Okavango
Delta
Departures: Wednesday
Departs: Johannesburg, Pretoria. Any Backpackers hostel, hotel, guest house
Ends: Johannesburg, Pretoria. Any Backpackers hostel, guest house, hotel or airport
Day 1: Nata (Botswana)
We depart early morning from Johannesburg
& Pretoria. Your guide will stop en-route for breakfast (own cost) and last
minute shopping, before reaching the Botswana border. You will get an
opportunity to change money, after crossing the border, from where we head
further north to Nata, where we camp the night.
Dinner included
Day 2: Maun (Botswana)
The day starts with an early morning
breakfast, before heading west along the northern border of the Kalahari Desert
to Maun. We stay the night at a great campsite just outside Maun, where you can
visit the crocodile farm, or relax by the swimming pool.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
included
Days 3, 4, 5: Okavango Delta (Botswana)
The Okavango Delta must be one of the best
experiences offered in southern Africa, and offers a large variety of mammal,
reptile and bird species. It is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places in
southern Africa. Untouched for hundreds of years.
We start the day with a large breakfast,
before heading into the Okavango Delta with 4x4 open-sided game viewing
vehicles. The local guides (polers) will be waiting for us in the park at the
waterline, where we transfer all the equipment and our personal belongings into
mokoros (traditional dug out canoes). From here we glide down the water channels
deeper into the Okavango Delta, searching for the ideal place to set up camp.
There will be no fences, no running water, no showers, no buildings and no
electricity. We camp in the wild with only what we take with us. After lunch you
cool off in a natural swim hole in the rivers.
Every day we will do early morning and late afternoon game walks, searching for
as many different animal species as possible. The guides will explain more about
all the animals, tracks and the Delta during these walks. You will have the
opportunity to get as close as possible (safety first) to the wildlife of the
Okavango Delta.
After dinners you can relax with the guides around a campfire, while listening
to their stories about the bush, animals, their cultures and of course listening
to the sounds of animals at night in Africa.
You start your last morning in the Okavango delta with a cup of coffee before
doing your final game walk. After the walk you will enjoy breakfast, break down
camp, and then return by mokoros to the place where the 4x4 vehicles will meet
you.
Your guide will prepare a light lunch on return to camp in Maun. This afternoon
you have the opportunity to do an optional one hour flight over the Okavango
Delta, during which you are guaranteed to see many large herds of animals, as
well as many single or smaller groups of animals.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
included
Day 6: Palapye (Botswana)
This morning we head south to Palapye, where you can relax by the pool.
Please note that we might stay the night at Nata or at Elephant Sands.
Breakfast, Dinner included
Day 7: Return to Johannesburg & Pretoria
(South Africa)
We depart early morning for Johannesburg & Pretoria. Your guide will stop
en-route for breakfast (own cost).
No meals included
Included:
Excluded:
-
All drinks (except coffee & tea with meals)
-
Meals not specified below
-
Optional flight over Okavango Delta
-
Visas if needed
Camping
Camping is pretty much camping
throughout the world. The tents that we use are: 2.4 x 2.4 meters in
size with built in mosquito nets over the door and windows. All camping
equipment is provided by us. The mattresses used are proper sponge
mattresses with covers that are washed after each tour.
Clients must have a sleeping bag, but
can rent one from us at R50 per person per tour, if they do not have a
sleeping bag of their own.
Okavango Delta free camping
We enter the Okavango Delta with
traditional transport used by the locals for a very long time. This form
of transport (left) is called mokoros and the guy at the back with the
long stick is called a poler. It is an awesome experience and very
relaxing. More often than not, we will see animals such as elephant
while travelling deeper and deeper into the Okavango Delta.
The area that we visit while in the
Okavango Delta is totally untouched. No power boats or planes and
landing strips, no fancy lodges or villages. Just us and mother nature.
Probably one of the most untouched areas in southern Africa, with an
enormous variety of wildlife.
This also means that you will not be
staying in a fancy lodge or camp ground, will be doing free camping.
What is free camping? Well, any one of
our guides will tell you that it is the best way of camping. We find an
ideal patch of trees along the waterways that is suitable for us to
camp. This means that there are no fences, electricity, buildings or
bathrooms. All that it is, is us plus what we are able to carry with us
in the mokoros.
The polers will dig a hole and build a
toilet seat from palm tree leaves. Unfortunately we do not have a shower
for these days, but we do have many natural swim holes in the rivers.
