Botswana Travel Blog
I’m on Safari again. Out of Africa.
A blog about my visit to Botswana in late 2026. A 2 week visit is never enough time to properly explore any country. But,, it will have to do. I’m on the move, squeezing in an African adventure.
This my second attempt at visiting Botswana. I was denied entry into Botswana in 2022; because I didn’t have a Rona boaster. I had the original, but they wanted a boaster.. or you receive one in a tent on arrival. I declined.
Second time around…is the charm.
Traveling light on this trip. No dive gear, just Safari essentials.
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I travel to Botswana via Johannesburg, South Africa. Direct from Atlanta – 15.5 painful hours. Uggg.. I must like to travel.. this part is not fun!
But I’m here.. One night in JoBurg to regroup after the long flight. I pass thru immigration.. a breeze. No visa requirement ... Just an easy online landing card to fill out 2-days in advance.
I stay at City Lodge in Joburg. A 5 minute walk from the terminal. No taxi. No fuss. Good restaurant and room. Reasonable price. A good plan.
The next day, I’m back at the airport. Onward to Botswana. Finally.
Just a 1 hour flight. In Botswana, I am greeted with another easy immigration. Welcome to Maun: A small town, deep in the Okavango Delta. Safari central.
I book an overnight room. Whenever possible, I give myself extra travel days. A margin of error for possible flight delays. I’m at the Maun Lodge. Not many options in this small town. This is a solid choice. With reliable airport transfers.
At the Maun Lodge, I repack gear and clothes into a duffle bag; leaving non-Safari clothes and my small roller bag with the Maun hotel.. (I'll retrieve on my return here in 5 days.)
Soft side duffels are 100x better when moving about in Africa,, But I enjoy the ease of a wheeled bag at airports and elsewhere… so on this adventure I have both ... I pack a duffle inside my roller bag .…. A great plan; I repack Safari clothes and binoculars,, now I’m light-weight and mobile for my Safari flights and an Okavango Bush adventure.
The next day.. I’m back at the Maun airport again. A tiny place. Taking a fantastic 8-seat prop flight to the Bush. I love low altitude flights !!! Million dollar views.
Mmteabe Tented Camp is my destination. My home for the next 5 days. And a Botswana Safari adventure.
From the Safari plane: Botswana is an endless pancake-flat, green delta Flood Plain, as far as you can see!!
Fortunately, the weather is ideal for my visit. The rainy season has passed.
Every year is unique in the Okavango Delta - The rain this year (and last) have been heavy. Rain so heavy, that much of the Okavango delta is currently flooded. The unusually high floodwaters have an unfortunate impact on my Safari plan. Due to the floods, many game drives trails are impassable ..... also, a motorboat adventure into the deeper Delta channels is not possible … ugg.
Timing is everything in the Delta.
With so much water, it is a surprise that I miss out on the motor boats.. but the Mmteabe Safari Camps location is cut off to off to boat access..
The flooding is so widespread; we even use a remote remote landing strip to reach Mmteabe’s Camp, requiring an additional 2 hour jeep transfer .... Wow - I am off off the grid here. Loving that part !!!
.. Regarless of the high floodwaters; Mmteabe Tented Camp is a gem. I enjoyed every minute and would be lucky to ever return.. Great value and a legit experience. Anyplace that takes this much work to get to… is guaranteed to be great 😊
Mmteabe has luxury tents, great food, great trucks.. with an incredible view of a river marsh .. and the occasional Mokoro canoe polling past.
The vibe is idyllic.
From Mmteabe Camp; Our game drives explore Khwai and Moremi concessions, and also the southern corner of Chobe National Park.
Daily I have elephants in front of me.. outside my tent, at breakfast, at dinner ... Gently eating the water lilies, spraying themselves with water, watching the tourists.
A Complete calm takes over. These giants are just 5 meters away. It creates an air of meditation. The Elephants gently eating in the water,, like dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
I have 4 full days of game drives here. 2 Game Drives per/day. In Toyota Landcruiser’s. Seating for 8 tourists – on elevated open seating, under a canopy. Its comfortable ,,, but rough …. These are first-rate Game Drive jeeps. Most days, I have only 3-4 other tourists in my truck .... One Game drive,, just myself in the truck.
The first Game Drive is early each morning. I’m out the tent at 5:30am, on the road at dawn. It’s cold in the morning. The African plateau is higher than most people realize..So the temp swings are huge. But I’m ready for the morning chill.. this isn’t my first Safari. Hat, scarf/muffler, jacket, long pants, a couple of layers. By noon – It’s hot. 90F
The second Game Drive of the day begins at 4:00pm, and goes into the night. Returning in the dark, for dinner around 7:30pm.. Everyday is an adventure.
If you have never been on an African Game Drive.. You might not know. A Game Drive is an off-road bumping, jumping, bouncing day in an open jeep. No cake-walk.
