Drumbeat Autumn 19

Three of the Aardvark Safaris’ team have been to Botswana in the last few months; Charlotte revisiting old haunts and Jess and Rosanna on busy educational trips. With around 30 camps visited and superb wildlife sightings – including aardvarks for Jess and Charlotte – we’re looking forward to inspiring you with the pristine beauty and remote wilderness of one of Africa’s most rewarding safari destinations. Here’s a round-up of our highlights. Quad biking & meerkats in the Makgadikgadi Pans: Jess The wilds of the Makgadikgadi Pans form a startling contrast to the Okavango Delta’s verdant wetlands. All three of us spent some time in the ‘pans’ and each could write pages. You can walk with San bushmen (fascinating), explore by vehicle, horse, bicycle and on foot. Quadbiking way out onto the pans, where the horizon is so unobstructed that you can see the curvature of the earth is extraordinary. Wait for darkness to descend and the planetarium of stars is unbelievable. We were all charmed by the meerkats and a morning walk with them is a delight. They take no notice of humans, except as useful temporary parts of the scenery, as ideal observation posts for the one on predator-spotting duty. Read more here bit.ly/KalahariLegend Mokoro trips in the Delta: Rosanna Mokoros, the original form of transport around the Okavango Delta, are canoes crafted from tree trunks. Today, more commonly made from fibre glass, they are used for boating safaris and make an attractive alternative to a traditional safari vehicle. You sit securely in a legless chair while your guide stands at the back ‘poling’ silently through the water. Gliding through the channels as they open into lagoons adorned with papyrus and waterlilies you’ll get to spot tiny frogs and numerous birds. Slipping quietly past elephant splashing in the shallows, en-route to our sundowner, was the perfect ending to this wonderful experience. Botswana’s best Wild dog in the Linyanti Reserve: Rosanna Angola’s rains don’t just feed the Okavango Delta they also supply permanent water for the Linyanti and Chobe rivers of northern Botswana. Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, on the southern banks of the Linyanti River, is a 1,250 sq km protected sanctuary, wonderfully underused and bursting with wildlife. It’s one of the best places in Botswana to see wild dog, with current estimates suggesting a population of around 6,000 across the continent. The handful of camps in the reserve will often know dogs’ favourite hunting grounds or where they’re denning, so if these endangered animals are on your ‘to see’ list then you should add a few days in Linyanti to your safari holiday. Riding safaris: Jess Cross Africa’s wilderness on horseback and you become a living part of the landscape. For any reasonably competent rider (you do need to be secure at all paces), with an interest in the natural world, who enjoys the odd shot of adrenaline, a riding safari is a dream come true. Each riding safari is different and varies with the seasons. In the Okavango Delta you might be galloping alongside giraffe across flat open grasslands one month, and swimming with your horse through lily strewn waters the next. Down in the Tuli block, jumping logs and ditches is more the order of the day. Horses being horses, the unexpected is always on the menu and it’s good to remember that a well-timed francolin alarm call can cause more of an issue than a buffalo appearing around the side of a bush. My recent riding highlights include watching, though the pricked ears of my horse, a breeding herd of elephant and the moment our guide stopped mid-sentence and took off at a gallop towards the bushes where, following the direction he was pointing, we saw the flash of a leopard tail disappearing into the thicket. Green desert in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve: Rosanna Almost plum in the middle of the country, the Central Kalahari Reserve is a vast place of wild and mysterious beauty. One of the lesser known parks – although Deception Valley might ring a bell as the setting for Cry of the Kalahari, an epic account of life here in the 1970s written by American zoologists Mark and Delia Owens – it doesn’t feature so regularly on our itineraries, which is a shame. Visit during or just after the summer rains and the northern grasslands are full of wildlife including huge herds of springbok and gemsbok along with wildebeest, eland and giraffe – all followed by lion, cheetah and leopard. Excellent bird life is a notable feature too. Journalist Mike Unwin has recently travelled to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve with us – keep an eye out for his piece in The Telegraph this autumn. Mobile safaris: Charlotte Somehow, Botswana lends itself to ‘a mobile’ – I think it’s the variety of ways to get around, be it by vehicle, boat, mokoro, foot and even horse. Having recently returned from the Okavango Delta and a carbon copy (although this time with friends rather than as an educational) of my first ever mobile safari 18 years ago, I’m even more convinced that if you like adventure, want to see wildlife without anyone else, appreciate being off grid for a few days and enjoy the simply priceless luxury of space to yourself, then you must add a mobile camping safari in Botswana to your bucket list. Read more here bit.ly/MobileSafariMagic www . aardvarksafaris.com l P5