Selinda, Kwando & Linyanti

North of the Okavango are the famed concession areas of Selinda, Kwando and Linyanti - all renowned for their vast landscapes and boundless wildlife. This is Africa at its most untouched. These are vast, private conservation areas where only a limited number of guests can experience a traditional African safari without the pressures of mass tourism. These three regions (or concession areas), together with the Savute, form an inter-linking ecosystem where vast herds of buffalo, elephant, zebra and other species can roam freely, attracted to the individual water systems of the Savute Marsh, Selinda Spillway and Linyanti and Kwando rivers.

The Kwando river, which runs for 80kms along the north-eastern boundary of Botswana before becoming the Linyanti, changes its name further down to become the Chobe river. The availability of water along this river course governs the rhythm of life in the region. In the drier months when the pans in the mopane country to the south and west have all but dried up massive elephant numbers and vast buffalo herds begin to migrate to the refuge of these permanent waters and make it a haven for game-viewing.

Selinda A private concession area, the Selinda Reserve covers an area of 1350sq. kms, abutting the remote and spectacular Linyanti swamps. The Selinda Spillway which passes through this area is the only waterway to connect the Okavango Delta to the Linyanti river. As an extension of the Kwando / Linyanti the Selinda is a haven for lion, cheetah, hyena, jackal and wild dog together with plains game including giraffe, wildebeest, impala, lechwe, tsessebe, and kudu.

Kwando Kwando is the essence of Botswana - ancient, immense and unspoiled. Kwando's uninhabited wilderness captures all the power and majesty that Botswana's wildlife experience has to offer. The 232,000 hectare (2320 sq. miles) Kwando concession stretches southwards from the banks of the Kwando river, through huge open plains and Mopane forests to link up with the Okavango Delta - an area criss-crossed by centuries old migratory trails of elephant, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest which move between the Delta, Chobe, and the open Namibian wilderness to the north. This vast pristine wilderness is for the exclusive used of the guests of the two safari camps within the concession, Lebala Camp and Lagoon Camp.

Linyanti Situated in a forgotten corner of the Chobe NP is Linyanti. A secluded and uncrowded paradise, this short strip of swampy river frontage is a reminder of the Okavango's waterways, lagoons, reed beds and towering canopy of trees.

Chobe & Savuti

In the far north-east of thye country, where the Chobe river flows into the Zambezi, is Chobe National Park - popular for its proximity to the Victoria Falls. This is big game country. There are no fences, although there is a veterinary cordon far to the south, and the animals are free to migrate to and from the Chobe in the north, and at times - especially in the dry months - Chobe plays host to a large proportion of the wider region's 100 000 plus elephant found in the region. Other species abound, among them buffalo and zebra, sable and impala, kudu and tsessebe; reedbuck, waterbuck, lechwe and sitatunga in the wetter parts; the rare roan antelope and the Chobe bushbuck; monkeys and baboons; lion and leopard, hyena, wild dog and other predators. The avifauna too, is quite splendid: around 400 different birds have been recorded, most prolifically and colourfully on and around the floodplains.

Alongside the private concession areas of Selinda and Linyanti is the Savuti (or Savute). Recognised a prime game-viewing area, the Savuti includes an area of sweeping savannah, originally the Savuti Marsh - now a wide open plain and dry channel that once was its lifeline. Mysterious wet and dry cycles mould this landscape and dictate the nature of its wild inhabitants. Here wild dogs hunt in the channel where crocodiles swam only twenty years ago. The Gubatsa Hills shelter leopard and klipspringer and rock paintings of early man's wildlife sightings. Dry season game viewing concentrates on Savute's resident bull elephants, antelope and lion prides around half-empty pans and permanent water-holes. Black-backed jackal, bat-eared foxes, tsessebe, kudu, impala and ostrich abound. The summer rains bring a feast for lion, hyena and cheetah as thousands of migrating zebra and wildebeest assemble in a chaotic pattern on the marsh. Cape buffalo herds arrive and migrant birds swell Savute's 300 resident species, thrilling bird-watchers with their spectacular antics. Carmine bee-eaters perch on the back of kori bustards and red-crested korhaans plummet from the sky in daring aerobatic mating displays.

Central Kalahari GR

The Kalahari, or "Kgalagadi" as it is correctly called in Setswana, covers much of Botswana and probes into Namibia, Zimbabawe and South Africa (in fact it stretches across 9 countries in total to just north of the equator and is the world's largest continuous mantle of sand). It includes such game rich areas as Hwange NP, Chobe NP, Moremi and the newly formed Kalkgadi Transfrontier Park. Also part of the Kalahari are the Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pans and the Central Kalahari (or Kgalagadi) Game Reserve. These National Parks and Game Reserves of the Kalahari, in conjunction with the vast conservation areas that surround them, protect the plant and animal life of this fragile ecosystem. With little more than 100 to 200mm of rainfall per year, the fauna and flora in the Kalahari wages a daily struggle for survival. It is also the ancestral home of the San (Bushmen) and one of Africa's last wildlife paradises.

