Botswana - Okavango Delta & Victoria Falls
Sunday 25th October to Sunday 8th November 2009
AA9016
Botswana
immediately evokes memories of wildest Africa and visions of the
Okavango – the world’s largest inland delta. This fantastic wilderness
of crystal clear waterways, mopane woodland and vast unfenced game
reserves with enormous herds of wild animals and superb avifauna is an
amazing spectacle and an area one must surely visit. We shall explore
the Moremi Game Reserve, Khwai River, Xakanaxa Lagoons, the Panhandle
and end with a two night stay at the dramatic Victoria Falls. This is a
tremendously exciting lodge and mobile camp safari, offering stunning
views of many
of Africa’s birds and other wildlife!
Days 1 & 2: An overnight flight
from London to Johannesburg, followed by a flight to Maun where we will
be met by Letaka Safaris and driven to our base at Xakanaxa, for a three
night stay. We will encounter every type of mopane habitat during the
drive, from towering cathedral woodlands, through drier and harsher
habitats, extensive stretches of scrub to classic mopane woodland, as
well as large floodplains. One would typically expect to see good
numbers of Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Giraffe, Impala, Zebra, Greater Kudu
and Steenbuck during our journey. This route reliably produces good
predators also, particularly Lion and Wild Dog.
Raptors, hornbills and brood-parasites are normally plentiful and
include the following species, African Hawk-Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Shikra,
Little Sparrowhawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Tawny Eagle, Red-billed,
African Grey & Bradfield’s Hornbills, Diderick, Levaillant’s, & Jacobin
Cuckoos, Shaft-tailed & Eastern Paradise Whydahs and Lesser Honeyguide.
Overnight - Letaka Tented Camp, Xakanaxa
Days 3 & 4: Moremi lies on the
eastern extremity of the Okavango Delta. Habitats here range from
wide-open floodplains, marshes, lagoons, papyrus fringed channels, vast
reedbeds of Miscanthus and Phragmites, woodland and savannah. As a
result of the extremely variable habitat the diversity of both birdlife
and other wildlife is excellent. Game drives and boat excursions will
enable us to experience and enjoy a wide range of bird and mammal
species. The swampy areas of Xakanaxa are home to African Rail,
Coppery-tailed & Black Coucals, Redchested Flufftail, Luapula Cisticola
and Allen’s Gallinule, to name but a few. The open waters attract
African Skimmer, Saddle-billed & Yellow-billed Storks, Intermediate
Egret, Goliath Heron and African Fish Eagle as well as the globally
threatened Slaty Egret and Wattled Crane. Moremi is amongst the best
game reserves in Africa for viewing the endangered African Wild Dog,
while Xakanaxa is home to a resident herd of several hundred buffalo, at
least four prides of lions and many elephants. Red Lechwe is one of the
more unusual antelope species commonly found.
Overnights - Letaka Tented Camp, Xakanaxa
Day 5: Today we transfer to the
Manuchira Channel, which is known as the Khwai River at its eastern
extremity. Our journey follows the water course via floodplains and
woodlands that make Khwai one of the most scenic areas of the Okavango.
A stop at the magnificent Dombo Hippo Pools should make an interesting
interlude. Birdlife is plentiful and Leopard, Cheetah, Serval and Lion
are common predators along the route, with two packs of Wild Dogs also
present.
Overnight - Letaka Tented Camp, Khwai River
Days 6 & 7: On game drives and
bird walks we’ll spend our time between the dry-land habitats of the
Leadwood & Camelthorn Woodlands, savannahs and the marshy back-waters of
the Khwai, truly one of Botswana’s birding meccas. The western reaches
are prime habitat for the uncommon Rosy-throated Longclaw. This entire
length of river is the hunting domain of Bat Hawk and many other raptor
species and the waterways host African Rail, African Crake, Greater
Painted Snipe, Allen’s Gallinule, Lesser Jacana and Lesser Moorhen.
Predators and their prey species are well represented by Lion, Leopard,
Serval, African Wild Cat, Red Lechwe, Tsesebe, Blue Wildebeest, Kudu,
Sable, Roan and Impala.
Overnights - Letaka Tented Camp, Khwai River
Day 8: Today we travel to Maun,
a frontier town situated on the banks of the Thamalakane River, one of
the fingers of the Okavango Delta. A game drive and a walking safari
should bring us into contact with a high diversity of birdlife. Some of
the highlight species are Pennantwinged Nightjar, Cuckoo Hawk,
Rosy-throated Longclaw and Lesser Jacana.
Overnight - Letaka Tented Camp, Sitatunga
Day 9: Our destination today is
the Panhandle of the Okavango. Travelling into open savannah, punctuated
with occasional large trees, tells us that we are in habitat typical of
the northern Kalahari. If time permits we’ll visit the famous Lake
Ngami, which supports masses of wetland species.
Overnight - Drotsky’s Lodge, Panhandle
Days 10 & 11: The Pan Handle of
the Okavango is a section of river approximately 100km long and extends
from where the river widens into a number of channels travelling
parallel to the main stream. The habitats consist of riparian forest,
lagoons, massive floating beds of Papyrus, Phragmites reedbeds and arid
Kalahari Savannah. The Panhandle is a birding paradise, steep river
banks provide ideal breeding habitat Southern Carmine & White-fronted
Bee-eaters and the area has highest density of the Pel’s Fishing Owl
than anywhere else. There are also many other attractive species:
White-backed Night Heron, Bat Hawk, African Fish
Eagle, African Skimmer,Wood Owl, Malachite Kingfisher, Greater Swamp
Warbler, Copperytailed Coucal and Golden Weaver to name but a few. This
area of the Okavango is also the best place in southern Africa to see
the rare and secretive Sitatunga Antelope.
Overnights - Drotsky’s Lodge, Panhandle
Day 12: Our journey to Victoria
Falls, along the southern border of Zambia and Angola, is a beautiful
one, with scenery dominated by Miombo woodlands on high, rolling dunes.
During our long drive we may see,Western-banded Snake-Eagle, Red-faced
Crombec, Racket-tailed Roller and Tropical Boubou. Our final destination
is the Livingstone area on the Zambian side of the falls.
Overnight - Taita Falcon Lodge, Victoria Falls
Day 13: Our itinerary on this,
our last full tour day, includes the Zambezi River, other habitats
around the Livingstone area and memorable views of the mighty Victoria
Falls. The tropical rainforest bordering the falls is home to a number
of wonderful bird species, including Schalow’s Turaco, Trumpeter
Hornbill, Collared Sunbird and Yellow-bellied Greenbul. On the upper
Zambezi we hope to find Rock Pratincole, African Finfoot, Half-Collared
Kingfisher, White-crowned Lapwing, African Skimmer, Narina
Trogon,Western-banded Snake Eagle, Miombo Pied Barbet, Black
Cuckooshrike, Orange-breasted Bush Shrike and a host of riparian
forest species. A boat cruise will take us to Mosi-O-Tunya National
Park, the last refuge for White Rhinoceros in the country. The park also
houses elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and a number of antelope
species.
Overnight - Taita Falcon Lodge, Victoria Falls.
Day 14: After breakfast we catch a domestic flight from Livingstone to Johannesburg and connect with our flight back to UK, where we arrive on Day 15.