Botswana
Images courtesy A&K
What We Love
Anne with Jabu, one of Doug Groves' rescued elephants
- Roughly the size of France, Botswana is known for two things: the Kalahari Desert and the completely magical Okavango Delta, a sort of inland sea fed by seasonal flooding. As the water dries up, the animals concentrate.
- Botswana is known as a forerunner in wildlife conservation. It has one of the most thoughtful and strictly enforced land plans ever devised. The country has chosen a sustainable strategy to generate jobs and income from conserved land. It offers low-volume, high-quality tourism, which takes place on large private tracts of land with strict limits on development and guests.
- Most of the camps here are small with abundant game. One of our favorite camps has over 35,000 elephants visiting the nearby parks each year.
Things To See & Do
- Choose from canoe, motorized boat, or automobile day trips with a professional guide.
- Spend a day "Walking with the Elephants" with Doug and Sandi Groves' semi-habituated herd as they move about their daily lives. The peace and security that one feels as they adjust to the elephants’ world, walking with them through the bush, and being welcomed into their group is well worth the time.
- Birders will keep busy identifying the hundreds of unique and beautiful species.
Where to Stay:
Most of the camps in Botswana are very small in size, accommodating 4–20 people, and they are often only accessible by air charter. This low-volume, high-quality approach to tourism makes these camps some of our favorites in Africa.