WILDERNESS SAFARIS

"An Adventurer Safari"

On Adventurer Safaris, a philosophy of partially serviced camping exists with tin styles, thus setting the tone for an adventurous but comfortable wilderness experience. Each large 3m x 3m Dome Tent is fully furnished with comfortable camp stretchers and bedrolls (with pure cotton linen), a bedside table (with 12v electricity) and two small luggage racks. Each camp has two separate flushing toilet systems and two hot water bucket shower systems. Amenities and towels are also provided. Camp is lit with hurricane lanterns and has a 5m x 5m dining area, set with metal director chairs and tables with linen tablecloths. Experience an old-style serviced camping safari, which recreates a sense of pure adventure for the traveller seeking an authentic safari. Wilderness’ Adventurer Safaris provide fully serviced spacious tents, styled to provide elegant comfort in the ultimate wild camping game safari.

Day 1 & 2: Njuca Hills or Khumaga, Makgadikgadi Pans

Upon arrival in Maun, we depart for Njuca Hills by road, on the edge of the great Makgadikgadi Pans in the Kalahari Desert. The saltpans are among the largest in the world, part of a fossilised super-lake that existed aeons ago. The Adventurer campsite is well positioned under shady trees on rare hills with a superb view of the surrounding plains.

Surprisingly for such a harsh, lunar-like environment, life abounds, and brown hyaena, gemsbok (oryx) and springbok are just a few of the desert-adapted species that can be seen. Activities include game drives, concentrating on the opportunistic birthing time of desert animals from the erratic rains and the diverse array of birds, possibly including flamingos. In addition, the seasonal wildebeest and zebra movements, if found, provide amazing sightings at this time. Experience the phenomenal geology and simply enjoy the wide-open spaces of this ancient lakebed and surrounding grassy plains.

Day 3, 4 & 5: Deception Valley, Central Kalahari Game Reserve

After an early breakfast, we depart overland to our private Adventurer campsite in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve with lunch en route. This prehistoric riverbed, flanked by petrified dune lands, is very appealing after brief rains, as it is covered with nutritious grasses that attract herds from all over the enormous reserve. These large congregations of desert wildlife with their young are followed by predators into the broad riverbed, all of which makes for outstanding viewing.

On Day 4 or 5 we enjoy extended wildlife game drives (with picnic lunch), taking in the game-rich Pipers Pans area of the Kalahari, as well as the Letiahau and Deception Valleys. Suggested further reading on the area is "Cry of the Kalahari", by Mark and Delia Owens.

Day 6 & 7: Xigera Camp, Okavango Delta

After a light breakfast we depart overland to Maun (approximately 6 hours), flying by light aircraft in the afternoon to the water-filled paradise of the private Xigera area, within the Moremi Game Reserve. Xigera is the ultimate Delta experience, with serene waters flowing through innumerable channels around remote islands and a profusion of plant and animal life.

Xigera Camp is a luxury tented camp situated in the heart of the Okavango Delta. It has something for everyone, in an area where there are no other Moremi camps and where permanent water all year round allows for a variety of activities. Enjoy a true Delta experience while you sit back in a mokoro (dugout canoe) and silently glide through the tranquil Okavango waterways or watch the sunset and birds gliding home to roost from a motorboat on the Xigera Lagoon. The more adventurous can track animals on foot.

Nestled in a magnificent riverine forest, Xigera consists of 10 luxuriously furnished tented rooms with en-suite facilities and outdoor shower. Each room is raised off the ground on a wooden deck offering superb views of the seasonal floodplain and waterhole. Meals and drinks are enjoyed under the thatch of the raised lounge, pub and dining area overlooking a permanently flowing channel. A traditional boma offers alternative dining under the African stars. Wooden walkways wind through the forest connecting the rooms to the main area. There is a plunge pool for cooling off and relaxation. Birding in the area is excellent, with Pel's Fishing Owl, Slaty Egret, Wattled Crane, African Skimmers and a host of eagles, vultures, raptors and kingfishers to be found. The area has the highest density of the rare sitatunga antelope found anywhere in the Okavango Delta

Day 8: Charter flight to Maun

After an early morning activity and breakfast, we fly to Maun, where the safari ends.

ADDITONAL SAFARI NOTES
International air connection onto the safari: If arrival is planned for the day of the safari's departure, please ensure that this arrival is with the earliest possible flight from Johannesburg. Arrival on a later flight may necessitate additional road or air transfers (as departure for the first camp/lodge will already have taken place), subject to extra cost.

International air connections leaving the safari: Please ensure that your departure flight is booked for after 13h00 from Maun. For earlier international departure flights, an additional air charter will be required to arrive in Maun for this connection. Extra transfers and flights are subject to extra cost.

Bilingual safari dates: This service aims to facilitate a greater level of experience for guests that do not speak English fluently. These safaris will be led by a guide; however there may be a translator to assist the guide. Please note on all bilingual safari dates that the guide or translator's home language is English. This additional free service does not guarantee the level of fluency and depending on group dynamics a varying amount of the foreign language will be spoken.

Flashlights/ torches: Please ensure that a minimum 2-D cell flashlight is brought on safari, with spare batteries. Head lamps are also useful. Wilderness Safaris does not supply flashlights.

Camera battery charging facilities: Please note that a 12V cigarette lighter adaptor will be required (that is compatible with camera make) on this safari for charging batteries while on game drive or transfer drives. No 110/ 240V outlets are available, except at the Xigera Camp.

Dietary requirements and special occasions: Due to remote locality of Adventurer camps, please ensure that full dietary requirements and special occasions are advised at the time of your booking confirmation