Khwai is a private community run concession, on the eastern border of the Moremi Game Reserve along the Khwai River. The Khwai River area borders the Moremi Game Reserve which offers a wide range of habitats; riparian woodland, floodplain, reed beds, permanent wetland, mopane forest and dry savanna woodland.
The principal water source here is the Khwai River, which provides the lifeline of support for the wildlife in the area. The scenic beauty adds to your experience of Botswana’s verdant Garden of Eden, the Okavango Delta. The Okavango Delta qualifies as one of the most unique and beautiful environments on Earth. Hundreds of tiny islands are formed as the Okavango River fans out over the flat Kalahari sands of Northwestern Botswana, creating a verdant Eden-like utopia for wildlife. The Delta covers an area of over 12,000 square miles.
This area is one of the most famous wildlife sanctuaries in the world and is particularly well known for its predators, especially one of the most endangered carnivores in Africa – the wild dog. Lion and leopard are commonly found as well as herds of buffalo, elephant and hippo. Other game in the area include just about everything imaginable including tsessebe, lechwe, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, elephant, sable and giraffe.
Take daily morning and afternoon game drives along the Khwai River, home to an abundance of African wildlife. In the dry months, it is not unusual to view a hundred or more elephants coming to the Khwai River for an afternoon drink and wash. Watching elephant babies play together is a wonderful experience. The Khwai River is also renowned for its eagles - over 12 species can be found here. The huge acacia trees are also a favourite for giraffes.
In addition to the normal daytime game drives, it is possible to conduct night drives, which are not permitted in the National Parks or Game Reserves. Exploring after dark with a spotlight offers you an opportunity to experience some of the nocturnal animals that are rarely encountered during the day. It is also possible to explore the surrounding wilderness on foot and enjoy an up close and personal encounter with the flora and fauna.
All proceeds from tourism in Khwai go directly to help local people and local projects through the Khwai Community Trust.
Chobe National Park - Botswana’s second largest Park - is arguably the country’s finest destination for game viewing. Famous for its impressive numbers of elephant, with the largest continuous elephant population on earth, Chobe also boasts one of the greatest concentrations of game on the African continent.
The Park is divided into four distinctly different eco-systems: Serondela with its lush plains and dense forests in the Chobe River area in the extreme north-east, the Savuti Marsh in the west, the Linyanti Swamps in the north-west and the hot dry hinterland in between.
The particularly game rich areas are the beautiful Chobe River and the Savuti Marsh area.
Often described as one of the best wildlife viewing areas in Africa today, the Park is home to over 100,000 elephants as well as giraffe, zebra, impala, tsessebe, roan, sable, wildebeest, kudu, buffalo, waterbuck, warthog and eland. Predators include lion, hyena, jackal, bat-eared fox and even cheetah and wild dog.
Unfortunately the Park can have a tendency to get crowded at peak times. Visitors looking for a more remote experience should consider the neighbouring private concessions, such as the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve or the Kwando or Selinda Concessions.
Hwange National Park is Zimbabwe’s largest national park, located in the far west of the country along the border with Botswana. Covering an area of over 14,000 square kilometres, Hwange is one of Africa’s finest havens for wildlife. It is actually sub-divided into three smaller parks, namely Main Camp to the south & east, Sinamatela to the north - near the Hwange coalfields - and Robins to the west. Hwange is named after the hereditary chief of this district.
Situated on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, this vast wilderness area comprises sands, saltpans, acacia scrub, vleis, Zambezi teak and large leaved false mopani forests. Ancient fossilised rivers have since become grassy plains in the region of Main Camp. Red lowveld and black cotton soils support mopani woodlands around Sinamatela and Robins. The semi-arid vegetation makes Hwange excellent for game viewing, and a scarcity of water means that man-made waterholes have been introduced to sustain the animals through the dry season. The game congregates at waterholes as the surface water diminishes making game viewing very easy.
