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Price $1200 15 Days
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Botswana Wilderness Walking Safari

Venture into the wilderness on foot for a truly unique safari adventure while overnighting in mobile tented camps. Along the way, experience the pristine beauty and seclusion of the Botswana bush.

Activity Type: Walking | Cultural | Wildlife

11 Days (suggested length)
Activity Level: 1+ to 3
Cost: $850+ per person, per day
Custom dates (May-September)

Trip Overview

This moderate to challenging walking safari ventures into the remote wilderness areas of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Okavango Delta and Kgalagadi regions of Botswana. We are led by expert safari guides and stay in full-service, secluded mobile tented camps. Our full-day walks leave us feeling like intrepid explorers, traversing remote, bush landscapes. Additional activities included are: a traditional Mekoro (canoe) excursion, night drives, and bushmen-led tracking guides and cultural interactions.

Trip Highlights

  • Full-service, mobile-tented camps in remote wilderness locations.​
  • Walking through the less-visited Central Kalahari Game Reserve.​
  • Tracking wildlife with local bushmen and expert trackers.​​
  • Exploring remote and wild regions typically not visited by other safari groups.​
  • Enjoying delicious, freshly prepared meals by our safari chef.

Activity Level

Each walking safari itinerary is tailormade to match your private group’s desired activity level and interests. Our safaris are generally rated between 1+ to 3 on a scale of 1 to 5. Our walks range from 3-6 hours per day, depending on which category of walking your group chooses. Setting out on foot allows us to tune into our surroundings while observing the flora, fauna, and epic landscapes of one of the wildest places on Earth. Walks often include tracking wildlife across difficult terrain and, on certain days, hiking to reach our next camp for the night. Our aim is to utilize wilderness not traveled by other people in places where there is not a footprint to be seen or a car track to be crossed. Additional activities such as game drives and canoeing can be incorporated into your itinerary upon request.

Charter Flights & Game Drives

Charter flights may be included in your itinerary depending on where we have concessions for our mobile safaris in the Okavango Delta region (these are renewed annually). The charter aircraft used are light and very compact. A certain amount of stepping and bending is required to get into the seats, and passengers are more likely to experience travel sickness on these small planes as compared to larger, commercial flights.

If you’ve opted for the “hiker” or “stroller” categories, you will have the option to go on game drives. These excursions take place in open, 4×4 safari vehicles. Due to the nature of the terrain, the roads are often bumpy and can be a little strenuous for passengers. Our safari vehicles have a canopy overhead to minimize exposure to the elements (think: sun, wind, and dust). However at times, we do not use them in order to enhance visibility and optimize photo opportunities.

Dates and Cost

Botswana: Wilderness Walking Safari

Trip Dates

  • Suggested Trip Length – 11 days (can be custom)

Upcoming Trip Dates – Custom trip dates can be arranged for groups of 4-8 participants. The best time of year to travel to Botswana are the months of late April through Septmember.

Trip Cost

Trip Cost – For groups of 4-6pax, expect to spend approximately $900+/- per person, per night (adventure camping) | $1,200+/- per person, per night (classic camping) | $1,500+/- per person, per night (luxury camping). Minimum group size is 4pax (2pax are possible, but will be more expensive). Charter Flights *at an additional cost*

What’s Included

  • Expert, specialist walking safari guides.
  • Assistant guide and local tracker (in some locations).
  • Accommodations at mobile safari camps, safari lodges and B&Bs in Maun or Gaborone.
  • Mobile safari camp crew (chef, server, camp manager)
  • All meals and drinks.
  • Activities as noted in itinerary.
  • Ground transportation.
  • Airport transfers.
  • 20% government VAT.
  • Emergency medical evacuation insurance.

What’s Not Included

  • International flights.
  • Optional post-tour extension to Victoria Falls.
  • Visas.
  • Medical and travel insurance.
  • Optional tips to safari crew.
  • Items of personal nature.

Central Kalahari and Okavango Delta Walking Safari

Day 1: Arrival in Maun

Activity: Arrival and airport transfer.

Accommodation: Maun Waterfront Guesthouse (or similar), Maun

Day 2: Transfer to Central Kalahari Game Reserve; Optional afternoon activities

Activity: Transfer to Great Tsau Hill | Game Drive | Afternoon excursion.

Accommodation: Great Tsau Hill, Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Meals: B, L, D

Day 3: Walking Safari to Private Mobile Tented Camp in Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Activity: Transfer to mobile camp | Bushmen tracking and cultural experience.

Accommodation: Mobile Safari Camp, Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Meals: B, L, D

Day 4: Walking Safari in Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Activity: Walking safari | Bushmen activities.

