We have been lucky enough to have been to Botswana twice already in 2007.
Elsewhere on the site, you can see a short trip report from the April 2007 expedition: http://www.shutterspeedtravel.com/botswanaapril.asp
You can also see the portfolio of all our shots from this and our January expedition: http://www.shutterspeedtravel.com/gallery.asp?Cat=101&Reg=23
While we have been to many African countries, Botswana is different in a number of ways:
1. The Okovango Delta is truely amazing. From April through to August there are clear skys and lots of water. This brings opportunities (shooting Lions swimming across channels on their way to hunt Buffalo!!!!) and challenges (navigating landrovers through deep water is tricky (and your feet are in water which is seeping into the vehicle fast!) The greens and blues are very, very rich and are very different to the dry browns that we usually see in the dry season in Kenya and Tanzania. So it's 'soft' Africa - viewing Lions in lush green grass with bright yellow flowers is very different.
2. One place we always go to is an island where there is a herd of over 1,000 Cape Buffalo ... there are also several prides of Lions. The Lions have adapted to the enviroment by learning how to swim. They also prefer to hunt in the day. Their diet is almost exclusively Buffalo. Hence, when we are there we get up before dawn, track down the Buffalo as soon as we can and usually the Lions will be close by. Then we just sit and wait for the Lions to start hunting. We have seen more Lions killing here than in all our other expeditions put together.
3. Most of the reserves we go to are consessions opererated by reputable outfits. They have exclusivity over access to the reserve and control vehicle numbers. In those reserves with one lodge, there will generally only be three vehicles. In others with more than one camp, there may be six vehicles. The advantage is that anything interesting will not be swamped by vehicles; which in some of the reserves in Kenya and Tanzania can be a problem. The reserves are usually very accommodating and often send out a landrover to our vehicles with our lunch, so we can stay out all day!
4. Access to Botswana is fine. We usually fly to Johannesburg, catch an early morning flight up to Maun in Botswana and then transfer to a light aircraft to hit our first reserve, getting there in time for a late lunch and an afternoon drive. Moving between reserves is usually by light aircraft so we are not enduring long, tiring transfers.
5. Botswana is not cheap, but what you get is very special and as you can see from the shots on our web, you do get very close to the action!
Julie and Adam
Botswana April 2007 Trip
