Elephants, Channels & Apex Expedition

Days 1–3

Chobe Game Lodge

Chobe River Front, Botswana

On arrival at Kasane International Airport you are met by a lodge representative and transferred by open game-drive vehicle to Chobe Game Lodge, set inside Chobe National Park. You spend two nights in a standard room on an all-inclusive basis.

The Chobe River forms the park’s northern boundary and draws elephant, hippo, large buffalo herds and the lions that hunt them. Days are spent driving the game-dotted riverbank in a 4WD and cruising the water by motorboat, with rare birdlife along the way. The lodge has a swimming pool, a riverside boma, a bar and a wide deck over the river, and four of its suites each have a private plunge pool.

Days 3–5

Savute Safari Lodge

Savute, Chobe National Park, Botswana

You transfer by open game-drive vehicle to Kasane Airport for a light aircraft flight to Savute Safari Lodge, where you spend two nights in a standard chalet on an all-inclusive basis.

Savute lies in the heart of Chobe National Park: open savannah, rocky outcrops, a relic marsh and the dry channel that was once its lifeline. Wildlife includes elephant, lion prides, hyena, cheetah, wild dogs and thousands of migrating zebra and wildebeest.

The lodge is intimate, with room for only 24 guests in thatched timber-and-glass suites on the banks of the Savute channel. The area is known for its bull elephants and for the way its resident predators live alongside them.

Days 5–7

Xugana Island Lodge

Okavango Delta, Botswana

A scheduled light aircraft flight takes you from Savute to Xugana Island Lodge, where you spend two nights in a reed chalet on an all-inclusive basis.

The lodge stands on a wooded island beside Xugana Lagoon, widely regarded as the most spectacular permanent water site in the Okavango Delta. Its thatched common area, with a cocktail bar, lounge and curio shop, is the original 1974 building, from the days when Xugana was only the second tourist lodge in the Delta.

Days follow the water: mokoro trips in dugout canoes built to the traditional design, boat safaris to lagoons and islands, and wilderness walks with naturalist guides. Sitatunga, lechwe, hippo and crocodile are regularly seen, birdlife is outstanding, and the bream and tiger fishing can be excellent at certain times of year. The boat ride back across the lagoon at sunset is a highlight.

Days 7–9

Camp Xakanaxa

Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Another light aircraft flight brings you to Camp Xakanaxa, where you spend two nights in a standard tent on an all-inclusive basis.

The camp sits on the Khwai River at Xakanaxa Lagoon, in the heart of Moremi Game Reserve, which ranks among the most beautiful reserves in Africa. Twenty-four guests stay in twelve classic canvas safari tents with en-suite showers, each with a private viewing deck. The raised lounge and dining areas extend over the Khwai River and include a small library, sundeck, plunge pool and a sala with a day bed.

Moremi covers more than 4,800 square kilometres of savannah, waterways and forest. Buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, lion, cheetah and wild dog roam the open grasslands, and the bird list includes most of the 550 species recorded in Botswana.