Accommodation: Mobile Safari Camp, Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Meals: B, L, D

Day 5: Walking Safari in Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Activity: Walking expedition | Night game drive.

Accommodation: Mobile Safari Camp, Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Meals: B, L, D

Day 6: Transfer to Okavango Delta; Lodge-based Safari Excursions

Activity: Transfer to Okavango Delta safari lodge | Afternoon game drive or water-based activity (depending on water levels).

Accommodation: Mma Dinare Lodge (or similar), Okavango Delta

Meals: B, L, D

Day 7: Scenic helicopter flight to Mobile Camp; Afternoon Walking Excursion

Activity: Scenic helicopter flight to mobile camp | Afternoon walking expedition.

Accommodation: Mobile Safari Camp, Okavango Delta

Meals: B, L, D

Day 8: Walking Safari – Okavango Delta

Activity: All day walking expedition | Optional night game drive or mokoro excursion.

Accommodation: Mobile Safari Camp, Okavango Delta

Meals: B, L, D

Day 9: Walking Safari – Okavango Delta

Activity: All day walking expedition | Optional night game drive or mokoro excursion.

Accommodation: Mobile Safari Camp, Okavango Delta

Meals: B, L, D

Day 10: Walking Safari – Okavango Delta

Activity: All day walking expedition | Optional night game drive or mokoro excursion.

Accommodation: Mobile Safari Camp, Okavango Delta

Meals: B, L, D

Day 11: International Departures or Victoria Falls Trip Extension

Activity: Transfer to Maun for departure.

Meals: B, L

Botswana Trip Planning

Trip Preparation

In order to prepare for the walks on this trip, we encourage you to exercise 3-4 days per week for 1-2 hours at a time for several months leading up to your departure. Activities such as biking, hiking, walking, skiing, and running are great for conditioning. Please consult your physician about your participation on this safari if you have any concerns regarding your health. The better prepared you are physically for this adventure, the more you’ll be able to enjoy your surroundings and feel rewarded by the overall experience.

A Typical Safari Day

The day starts with your wake-up call at sunrise—a gentle “koko” (‘knock knock’ in Setswana) at the entrance to your tent. A hand-washing basin is filled with steaming hot water, allowing you to freshen up. After enjoying some coffee or tea and a light breakfast around the campfire, we set out by foot from our camp, taking advantage of the optimal game viewing during the cooler hours of the morning.

Following our daybreak adventures, we return to camp for a bountiful lunch spread. Just as the animals retreat to escape the heat of midday, so will we! This siesta period is ideal for enjoying some downtime at camp. If you are on an ‘Explorer’ walking safari, we’ll spend our lunch and siesta hours out in the bush and prolong our return to camp, especially on days when we are walking from one location to another.

Later in the afternoon, we’ll head out once again into the wilderness as the animals awake from their midday slumber and gather at nearby watering holes. There is plenty of time to marvel at the sheer splendor of an African sunset, refreshments in hand, as we toast to the day’s adventures. Upon return to camp, you may choose to take a hot shower under the starry night sky before gathering around the warmth of our campfire. Here, we relive our day’s adventures with our fellow travel companions while lingering over a three-course dinner, served with a selection of wines. Retreating to the comfort of our tents—perhaps after enjoying a nightcap against the backdrop of a glittering, African sky—we fall asleep to the calls of the wild.

On moving days, the safari team will break down our camp, traveling ahead in a back-up vehicle to prepare our next camp for arrival. When moving between locations, our route often traverses parks and reserves where there is plenty to see, including ample wildlife-viewing opportunities. A picnic lunch will also be enjoyed en-route.

Meals

Meals are prepared over the open fire by our very own safari chefs. They pride themselves on being able to create quality meals using fresh, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, including produce grown in Robyn and Gareth’s family farm in Maun. Alcoholic beverages, sodas, juice, and water are provided throughout the safari. In major towns such as Gaborone, Maun, and Victoria Falls, you will be booked on a bed & breakfast basis.

Seasonal Considerations

In winter (May – September), expect warm temperatures during the day and relatively cold nights in accommodations with canvas walls. Hot water bottles, extra blankets, and ponchos may be provided to keep you warm in camp and on your game drives. In summer (November – April), you will experience hot days and nights with rainstorms in the afternoons. It is imperative to increase your fluid intake considerably in order to avoid dehydration and heat exhaustion. In September and October, both the days and nights are incredibly hot, and may cause discomfort. See the temperature chart below:

Month
High Temp F
High Temp C
Low Temp F
Low Temp C
January
89
32
66
19
February
87
31
66
19
March
87
31
64
18
April
87
31
57
14
May
82
28
48
9
June
77
25
43
6
July
77
25
42
6
August
82
28
48
9
September
91
33
55
13
October
98
37
64
18
November
93
34
66
19
December
89
32
66
19

Arrivals & Departures

It is important that you plan to arrive in Maun, Botswana on the first day of your safari (please inform us if you are arriving sooner, and we can help make arrangements). South African Airways offers direct flights from New York City airports to Johannesburg, South Africa, with connections to Maun.