These swim holes has crystal clear water and are extremely welcome when
the temperatures reaches Africa style maximums during the afternoons.
Bedded Accommodation
Nata: Clients who book
bedded or lodge accommodation will normally stay in safari tents with
bathrooms, built on platforms. Please note that two people from the same
sex might have to share a safari tent. We will pay for the next upgrade
available, if there are no safari tents available. It might happen
during the high tourist season that the lodge is full, and that you will
be staying in a 4 bed chalet with bathroom.
Maun: The camp that we stay at
in Maun, is an overland campsite with a few wooden rooms. You will be
using shared ablutions (bathrooms). No further accommodation upgrades
available.
There are crocodile farm with hundreds
of small, medium and very large crocodiles. Make sure to do a guided
tour for only a few dollars.
Maun is one of those places where it
gets extremely hot, like most of Botswana. Cool off in the pool or have
a refreshing cold drink at the bar. Other services is hand washed (super
clean) laundry.
This camp is definitely a great place
to stay over, where you will meet many other travellers, and have a
great relaxing time after coming out of the Okavango Delta.
Palapye: The
accommodation in Palapye is in safari tents with two single beds, and
without bathroom.
Important tour / safari information
Participation tours: All tours
are participation tours. This means that the clients are responsible for
pitching their own tents (except inside Kruger Park), and washing up
after every meal, which is social event where people chat and get to
know each other. Some guides may ask the clients to assist with the
chopping and cleaning of vegetables, while the guide prepares the meals.
Group sizes: We operate a
variety of different vehicles. Our largest vehicles seats a maximum of
14 clients. Therefore , except for our open vehicles inside Kruger
National Park which are not allowed to seat more than 10 clients. It
occasionally happen that we will have two vehicles on the same tour.
What to take on tour: Clothing
and personal effects Comfortable shoes for walking Warm clothing for the
evenings Basic first aid kit Insect repellent Anti-Malaria medicine
Sunblock and cap or hat Comfortable shoes for walking Slip slops or
trainers Camera with extra film & batteries Torch with extra batteries
Tent, sleeping bag and roll matt:
We provides all the camping equipment including a roll matt with
cover that is washed after every tour, and a 2.2 x 2.2 (meters) or 2.4 x
2.4 (meters) tent with built in mosquito netting over the door and
windows, as well as a built in floor. You must have a sleeping bag on
all of the camping tours, which you can rent from us at R50 per person
per tour, if you do not have one of your own. Inside Kruger National
Park we have a permanent camp. We do not use roll matts on these tours,
but have single bed mattresses with fitted sheets that are washed after
tour.
Malaria areas: Many of the
areas and destinations in southern and east Africa are malaria areas. It
is the responsibility of the client to ensure that you have insect
repellent and a course of anti-malaria tablets. Consult your local
doctor or pharmacist.
Water: All drinks (except
coffee & tea with meals) are excluded from the tour price. All tap water
in areas where we do tours to, are 100% safe to drink, and tastes very
good. Bottled water is freely available (every day), for those who
prefer bottled water.
Laws and clients: We expect our
clients to uphold the laws of each country that we visit while on tour.
We do not accept any responsibility for any client on our tours, who
breaks the laws of any country visited during a tour.
Be considered: Sometimes our
guides are asked to stop at local villages along the road, so that
clients can take photos. Nothing wrong with that, but then we often see
the people just walking into a village taking photos, instead of doing
it from the road. Keep in mind that a village will normally be a family
living together. How would you feel if a stranger just walks into your
yard or home and start taking photos?
Our clients: All our
clients are international travellers from different countries. The ages
of our clients range from 18 to 60, with the majority being between 20
and 40. All that we require from our clients is that they must enjoy
travelling and be fun-loving people. You do not need to be super fit to
participate in any of our included activities or adventures.
Our crew (guides & drivers):
All our guides and drivers are registered with the authorities as per
government regulations.
Our vehicles: All game
drives inside Kruger National Park will be done in open sided game
viewing vehicles.
Our tours: We offer a variety
of tours and safaris to a variety of destinations, from 3 days to 16
days. You have the option of camping or lodge (bedded) accommodation,
while on any of our tours / safaris.
Important:
Before you travel please check your Tour Voucher and Arrival
Information for the latest joining instructions. This will be sent
to you upon receipt of final payment.
All itineraries are subject to change without prior notice.
