara Camp jetty, where you will be met by a representative of the lodge, and driven the 10 minutes to the Camp.

Kwara Camp is located in the remote northern part of the stunning Okavango Delta within the private Kwara concession. The camp fronts onto a huge floodplain, adjacent to the permanent water of the Delta and is backed by extensive bush. It is a magnificent wilderness area in excess of 1,700 square kilometres, bordering the Moremi Reserve. Kwara encompasses a wide diversity of habitats, ranging from the clear Delta waters with reed-lined lagoons and channels, to open grasslands, mopane woodlands and palm-fringed Falcons.

The eight luxury safari-style tents are built on raised decks, within a grove of huge and ancient African Ebony trees. Resident hippos will generally serenade you year round from the water on the floodplain in front of the camp. Each tent has its own viewing deck, private en-suite facilities including hot and cold running showers, flush toilets and modern amenities.

The forested Falcon on which the camp sits is typical of those encountered throughout the vast 1.6 million hectares of the Okavango Delta.

Lunch will be served after your arrival, followed by an afternoon activity and dinner.

Day 6

Due to the specific location of the camp, Kwara is able to offer, power boating, mekoro (dug out canoe) trips, walks and game drives – all year round. In addition Kwara is in a large private concession enabling the game drives to operate both off road and at night. The presence of permanent water ensures year round game viewing and also allows mekoro trips in shallow water throughout the year. Kwara has a double-deck pontoon boat which allows guests to get very close to birds and animals for up-close photography and game viewing. Well-trained, armed guides will also conduct game walks through the Falcons of the Delta and transfer their knowledge to their guests. Fishing at Kwara is also superb and the famed Tiger Fish, as well as Bream, Catfish and Pike are frequent catches. Kwara subscribes to the catch and release policy.

The area is home to an astounding array of animal and bird life, including Lion, Hyena, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. There are good populations of Elephant, Buffalo and Zebra and over 300 species of birds. Antelope species are prolific with good populations of the rare sable antelope. Trips to the wondrous Gadikwe Lagoon – one of the largest breeding colonies on Botswana, are an absolute must. In season (from September to December), you will see thousands of birds and their young in their annual nesting grounds with amazing interactions. It is here that guests will most appreciate the double-deck boat as they are able to peer into the birds’ nests from above.

Day 7

After an early breakfast, a game-viewing activity of your choice and lunch, you will be air chartered from Kwara Camp back to Maun Airport, where you will connect withAir Botswana, flight BP211, departing Maun at 15h00, and arriving back in Johannesburg at 16h40.