Your safari will end in Maun, Botswana unless you choose to book an extension to Victoria Falls (Walk Botswana can arrange transfers and accommodations for this extension; please see our Zimbabwe extension page). You may book your return international flight departing from Maun on the afternoon of the final day of your safari. However, to play it safe, we advise that you plan to spend a night in Maun after your safari and book your international flights out for the following day. We can assist with booking post-tour accommodations for you upon request.

Botswana Wilderness Walking Guides

Meet Our Guides

Walk Botswana Safaris is operated by Gareth and Robyn Flemix, a husband-and-wife-owned safari business based in Botswana. Together with their incredible local team, Gareth and Robyn do it all—from designing your individual adventure to guiding and hosting you while on safari.

Gareth Flemix

Gareth Flemix was born in South Africa and raised in the bush, becoming a wildlife enthusiast at a very young age. In his youth, Gareth learned the hunting trade from his friend’s father, a professional hunter. This experience left a profound impression on him, and upon completing his formal schooling, Gareth became a qualified professional hunter in 1998.

From there, Gareth went on to guide in the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve (part of the Greater Kruger National Park) in South Africa, an area renowned for its luxurious accommodations and service, quality guiding, and sought-after game viewing. Having gained in-depth experience in the South Africa safari guiding world, Gareth moved to Botswana in 2002, where he worked for Kwando Safaris in the Linyanti region before starting his own company in 2005.

From remote stretches of Xai Xai to the bustling Chobe riverfront and the furthest reaches of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Gareth has an extensive and intimate knowledge of Botswana’s wild places and a keen eye for wildlife photography. His passion for the conservation of Botswana’s wild places also earned Gareth an honorary wildlife officer designation under the Department of Wildlife and National Parks—a prestigious recognition within Botswana’s wildlife community.

With nearly 25 years of safari-based experience in the wilds of Africa, Gareth is known for his high-caliber guiding, his ability to keep his guests entertained, and for operating in areas most people wouldn’t dream of venturing. Gareth leads nearly all of Mountain Kora’s Walk Botswana safaris, custom-designing each itinerary alongside his wife, Robyn. He also maintains all of our safari equipment and vehicles and is certainly the backbone of the entire operation!

Robyn Flemix

Robyn Flemix, a conservation ecologist by trade, joined the family business in 2017, working in marketing and operations. Born in South Africa to a Zimbabwean family, she grew up in the wild spaces of Namibia and Kenya, completing her university coursework in South Africa, and eventually settling in Botswana in 2011. Prior to joining the Walk Botswana team, she worked in the Okavango Delta and Chobe regions of Botswana, conducting research and wildlife monitoring. Robyn now lives in Maun with Gareth and their two young children.

While operating a safari business was never on the agenda for Robyn until she met Gareth, safaris, exploration, and all things adventure do indeed run in her blood. Descended from the famous explorer, Henry Hartley, Robyn’s family first established themselves in Southern Africa in the early 1800’s. In fact, Hartley was the first white man to view Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe in 1849—years before David Livingstone saw, named, and announced the falls under the name of Queen Victoria in 1855. Hartley and his descendants continued to explore and navigate what was then an unknown continent, recording much of what later geographers and explorers would use to circumnavigate Southern Africa.

With a passion and knowledge for wild spaces and the wildlife of Africa, Robyn brings a focus on conservation to the business, continually investigating ways to operate in a more eco-friendly manner while working in areas where photographic tourism directly benefits conservation.

Accommodations

Mobile Safari Camps

Our walking safaris include mobile tented camp accommodations, with the addition of a night or two in a selected lodge convenient to our walking trail. These tented camps are private, with either semi-luxury or adventure-style options (semi-luxury camps have en suite baths with their own toilets and wash basin). As the term implies, our mobile camps are able to be moved from one location to the next; we create a camp from nothing, bringing in all of the equipment, food, and staff, and leave nothing behind but our footprints. You will feel like a true African explorer—albeit a sustainably-minded one—while still enjoying some rustic, creature comforts such as hot “bucket” showers and a comfortable mattress to sleep on at night.

