Botswana Revealed

Six nights in two private reserves in the north of Botswana, in two of Great Plains' smallest camps: five tents at the first, no more than ten guests at the second.

You begin deep in the Okavango Delta. Duba Explorers Camp sits on an island in the 33,000-hectare Duba concession, reached across a gum-pole bridge and shaded by jackalberry, leadwood and sycamore figs. When the floodwaters are in, the plains around camp become a maze of channels, lilies and papyrus, and you explore them the quiet way, gliding by mekoro or boat, then stepping ashore to walk with a licensed, armed guide. Game drives, by day and after dark, take you out across the floodplains and grasslands where elephant, buffalo and lechwe graze year round.

A short flight then carries you to the Selinda Reserve: 130,000 private hectares between the Okavango and the Linyanti. Selinda Explorers Camp stands on the banks of the Selinda Spillway, a channel that flows in some years and not in others. This is walking country first: you read tracks on foot with a guide who knows them, drive in the early morning and late afternoon, and canoe on the Spillway when it runs. In the dry months the permanent rivers to the north draw herds of elephant and buffalo from across northern Botswana, and wild dogs have often denned in these concessions. They are among the animals we hope you will see.

Both camps are built in the spirit of the early explorers: canvas, campaign furniture and a fire at night. All your meals and drinks are included, as are your flights between Maun and the camps and between the two camps.