Secret Namibia · Beyond Namibia safari · 5 days
The 5-Day Moremi and Makgadikgadi Safari is a short Botswana safari with two very different sides. Begin at Leroo La Tau, high on the bank of the Boteti River overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, where Botswana's secret zebra migration comes to drink between May and November.
At a glance
The 5-Day Moremi and Makgadikgadi Safari is a short Botswana safari with two very different sides. Begin at Leroo La Tau, high on the bank of the Boteti River overlooking the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, where Botswana's secret zebra migration comes to drink between May and November. Then fly into Moremi Game Reserve for two nights at Camp Moremi on the Xakanaxa Lagoon, one of the richest wildlife areas of the Okavango Delta. Four nights, two fully inclusive lodges and two light aircraft flights: an easy add-on to a Namibia safari, or a first taste of Botswana on its own.
Flying between camps turns the travelling days into part of the safari: an hour over the dunes or the escarpment instead of a day on gravel, and more time where it matters. Every flight, transfer and activity is arranged; you simply arrive.
Botswana and the Zambezi region follow the same rhythm as Namibia: dry and cool from May to October, with September and October the hottest and best for big concentrations of game, then green and stormy from November to April. In the Okavango the flood arrives from the Angolan highlands around June and lingers into September, so mokoro and boating are at their best in the middle of the dry season. Victoria Falls is fullest from February to May and at its lowest, with the clearest views, from September to December.
What is decided: the shape of the trip: the areas, the order, the properties and the number of nights in each. It is the version we would build first for most travellers.
What we confirm together: your dates, who is travelling, room categories and any extensions before or after. Every safari is tailored from here, and nothing is held until you ask us to.
The route
The route runs from Maun to the Boteti River and the Makgadikgadi Pans, north into Moremi Game Reserve, and back to Maun, all by light aircraft. The camps meet you at each airstrip; the only driving is in the game vehicles.
Flight times are approximate and schedules are confirmed the evening before. Luggage on light aircraft is limited to about 20 kg per person in soft bags.
Day by day
From Maun a short light aircraft flight brings you to the Leroo La Tau airstrip and a drive to the lodge, built on cliffs more than ten metres above the Boteti River, which forms the boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. Eleven thatch and glass-fronted chalets and a family suite look straight down on the river and the animals coming to drink.
Between May and November, as the pans dry out, Botswana's secret zebra migration brings thousands of zebra and wildebeest to the Boteti, followed by lion and other predators, and the view from your deck can be extraordinary. Game drives explore the national park across the river, and a visit to Khumaga village shows another side of Botswana. Meals, local drinks and activities are included.
After a morning activity, fly north over the edge of the Okavango Delta to Moremi Game Reserve and Camp Moremi, on the edge of the Xakanaxa Lagoon. Rebuilt in 2018, the camp has twelve thatched safari tents, a pool and a deck over the water.
Moremi is famous for its predators and the variety of its game, from lion, leopard and wild dog to elephant, buffalo and red lechwe on the floodplains. Morning and afternoon game drives and boat safaris on the lagoon make the most of two full days. Meals, local drinks and activities are included.
A final morning game drive, then a light aircraft returns you to Maun in time for your onward flight.
Overnight · Departure dayWhere you stay
Eleven thatch and glass-fronted chalets and a family suite on cliffs above the Boteti River, facing the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.
+ Read moreGame drives in the national park, boat safaris on the Boteti when the water allows, and the zebra and wildebeest of Botswana's secret migration at the river between May and November. Khumaga village is close by.
Fully inclusive; children from six.
Visit website
Twelve thatched safari tents on the Xakanaxa Lagoon in Moremi Game Reserve, rebuilt in 2018 as a modern safari lodge.
+ Read moreMorning and afternoon game drives through Moremi's woodland and floodplains, boat safaris on the lagoon and outstanding birdlife, with a pool and a deck over the water between activities.
Fully inclusive; a light aircraft flight and a short drive from Maun.
Visit website
The practical side
Included
Not included
Next steps
This page is a sample itinerary, not a quote, and nothing on it is booked or held. If it suits someone you know, send them the link; we are just as happy to start from scratch for them.
Five days is the shape most of our guests choose for this route; a night or two more lets you linger where you like it best, and many guests swap a property for one they have heard about. Tell us roughly when you are thinking of travelling and who is coming, and we will turn this sample into a firm itinerary within a day or two.
