Prior to independence in 1966, Botswana was one of the world's poorest countries. Diamonds were discovered in the Kalahari shortly after independence, kick-starting the economy. Under the leadership of the first post-independence president, Sir Seretse Khama & his son, Ian, Botswana became one of Africa's success stories, with a booming economy in a stable country. The country abandoned mass tourism and focused on high quality / low volume tourism as the best way to create a sustainable industry that would employ a large percentage of its people, while still preserving the environment. Today wildlife and tourism employs about 45% of all the people who live in northern Botswana.
Wonders of Botswana:
Okavango Delta: With the exception of the eastern part of Botswana where the great majority of Batswana live, three-quarters of Botswana is technically a desert. This is what makes the Okavango Delta even more remarkable. It is a wonderful wetland within the Kalahari desert, getting its waters from rain falling in central Africa, 1000km away. This water wonderland boasts Chobe National Park and Linyanti Game Reserves in it's north-east. The many varied habitats within the Chobe and Linyanti parks - such as marshes, waterways, riverine forests, dry woodlands and the world-famous Savute Channel - have created an area renowned for its predators and large concentrations of game, particularly elephant.
Recommended is the trip in a traditional mokoro, a wooden dug-out canoe, through the Delta's waterways.
Bushmen of Kalahari, the Basarwa: The Bushmen have been the residents of the Kalahari desert for thousands of years. Today some live in the settlements, situated within the southern half of the Central Kalahari Desert Game Reserve, the second largest game reserve in the world. We get a chance to glimpse into their incredible their hunter-gatherer life - stalking game with the men or watching women celebrating the harvest with the Melon Dance. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve also boasts game like giraffe, brown hyena, warthog, cheetah, wild dog, leopard, lion, blue wildebeest, eland, gemsbok, kudu, red hartebeest and springbok.
Makgadikgadi & Nxai National Park: The saltpans of Makgadikgadi & Nxai are ethereal lunar landscape unlike anywhere else in Africa providing visitors a distinctively different experience. These national parks are home to a number of different wildlife and support the largest mass migration of zebra and wildebeest in southern Africa.
At Recherché Journeys, we take you to explore Botswana's contrasts and extremes in prime areas where few guests travel in utmost comfort!
Luxury Safari in Botswana: Recherché Journeys offers an incredible safari experience!
Accommodation: Where you stay forms a huge part of your safari experience. Our environmentally-friendly Premier, Classic & Adventure camps have private access to Botswana's finest wildlife reserves, most in areas that are accessible only via an aircraft.
Guides: Our Private, Pilot and Independent guides are the link between our guests and the intricacies of the natural world, sharing their knowledge with enthusiasm and humor. All of our guides undergo intensive and comprehensive training in every aspect of nature guiding and have years of experience and an extensive knowledge of, and passion for, the areas in which they work.
Vehicles: All camps offer land game drives in open 4x4 Land Rovers, each accommodating a maximum of 7 guests so that each guest has an outside seat. Water-based game viewing is done in 2 x 2-seater glass-bottomed mokoro (dug-out canoe), and 12 x 2 seater mokoro. Details of all activities and vehicles are provided with the camp descriptions in your itinerary.