Each mobile safari is accompanied by a chef, waiter, and camp hand who prepare meals, fill bucket showers, do laundry, and generally keep our camp clean and orderly. We use dome tents with high density foam mattresses on “off-the-ground” beds, as well as quality linens, duvets, and blankets to stave-off the often nippy nights. Bathroom tents house bucket showers and long drop toilets (with a toilet seat). Portable solar lights are provided, enabling guests to navigate at night between the toilet tent and outside veranda. There, canvas wash basins hold water for you to wash away any dust you have accumulated from the day’s adventure (or, for semi-luxury safaris, toilet tents are provided en suite).

Meals at Mobile Camps

Meals are specially prepared over the fire and served in the dining tent by our very own chef. Despite the remote setting, our safari cuisine and snacks are abundant and fresh. Our chefs pride themselves on skillfully preparing quality meals over an open fire, guaranteeing surprise, awe, and a definite sense of appreciation from their guests. Alcoholic beverages, sodas, juice, and water are provided throughout the safari. In major towns such as Gaborone, Maun, and Victoria Falls, you will be booked on a bed & breakfast basis.

Safari Lodges on the Okavango Delta

During your walking safari, we will spend one or two nights in a safari lodge in the Okavango Delta region. Please keep in mind that lodges change based on our mobile camping location, which is selected based on the time of year, wildlife activity, and the unique interests of your group. That said, some of the safari lodges we use include:

Moremi Crossing

Moremi Crossing is a relatively new camp situated on the Boro River overlooking Chief’s Island. It consists of 16, spacious safari tents, each with its own private wooden deck and en suite bathroom. Moremi offers a sense of simple luxury and is also eco-friendly, featuring the latest in solar and waste disposal technology.

The lodge includes an open deck for a common space, a dining room, bar, and lounge, as well as its own pool. The camp is shaded by magnificent trees and—being surrounded by water—guests can explore this beautiful wilderness area by mokoro (a traditional, dugout canoe). Other activities include game and bird walks, sunset motorboat cruises, and island-camping. Lions, leopards, wild dogs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalos, red lechwes, and many more species may be seen on excursions from Moremi Crossing.

Kanana Camp

Kanana Camp is located on the Xudum River in the southwestern corner of the Okavango Delta. The camp is traditional wood and canvas, built into the tree line and overlooking a lagoon with water levels that fluctuate throughout the year.

Embodying an intimate and personal atmosphere, Kanana camp offers eight, large, safari-style tents, equipped with tasteful furnishing and private, en suite bathrooms. The main lodge is situated on raised decks and offers a dining and sitting area, cocktail bar, and a refreshing plunge pool. The campfire area has a wonderful ambience, surrounded by white river sand and water when the delta is in full flood.

Activities at Kanana include day and night game drives, game viewing by mokoro (traditional canoe), guided walks, fishing, motor boating, and sunset cruises. A wide variety of game frequent the area including impala, lechwe, leopard, lion, and elephant; if you’re lucky, you may even spot swamp-dwelling sitatunga antelope during boating excursions. The birding all year round is exceptional.

What people have to say about our Walking Safari in Botswana.

"I can’t begin to express my gratitude for sharing one of earth’s last pristine and wild places. It was humbling to be on foot, walking in the vast and verdant bush under an expansive and quiet sky. Such moments are profound in how it connects us to the roots of us Sapiens. And liberates us from our petty concerns. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of both the Delta and Kalahari ecosystems. I loved learning to read the landscape and interpret the veritable orchestra of bird and animal sounds. It was a true gift to have the space and time to be immersed in the bush, listening, feeling, smelling, ever so far from the noice of modern life. As fascinating as it is to see the wild animals, I am particularly intrigued by the interconnectedness of the plants, animals, birds etc. The whole story, including the nuanced and complex human/wildlife conflict. Lastly, I reveled so so much in being off-line, in staring into the evening fire, in falling asleep to the sounds of the night, in the conversation and laughter, and in my siesta reading and snoozing. A spa for the soul.

Monica.L., Bostwana Safari,

April 2023
"Gareth came across very experienced and competent. He was always in control. Both in and out of the camp. Both in the wild and in civilization. It gave us a warm feeling of safety, trust and confidence. He openly let us into his world of dreams, realities, joys, hopes and struggles and we vividly felt being a part of it. In short, he is both an awesome guide and a fantastic guy. We couldn’t ask for better! Two thumbs up for Gareth!

Trina H., Bostwana Safari,

May, 2022
"Our walking safari in Botswana was more than I ever expected. On a walking safari you see lots of animals but not as close (as a jeep safarai - unless by accident) but you learn how the bushes, trees, birds, insects and animals all interact to create the most amazing balance of nature. With a jeep safari, you just can’t stop any time to examine tracks, insects, bark, scat, and learn how they all interact to survive and produce on our earth".

Sacha E., Bostwana Safari,

April/May, 2024
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