Stopping to track animals, using binoculars, taking photos. It’s not a luxury ride.. It’s a full-body gym workout, pretending to be a Safari. Hold on, and let yourself become the Safari. Learn the animals… be a Bwana.
One luxury that is always included with Game Drives; the Sundowner tradition. Each evening, at sunset – we stop and climb off the jeep. The driver sets up a drink and d’oeuvre table.. cocktails and snacks as an Orange Sun drops against a vista.. with Giraffe and Zebra in the distance. Yeah, that’s luxury.
The Botswana Delta is spectacular. One of the best Safari’s I’ve ever experienced. Water everywhere. This is my 12th safari. My 8th in Africa. Only Tanzania and Kenyan Safari’s have surpassed this one. Wow.. definitely someplace I need to return one day.
Although a motor-boat adventure didn’t happen on my Botswana Safari. I did arrange a Mokoro Canoe for a sunset. Low on the water line.. slipping past the lush reeds of the Delta flood waters. Being quiet near the Buffalos drinking ,,, soaking in a different view of the Delta wildlife.
Mokoro is authentic Botswana Delta.. But for tourists .… these canoe’s can’t get close to the animals.. the risk is too high in a Mokoro.. Hippo or Croc,, or Elephant near a Mokoro is very dangerous.. Mokoro’s are low-lying dug-out canoes, being pushed along by a guide - polling. It’s a fantastic experience, with a quiet slow calm vibe. Pure gold.
But only a motor-boat can offer a quick escape from animals .… and the up-close experience of a River Safari. Ahh.. next time!!
My Mmtebee Camp games drive are all excellent.
Some Details: Game Drive Animals
- Elephants everywhere!! Botswana has over 110k of them!!! Wow, no shortage of Elephants.
- 2 Cheetah crossing a small river is my Safari highlight. Crazy good video and photos. Epic.
- Loved all the cats; Leopards and Lions were beautiful finds.
- And of course; Giraffes, Zebra, Warthogs, a dozen types of Antilope and Impala. Springbuck, Elong
- Birds of Prey; like Eagles. or Scavengers: like Vultures,, and smaller Weavers.
- A great Hyena encounter one evening, up-close at a den.
- Surprisingly few monkeys in the area I visited. Just a few Baboons. Unusual for a Safari.
- No Rhino in the Delta area.. They are targets of poachers. Botswana has relocated their Rhino for safety.
- Buffalo and Hippo were a little sparse for my visit .. but that was timing.. On another visit, without the high floodwaters .... I would have seen hundreds of both these animals... But with high flood waters.. the animals spread out.. and become harder to track and find.
- A few Croc’s… the big ones are deeper into the Rivers.
Another surprise in Botswana. Deep in the bush. Mmteabee Camp has Starlink. … the internet is everywhere that a government will permit!
Botswana understands the importance.. and permits it. Amazing. Normally, I wouldn’t care,, and prefer to be 100% off the grid .... But NOT this time – I am in need of telecom.
My onward travel is in jeopardy: Checking email, I discover my Nigeria Visa has been denied. That I need to re-apply for a Visa into Nigeria… and re-submit some additional documentation … NOW,,, the travel clock is ticking ….… ☹
No stress Bruce. Starlink’s got you covered.
Another surprise on this Safari… No mosquito. Maybe I was lucky with the timing of my visit.. not sure.
All too soon. I’m back on the move ... a flight out of the Bush .. on another prop plane. Back to Maun.
Back in civilization; I arrange a few days to regroup after my Safari Adventure, extra time to explore Maun. One of the free days - I have a productive trip to the local shops. Coming home with a Street painting from Botswana - I dearly love my growing collection of African Art. My souvenir from Bots.
.. and I also found a Botswana Travel Patch. Too cool.
I have timed this Botswana Safari around my exit from Maun. A once a week outbound flight, a direct flight to Windhoek, Namibia. Repack and onward travel.
The people and streets of Botswana have been easy and welcoming. I walk Maun with complete safety. Bots has the 4th highest per-capita income of any African nation. And the second highest of mainland Africa. Wow!! A small total population, with a huge land-area; but they have diamonds, and minerals, and tourism.
And maybe good Leadership? Something is going right. I’m loving Botswana.
I’m always interested in the Education system when traveling to new countries.. It was great to discover Botswana has Free education for its people. Excellent !!
I fail to visit Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana. And also, I need to explore Northern Chobe National Park ,, to see the famous giant 1000 Elephant herds …
… If I’m fortunate to return to the Okavango Delta; I should try to get to Chefs Island, or maybe the Splash Kwari concession – in search of a motor-boat river adventure.
Wow,, I don’t want to leave!! It might take a few more trips to properly explore Botswana !
Onward. Always onward.
A Botswana Travel Blog
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