The terrain supports over 100 species of mammals including zebra, buffalo, hyena, lion, leopard, cheetah, sable, kudu, steenbok, eland, waterbuck and impala. It is the immense number of elephant that are truly spectacular though. With up to 30,000 elephant, Hwange is rated amongst the finest elephant conservation areas on the continent. The Park is also home to the largest concentration of giraffe in Africa and shelters a stable population of one of Africa’s most endangered species, the wild dog. The specially protected gemsbok, bat-eared foxes, roan, white rhino and brown hyena occur here in reasonable numbers.
Hwange is birders paradise with over 400 species identified to date. Bird life includes the kori bustard, secretary bird, red-crested korhaan, shaft-tailed whydah, violet-eared waxbill, shrike, martial eagle, crimson-breasted bush shrike including the yellow form, little grebe, dark-chanting goshawk, cape penduline tit, red-eyed bulbul and cape shoveller, along with red-billed, yellow-billed and Hottentot’s teals.
Hwange is a year-round destination. The driest months, September and October, are the prime game-viewing months when animals converge at water holes, providing excellent photographic opportunities. During the rainy season, mainly December to March, the game is spread out across the Park. For birding enthusiasts this is a wonderful time to visit, with all the migratory birds present and most breeding. This is also the best time for flora and is an opportunity to examine a variety of other small and interesting ecological features.
After the rains the vegetation is green and lush, with colourful wild flowers carpeting the ground. This is the ideal time to see an abundance of newly born animals cavorting with their parents on the plains. Prey and predator interaction hits its peak at this time, as snacks are readily available for the ever-hungry carnivores.
Described by the Kololo tribe, who lived in the area in the 1800’s, as ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ or ‘the Smoke that Thunders’, the Victoria Falls - one of the seven natural wonders of the world – are a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River, bordering Zimbabwe and Zambia.
From many kilometres away you can see the plume of spray rising into the air and hear the roar of the water, as the Zambezi River plummets over 100 metres down a huge chasm in a waterfall almost two kilometres wide. The wide basalt cliff, over which the Falls thunder, transforms the Zambezi from a wide placid river to a ferocious torrent cutting through a series of dramatic gorges.
For many years, Victoria Falls has captured the hearts, minds and adventurous spirits of people the world over. It was David Livingstone who, after that now famous entry in this diary - “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight” - claimed it for the British crown and named it after his Queen.
The Falls and the surrounding rainforest have been preserved as a national park, ensuring that they remain virtually as they were when Livingstone first saw them in 1855. Although small in size, the unique nature sanctuary that overlooks the Falls is rich in wildlife, bird life and botanical glories and is a tranquil setting from which to view the cascades of water thundering over the cliff. The spray can be considerable, so protect your camera and take a raincoat.
The volume of water that flows over the Falls varies considerably. At its lowest, between late October and early November, as little as 20,000 cubic metres of water a minute flow into the gorge below. But when the rains are heavy, the flow increases swiftly and dramatically. The Falls are at their most spectacular between February and May, when more than 500,000 cubic metres of water a minute cascade over the edge.
In April and May, the peak of the flood season, the six falls - Devil’s Cataract, Main Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Rainbow Falls, Armchair Falls and the Eastern Cataract - form the largest curtain of falling water in the world. At this time of year, visibility from the Zimbabwean side is reduced due to the high level of spray. In the dry season, however, between September and November, almost no water plunges over the Rainbow and Armchair Falls or the Eastern Cataract on the Zambian side.
There are many different activities based around the Falls, including the ‘Flight of Angels’, a short flight over the Falls in a small plane, helicopter or microlight. White-water rafting is run from the ‘Boiling Pot’ downstream of the Falls, through a sequence of rapids. In addition to an adrenalin kick, rafting provides a great opportunity to see Verreaux’s eagle and the African fish eagle, taita falcon, augur buzzard and rock pratincoles. Also on offer are bungee jumps from the bridge that spans the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, boat trips, elephant rides and the popular gorge swing.
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