Let’s Circumnavigate Botswana’s Great Kalahari in 2022 – only 1 spot left!
A Scheduled Trip to Botswana
Highlights
Instead of dashing in and out of this vast reserve after spending a scant 2-3 days here, we will circumnavigate the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, passing by pans and valleys with names like Piper’s Pan, Sunday Pan, Passarge Valley, hoping to see the famous black-maned Kalahari lions, cheetah, vast herds of oryx and other desert-adapted species like springboks, brown hyena, porcupine, red hartebeest, blue wildebeest, and all manner of birds and reptiles.
Scheduled group tour from
June 12, 2022 - June 25, 2022
Starting from
USD 9,660
per person sharing
Duration
17 days / 16 nights
Transport
Overland Safari
Accommodation
Mobile Tented Camps
Exploring
Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Nxai Pan National Park
About this Safari
Hark…Do You Hear the Cry of the Kalahari
Dear Adventurers and Explorers,
For many of us Africa enthusiasts, Mark & Delia Owens’ memoir, The Cry of the Kalahari, was a seminal book, actually a transformative book that encouraged, nay willed us, to get off our armchairs and head out to explore Africa in person. Many of us have made short forays into the CKGR since then – visiting Deception Valley, the Owens’ campsites and marveling at the work they did and the adventures they had – not so long ago, really. This safari, whilst not quite 7 years long, is an attempt to recreate some of their moxie and magic.
Instead of dashing in and out of this vast reserve after spending a scant 2-3 days here, we will circumnavigate the Game Reserve, passing by pans and valleys with names like Piper’s Pan, Sunday Pan, Passarge Valley, hoping to see the famous black-maned Kalahari lions, cheetah, vast herds of oryx and other desert-adapted species like springboks, brown hyena, porcupine, red hartebeest, blue wildebeest, and all manner of birds and reptiles.
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is located smack-dab in the center of Botswana and is often overlooked by visitors in favor of the famed Okavango Delta or the Linyanti or Chobe. But for those of you who have already visited the Delta and the north, the vast Kalahari plains, in season, reveal yet more facets of this fascinating country. We will have the privilege of visiting San bushmen on the Boteti River as they take us with them on a morning walk and give us a glimpse into their culture. We will then visit Nxai Pan NP and end our journey at a private concession outside the Makgadikgadi Pans, for close encounters with habituated meerkats and we hope, with vast herds of zebra on chalk-white pans.
We will be guided on our journey by Sam Mopalo, who knows these areas intimately.
Sangeeta & Sam
Tour Highlights
- A morning spent with San Bushmen at Meno A Kwena
- A deep dive into the CKGR, exploring its many nooks and crannies
- Chasing the Zebra Migration in Nxai Pan
- Visiting habituated meerkats at Camp Kalahari 😊
- Visiting the vast Makgadikgadi Pans that stretch endlessly into the horizon
- Black-maned Kalahari lions, meerkats, brown hyena, cheetah, oryx and an abundance of desert species
- Kalahari sunrises and Makgadikgadi sunsets
An icy Amarula around a cozy campfire…does it get any better than this?
Tour Dates: June 12, 2022 – June 25, 2022
Group size: 6 person small group tour
Cost: The cost of this 16-night trip is USD 9660 per person (This averages out to USD 600 per night). No Supplement for Single Rooms.
Please note: The dates of this trip may shift by a day or two in either direction, since we are juxtaposing this safari with our Omo-Turkana safari in 2022, and the exact start date will depend on flight connections from Nairobi to Maun.
https://www.chaloafrica.com/safari-tours/lets-go-to-omo-turkana-in-2022-ethiopia-kenya/
or call our African safari specialists at
+1 703 220 6393 or +91 9717 275237
Day By Day Itinerary
DAY 1: ARRIVE IN MAUN, BOTSWANA
Welcome to Maun, Botswana, where we will be met by the ground team and transferred to our guesthouse for the night. Depending on what time we get in, we’ll try and squeeze in some activities today. Otherwise, get some rest after your flight – we will meet our guide Sam at dinner this evening, when he will brief us about the trip…
Contact us for the full itinerary.
DAY 2: BUSH FLIGHT FROM MAUN TO CKGR
After an early breakfast, we will head back to the airport for our flight to Tau Pan, the first stop on our exploration of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). We will go on a game drive in the surrounding areas today.
