Botswana

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Our Botswana trip started from Hong Kong to Johannesburg to Maun-Botswana and from there we again flew another light aircraft to Okavango Delta. The plane ride to Okavango was very beautiful and peaceful. Okavango Delta is the fourth longest inland river in Southwest Africa that starts from Angola (Cubango River) where it forms part border of Namibia in to Botswana and the river drains into the Moremi Game Reserve which is a National Park in Botswana, home to a vast number of wildlife species. The high season for game drive in Botswana would be from July to end of October when the Okavango Delta is at full flood and animals gather in all water sources. For bird lovers ideal time to go is November - February, but rainfall is expected. Lucky for us, we had a great sunny 3 days in Okavango.

Speaking of Botswana as a whole, it is basically flat as the country is 70% covered by Kalahari dessert and it’s bordered by South Africa to the South and East side is Namibia and West and North to Zimbabwe.

When we landed in the tiny airstrip of Okavango, the trill of being in the African soil was overrated. The place that we stayed was called “Little Vumbura” a luxurious tented camp in the wilderness with breathtaking wildlife inhabitants. This place can be reached by taking a 5 minute boat ride. We would very much recommend this place to stay for excellent land and water game combined. We not only received a great warm welcome in Little Vumbura, but also had with us an experienced safari guide that made our game drive such an amazing and unforgettable experience.

The next place we went to is called Chobe Chilwero (Chobe National Park) where we spend our Christmas. This place is another flight hour away from Little Vumbura - Okavango Delta. The airport is called “Kasane”

Chobe Chilwero is the second largest national park in Botswana and it has some of the greatest concentration of safari game found in the African continent. This place is most often popular for elephant population. These elephant migrates and makes seasonal moves from Chobe to their dry season home (Linyanti Rivers) on to South East of the Park where they scattered during raining season.

We would also recommend Chobe Chilwero, possibly for a 2 night stay. I love this place as well coz it has a huge garden lawn space for afternoon tea that reminds me of the film called “Colour Purple” This place feels homie and also close to nature.

Chobe Chilwero’s spacious thatched cottages are not as luxurious as Little Vumbura camp tents, but it’s also a very good choice of place to stay because it has a great view of the Chobe River. Also overlooking our hotel lounge and terrace areas with hammocks, we could see herds of hippos which were a brilliant sight especially the sunset.

Our Christmas dinner in Chobe Chilwero was perfected with delicious gourmet and imported wines. It was all super special and romantic. Sadly the peace was later disrupted in a funny and irritating way when a Spanish family chanted and claps their hands singing “Feliz Navidad” (translated for Merry Christmas) so loud, over and over again.

Our game drive in Chobe Chilwero was accompanied with other people as well which wasn’t as private as the Okavango drive we had for 3 days, but it was great fun as we also saw a lot of different animals as well as explored this diverse area.

The scariest experience in this trip was the charging elephants in Okavango that made our heart skip a beat and the breathtaking champagne river sunset cruise game which is a must-do in Chobe Chilwero. To see all these herds of elephants along with other animals like antelopes and hippos bathing was an excellent way to end our trip in Botswana.

Africa is very special for me in so many wonderful ways and being in Africa would make you realize how lucky you are and how sometimes little things that we fret about every day and take for granted is nothing compare to what people in Africa are facing each day of their lives

Botswana is certainly on my top favorite list. Our best memories ever!

Our next stop is South Africa……

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