Virgin forests, impenetrable jungles, vast expansive grasslands and the eventual merging into the Kalahari Desert. A lonesome cheetah tracks your movements perched on a tree and contemplates its next move. The cheerful birds chirp in the blazing African summer heat and the saga of the African wilderness continues unmindful to the changes the rest of the world has seen. The parched earth cracks and the smell of earth hits you as the reddened skies turn gray and it rains in torrents, bringing the much-needed moisture to the dehydrating flora and fauna. Botswana, a land of unspoilt natural habitats and the epitome of a true African experience, has for the discerning traveler, a great experience awaiting.

A true African success story, Botswana today is a country that has left it’s history far behind and races towards progress. A country with one of the best infrastructure, employment rates and investment friendliness in modern Africa, modern Botswana is a tourist hotspot with unsurpassed wildlife parks and reservations. The country is already well known for it’s safari and gaming reserves, though gaming is strictly prohibited in reserves and national parks. The prosperity of the nation and the relatively good infrastructure when compared to other African nations, attracts tourists from all over the world for that unique African safari experience.

The Okavango delta, which lies in the north west of the country, is the world’s largest inland delta. The delta was part of the ancient Lake Makgadikgadi and now, as there is no outlet to the sea, it empties into the Kalahari Desert. The Okavango shelters a wealth wildlife and the denizens include African elephants, the African buffalo, the hippopotamus, giraffes, crocodiles, the big cats, wild dogs, the warthogs, over 400 species of birds, including the African Fish Eagle, the Crested Crane, Sacred Ibis. There are many safari camps to choose from and most of them work on the principle of ethics and ecological responsibility. For those who can afford, there are luxury safaris, which make sure you have the best safari experience of a lifetime. One such is the ‘Orient Express Safaris’. They make sure your photographic journey in Botswana and the safaris you undertake remain luxurious to say the least.

Orient Express Safaris Eagle Island Camp at Xaxaba in the Delta is a swamp, and the Okavango being a life-sustaining source of pure water attracts all imaginable wildlife typical to this part of the world. The cacophony produced by the wildlife has a strange rhythmic beat to it and game viewing can either be done on foot when you want to introduce yourself to timid deer, in an open air SUV while photographing the big cats or by mokoro, a slender dugout canoe that is piloted around swamps for hippo viewing.

The Khwai River Lodge on the outskirts of Moremi Wildlife Reserve, has an open-air bar to serve your alcoholic needs and the drinks are prepared in the most chic way possible, in the middle of the African wild. Lavish thatched bungalows, exquisite spread and personalized service are the hallmarks of this luxurious camp run by the Oriental Express Safaris. You could choose to sleep in an equally luxurious tent outside, though, the line between man and the beast is reduced to a piece of fabric.

Savute Elephant Camp, their third camp is in stark contrast to the two other camps and is set in the rugged, semi-arid wilderness of northern Botswana, in contrast to the more lush wetlands of the south, teems with wildlife as diverse as the giraffe warthog and elephants. Here you could choose to drink champagne and eat caviar on a beautifully laid table and set out on a safari in a SUV and witness a gloriously golden African sunset, which is beyond any poetic device and has to be experienced, in solitude.

The rates at Khwai River Lodge and Savute Elephant Camp range from $525 in low season (Jan. 1 to April 30) to $720 in shoulder season (May 1 to June 30) to $965 in high season (July 1 to Oct. 31.) Rates at Eagle Island range from $800 in low season to $995 in shoulder season to $1,240 in high season. The rates are calculated per night based on double occupancy, and include all the services provided. Oriental Express safaris can be chosen by those who can afford to spend, while others can still choose the more affordable safari options with which the travel desk at the airport in Gaborone, Botswana can help you. Don’t forget to have a cocktail or two when you discuss your experiences with fellow tourists after witnessing the African sunset.

Image credit: orient-express-safaris

Via: MiamiHerald262069