Tau Pan was the first…
Contact us for the full itinerary.
DAYS 3-4-5: PASSARGE VALLEY
Today, our mobile camping expedition begins with 3 nights in the famous Passarge Valley, to the north east of Tau Pan. The geology of the Passarge Valley is such that it provides optimal grazing (and therefore viewing) for Kalahari game, who gather in large herds and attract a variety of predators, including cheetah, lion, leopard and brown hyena. But the wildlife activity doesn’t just exist on the ground, there is plenty going on in the sky- Montague’s harrier, pygmy falcon and Steppe eagle can often be seen wheeling in the skies and rarer sightings include the endangered lappet-faced vulture. This area of the CKGR is one of the most productive in the entire reserve…
Contact us for the full itinerary.
DAYS 6-7: PIPER'S PANS
He who follows the Piper sees the Pan… The Central Kalahari in Botswana has many fascinating features, none less intriguing than the clay pans that are found periodically on the landscape, that hold water long into the dry season. The pans are an integral part of the Kalahari and many are named, though the meanings are mostly of unknown origin.
Piper’s Pans are a place of extraordinary beauty, a place where pans of differing sizes and soil types fuse into a pattern of intricate
Contact us for the full itinerary.
DAYS 8-9-10: DECEPTION VALLEY
The most famous of the pans is undoubtedly Deception Pan, so named because of the weird mirage-type illusion of beautiful blue water when viewed from a distance at certain times of the day. What causes the illusion is uncertain but at some moments, the clay in the pan can have a blue tinge when seen from close up. This illusion has confused even the most seasoned of travelers to the Kalahari.
The life cycle of these pans generally involves a time filled with water during the rainy season, before shrinking to mud and algae. One of the most fascinating aspects of the pans of the Kalahari happens…
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DAY 11: MENO-A-KWENA ON THE BOTETI RIVER
- Meno sits in an awesome location on the Boteti River overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.
- Watch the wildlife at the river below from the comfort of your private veranda; that’s what we like to call an ‘armchair safari.’
- Lots of eles having fun in the river.
- Learn a little about the traditional Botswana way of life with a visit to the local village and an interpretative walk with the San Bushmen.
DAYS 12-13: MONDAY-TUESDAY: NXAI PAN
Nxai Pan NP is located on the western edge of the fossil pan from which the camp takes its name. The biggest draw to Nxai Pan National Park are the zebras that migrate by the thousands to the area – the second largest land animal migration in Southern Africa. The Park is situated on the migration route of large animal herds moving between the Okavango Delta, Hwange National Park…
Contact us for the full itinerary.
DAYS 14-15-16: MAKGADIKGADI SALT PANS
We’ll end our adventure at the fabulous Camp Kalahari, your base on 1 million private acres in the heart of the great Kalahari. Set amongst the waving palms and acacia trees of Brown Hyena Island, the camp is ideal for discovering the charms of the desert skies and the awe-inspiring Makgadikgadi Salt Pans & Flats, a landscape that’s as surreal…
Contact us for the full itinerary.
DAY 17: BACK TO MAUN & HOME
It’s a roughly 4-hour drive from Camp Kalahari to Maun. We’ll leave after an early breakfast at camp for our transfer to the airport, assistance with check- in & board our respective international flights home. Bon Voyage!
Tour Accommodation
Kwando Tau Pan Camp, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana
- Type: Luxury Tented Camp
- Location: Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Meno a Kwena, Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Botswana
- Type: Tented Camp
- Location: Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
Camp Kalahari, Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Botswana
- Type: Luxury Tented Camp
- Location: Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
More
Details of Rates
The cost of this 16-night trip is USD 9660 per person (This averages out to USD 600 per night). No Supplement for Single Rooms.
Please contact us for full inclusions and exclusions
Gallery
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Campsite Wildlife -
Owl -
Polentswa Campsite -
Springbok Rams -
Wildlife In Ktp
Botswana Kalahari Trip Map
Maun, Botswana
Tau Pan, Botswana
Passarge Valley, Botswana
Deception Valley, Botswana
Meno-A-Kwena Tented Camp, Morematao, Botswana
Nxai Pan, Botswana
Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana
Best Time to Visit
January
Closed
February
Closed
March
Best
April
Closed
May
Closed
June
Closed
July
Closed
August
Closed
September
Closed
October
Closed
November
Closed
December
Closed
The safari begins and ends in Maun, Botswana.
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