Despite its sandy porous soils, long hot summers, sparse vegetation, unpredictable rainfall and lack of surface water the Kalahari is not regarded as a true desert because its annual rainfall exceeds the maximum rainfall normally experienced in a desert. The Kalahari is not a desert of dunes but a combination of grasslands, scrub and dry river beds.

Covering an area of 51800 sq kms, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the second largest protected area in the world. It encompasses some of the most harsh, inhospitable and undeveloped territory in Botswana (and indeed Africa itself), and yet is also some of the most inspiring.

Established in 1961 to allow the San (Bushmen) people to continue their traditional lifestyle, this remote area has been utilized as a vast hunting ground. It has been closed to the public until recently and remains essentially undeveloped. As a result of social changes among the San and pressure from conservation circles, the government has, since the late 1980's, decided to encourage the San to leave the reserve, leaving it solely for animals and tourism interests. The San have resisted the move and a situation exists where the San mostly inhabit the southern parts, whilst the north is being set aside for tourism. This situation may in time be formalized.

Deception valley, in the north-east of the reserve, was made famous by the book Cry of the Kalahari, by Mark and Delia Owens who researched brown hyena from 1974 to 1981 and brought to international attention the many facets of this fascinating area together with the history that has threatened its very existence. As well as Deception Pan, a number of other pans offer animals a source of water, being pumped on an irregular basis - Sunday Pan, Letiahau Pan and Piper's Pan all offer good game viewing.

Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pans

The Makgadikgadi Pans are at the southern end of the Great Rift Valley that runs the length of Africa. The pans are also reputed to have once been part of the Zambezi Valley before geographical changes shifted the flow to its current course.

Ntwetwe Pan and Sowa Pan, together with numerous smaller pans, form the Makgadikgadi Pans system. The pans are remnants of the once great superlake - Lake Makgadikgadi: 80,000 square kilometres in extent, and up to 30 metres deep, this was the largest inland sea in Africa. Today, this vast area of salt pans are predominately dry, being interspersed with low-lying grass islands and in the wet season, becomes the destination of herds of migrating zebra. It is a land of unspoilt beauty and hidden fascinations that holds unforgettable experiences for the visitor.

The San word for salt is "Sowa" - an apt description of the vast white expanse of this the largest natural salt pans in the world. Sowa Pan and the western Ntwtwe pan are important breeding sites for both lesser and greater flamingos who migrate here from Etosha in neighboring Namibia and as far away as East Africa.. Brine shrimps, worms and tiny crustaceans provide food for greater flamingos while the lesser flamingos feed on algae. These food types all flourish in the warm shallow waters of the pans during the rainy season.

There are little or no landmarks in the Makgadikgadi other than rock islands (remnants of ancient sand dunes) and Baobab trees. In days gone by early explorers carved their signatures into these huge bizarre trees - the most famous of these being Baines' (made famous by Thomas Baines who painted them in 1862) and Greens' Baobabs (named after the two Green brothers whose expedition passed this way in 1852).

Nxai Pan is quite different in character, and instead of a briny wasteland, boasts short sweet grass which provides good grazing for springbok and other antelope. Giraffe, zebra and wildebeest are also found in this region in good numbers together with unusual birds such as the Kori Bustard and Black Korhaan.

The Nxai Pan National Park was founded in the early 1970's, along with the Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve. These two protected areas were joined in 1992, to form the Makgadikgadi National Park, a 7500 km2 area incorporating Ntwetwe Pan, Makgadikgadi Pans, Nxai Pan, Baines' Baobabs and Kudiakam Pan. The vast Makgadikgadi Pans areas are the last evidence of a prehistoric super lake that was once found here, and today is a one of the last true wilderness area left in Africa. Famous explorers who passed through this region on their way to the 'interior' included David Livingstone, James Chapman and Thomas Baines.

Nxai Pan is well known for its huge springbok and gemsbok populations, and is indeed the only natural place where one can see impala and springbok living together. Once the summer rains have begun (late November to March) migratory species such as zebra and wildebeest begin to move to the Nxai Pan and surrounds in their thousands. Hundreds of elephants make their way to the area from the Chobe and Okavango to feed. These large herds of animals attract many predators including lion, cheetah, wild dog, leopard and both spotted and the more elusive brown hyena. White Rhino are also occasionally sighted. Also to be seen are the Livingstone's eland, greater kudu and red hartebeest.

Tuli

The Tuli area of far north Botswana incorporates several privately owned reserves including Mashatu and Tuli Game Reserve and boasts vast numbers of elephant and buffalo together with excellent lion and leopard sightings. Both Walking Trails and Horse Riding Safaris are also a feature of this little-known destination. Night game drives are also a feature and give you the opportunity to witness the incredible diversity of nocturnal wildlife that play out their dramatic fight for survival each night. Genet, porcupines, leopard, aardvark and aardwolf are but a few of the nocturnal mammals that can be seen in the evening hours. Although not always easy to get to, Tuli is an extremely worthy addition to any safari itinerary.