Baines Baobabs can be reached by a turnoff from the main Nxai Pan access road, 20 kilometres from the main Maun - Nata road and 17 kilometres from the entrance gate. Permits to enter and camp in the area are required.

Chobe National Park

The Chobe National Park, which is the second largest national park in Botswana and covers 10,566 square kilometres, has one of the greatest concentrations of game found on the African continent. Its uniqueness in the abundance of wildlife and the true African nature of the region, offers a safari experience of a lifetime.

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 about fifty kilometres north of Mababe gate; the Linyanti Swamps in the north-west and the hot dry hinterland in between.

Often described as one of, if not the best, wildlife-viewing area in Africa today. It boasts one of the highest concentrations of wildlife left on the African continent. Animals are present during all seasons, and at certain times of the year their numbers can be staggering. If you allow yourself adequate time here (a minimum of three to four days is recommended) you will probably see nearly all the major species: giraffe , elephant , zebra , impala, tsessebe, roan, sable, wildebeest, kudu, buffalo , waterbuck, warthog, eland and accompanying predators including lion , hyaena, jackal, bat-eared fox and possibly even cheetah and wild dog.

Khama Rhino Sanctuary

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust is a community based wildlife project near Serowe, established in 1992 to assist in saving the vanishing rhino and to restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state.

Covering approximately 4,300 hectares of Kalahari sandveld, the Sanctuary is centred around Serwe Pan - a large grass covered depression with several natural water holes.

Serwe Pan provides prime habitat for white rhinoceros and other grazing animals, whilst the denser vegetation in the southern area of the Sanctuary is favoured by browsing animals such as giraffe.

To date, 14 white rhino have been translocated into the Sanctuary. The first four arrived in February 1993, from northern Botswana. 

All the rhino settled well and soon began breeding. With further translocations, some sad deaths, and many happy births (the most recent addition being born in April 2001) the total number of white rhino at the Sanctuary is currently 18.

Confidence in the Trust and its achievements has been expressed by the Southern Africa Rhino Specialist Group who are keen to establish Khama Rhino Sanctuary as a breeding centre for the re-population of white rhino in Botswana. 

Guided game drives, rhino trails and nature walks can be booked and paid for at the etrance gate. Both take about two hours, during which time you will be guided around the Sanctuary by our well trained and very knowledgeable Rangers.

The Sanctuary is home to other wildlife which have settled naturally or been translocated in: Such as zebra, blue wildebeest, giraffe, eland, springbok, impala, gemsbok, kudu, steenbok, leopard, African wild cat, black backed jackal, brown hyena and many more. 

Over 230 bird species have also been identified here including Abdim's stork and bearded woodpecker.

Makgadikgadi National Park & Kubu Island

Rising no more than 20m above the Sowa Pan , this national monument with its fossil beaches, stunted baobab trees and mysterious stone walls, leaves an indelible impression upon all who visit its water-worn shores. This scrap of rock and its ghostly baobab trees is surrounded by the sea of salt. In cool weather, this bizarre sight can make visitors feel like castaways on an alien planet. The real name of the island, but less known, is Lekhubu (meaning ridge in Setswana). It is the most famous of all the rock islands in the Makgadikgadi. Most of the rock islands in this area are remnants of ancient sand dunes. Kubu Island is different in that it is one of the scatterings of granite islands.

Four wheel drive is recommended throughout this area, as even in the dry season the pan surface can be treacherous with the unseen water table lurking often just inches under the hard-baked surface. Once on the pans the exhilaration of speeding across the flat surface in unforgettable.

While there are no fixed lodges or hotels in the park, there are several designated campsites. This limits access to all but the fully equipped self-drive visitor, or those on tailor-made safaris.

Makgadikgadi National Park & Kubu Island

Rising no more than 20m above the Sowa Pan , this national monument with its fossil beaches, stunted baobab trees and mysterious stone walls, leaves an indelible impression upon all who visit its water-worn shores. This scrap of rock and its ghostly baobab trees is surrounded by the sea of salt. In cool weather, this bizarre sight can make visitors feel like castaways on an alien planet. The real name of the island, but less known, is Lekhubu (meaning ridge in Setswana). It is the most famous of all the rock islands in the Makgadikgadi. Most of the rock islands in this area are remnants of ancient sand dunes. Kubu Island is different in that it is one of the scatterings of granite islands.

Four wheel drive is recommended throughout this area, as even in the dry season the pan surface can be treacherous with the unseen water table lurking often just inches under the hard-baked surface. Once on the pans the exhilaration of speeding across the flat surface in unforgettable.

While there are no fixed lodges or hotels in the park, there are several designated campsites. This limits access to all but the fully equipped self-drive visitor, or those on tailor-made safaris.

Nata & The Bird Sanctuary

This small village at the crossroads for routes north and west provides an important refuelling and stop over service to travellers to Kasane or Maun . Nata is 190km from Francistown and 300km from both Kasane and Maun. It is principally a cattle-farming area but you should allow several days to explore this fascinating area.

The nearby Nata Bird Sanctuary is a community project and a must to visit - 165 bird species including flamingoes and pelicans are common. Sowa Pan with its unique beauty and beaches of rolled quartz pebbles also offers good birding opportunities. Sowa Spit - Botswana's soda ash industry mines on part of the pan. Eastern Ntwetwe Pan with its fascinating landscapes and beautiful sunsets is also worth visiting. Travel to the pans is by four-wheel drive vehicles only. Nata basketry is available for purchase at the village.

Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta is one of the world's largest inland water systems . It's headwaters start in Angola's western highlands, with numerous tributaries joining to form the Cubango river, which then flows through Namibia (called the Kavango) and finally enters Botswana, where it is then called the Okavango.

Millions of years ago the Okavango river use to flow into a large inland lake called Lake Makgadikgadi (now Makgadikgadi Pans). Tectonic activity and faulting interrupted the flow of the river causing it to backup and form what is now the Okavango Delta. This has created a unique system of water ways that now supports a vast array of animal and plant life that would have otherwise been a dry Kalahari savanna.

The delta's floods are fed from the Angolan rains , which start in October and finish sometime in April . The floods only cross the border between Botswana and Namibia in December and will only reach the bottom end of the delta ( Maun ) sometime in July, taking almost nine months from the source to the bottom . This slow meandering pace of the flood is due to the lack of drop in elevation, which slopes a little more than 60 metres over a distance of 450 kilometres. The delta's water dead ends in the Kalahari - via the Botetle river, with over 95 per cent of the water eventually evaporating.

During the peak of the flooding the delta's area can expand to over 16,000 square kilometres , shrinking to less than 9,000 square kilometres in the low period. As the water travels through the delta, the wildlife starts to move back into the region. The areas surrounding the delta are beginning to dry out (the rains in Botswana occur approximately the same time as in Angola) and the wildlife starts to congregate on the edge of the newly flooded areas, May through October.

The delta environment has large numbers of animal populations that are otherwise rare, such as crocodile, red lechwe, sitatunga, elephant, wild dogs, buffalo, wattled crane as well as the other more common mammals and bird life . The best time for game viewing in the delta is during the May-October period, as the animal life is concentrated along the flooded areas and the vegetation has dried out. The best time for birding and vegetation is during the rainy season (Nov.- April) as the migrant bird populations are returning and the plants are flowering and green.