Trip Report: Ultimate Botswana Wildlife Safari - October 2023

The Ultimate Botswana Wildlife Safari is a twelve-day, photography expedition all across Botswana. We began with orientation in Johannesburg, South Africa, and traveled to three unique, and beautiful destinations across Botswana including the Mashatu Game Reserve, Okavango Delta Region, and Chobe National Park. The following is the trip report for the Backcountry Journey’s Ultimate Botswana photography tour held from October 27 to November 6, 2023.

 Mashatu Game Reserve

After crossing the border from South Africa into Botswana, we entered the Mashatu Game Reserve, also known as the land of the giants. We spent four days at the Tuli Lodge: a luxurious camp with glamorous shelters, groomed lawns, and wonderful accommodations. The food was also amazing–a common theme at every camp we visited.

Each day, we ventured out into a reserve for two safaris, one before sunrise and one in the evening. Mashatu Game Reserve is the best place to see Africa’s big cats: lions, cheetahs, and leopards. During one evening, a pride of lions was out and about, moving across the landscape while playing with each other. The younger lions pounced on their siblings and taunted the mature adults. At one point, a young cub decided to torment the adult male who sat alone, separated from the group of lionesses. After the cub inflicted a few punches, the male lunged at it, causing the cub to flee. The cub then stopped bothering the father lion.

During a morning outing, we stumbled upon a group of spotted hyenas. They found an impala carcass, possibly killed by a leopard. We watched as the hyenas ripped into the flesh and cracked the bones with their powerful jaws. Jackals lingered nearby in an attempt to steal some scraps. A few were successful, but often, the spotted hyenas would chase them off.

As part of our experience in the game reserve, we had two sessions in the elephant hide called such because of all the elephant activity.  This was an underground shelter near a watering hole designed to get amazing, ground-level photographs. On hot, sunny days, the place is crowded with animals. During our trip, wind and rain blew into the reserve, resulting in a lack of megafauna at the hide. Even though the watering hole remained desolated, we still photographed our fair share of megafauna during the Mashatu expedition.

Okavango Delta Region

Eventaully, we departed from the Mashatu Game Reserve.  A charter plane flew us north into the Okavango Delta Region which is a world heritage site consisting of the largest inland river delta in the world. The weather at the delta was a lot warmer compared to that of the Mashatu Game Reserve.

We spent three nights at Shinde Footsteps Camp. The camp was located along a river where hippos could be heard grunting. Bushbucks, elephants, and baboons all have been seen wandering through camp. At night, hippos left the comfort of the river to graze among the open savannah. As a result of the nighttime animal activity nearby, it was forbidden to wander around camp alone after dark to ensure safety for everyone. The best part about staying at Footsteps is the isolation from other tourists.  Usually, there are a lot of other people staying at these kinds of camps.  But here we were the only guests and the only two vehicles exploring the landscape. This personalized experience resulted in a variety of photography opportunities without stressing over getting a photograph among a cluster of vehicles.

Wheeled-based safaris were the prime focus during our Okavango expedition. However, the camp staff presented us with other opportunities to add more variety to our adventure. During one evening, we took a boat ride down a river where we spotted elephants and hippos. The riverbanks were flooded with towering grasses that provided shelter for kingfishers and other aquatic birds.

After the boat ride, we had snacks and drinks near the river bank beneath the evening light. Vibrant cumulus clouds painted the sky and lightning flashed across the distant horizon.  This was common weather that happened every evening in the region.

A Mokoro ride was another activity we all agreed on. Mokoros were small canoes that glided across the water with the help of a guide using a large pole. During this morning, we drifted around a pond photographing birds, small frogs, and lily pads. The water was only about 3 feet deep so encountering hippos was not a concern.

Chobe National Park

Our adventure in Chobe National Park was exclusively a boat ride along the Chobe River in partnership with Pangolin Photo Safaris. The boat contained swivel seats lined directly down the center of the craft with attached gimbal heads for quick and easy photography. The water was smooth and home to a variety of wildlife species. The river was shared with other tour companies, but having a smaller, faster boat meant we were able to bypass all of the other vessels and get right to the good stuff. Overall, the river wasn’t crowded and it rewarded us with a variety of amazing sightings.

Each day was jam-packed with a variety of photo opportunities. Nile crocodiles and hippopotamuses floated along the river bank or basked in the morning light. Troops of baboons played along the river’s edge while cape buffalo grazed on the grasses. Giraffes, impalas, and elephants all came down to the water’s edge to quench their thirst. During those hot afternoons, large bull elephants would take mud baths right before going for a soothing swim.

During one outing, we saw a pride of lions traveling across a nearby ridge. After a few minutes, most of them vanished into the bush. So we decided to stop along the river bank to sip some coffee and wait to see if anything would come down to the water’s edge for a drink. To our surprise, a male lion came and lapped up some water. We were all ecstatic about the photo opportunity as the lion walked by and vanished back into the brush.

Two nights were spent at the Pangolin Chobe Hotel before flying to Johannesburg, South Africa where we concluded the expedition with one last group dinner. This expedition provided guests with the opportunity to photograph numerous species of wildlife across multiple environments in Botswana. Each destination was unique and provided its own magic to the wonders of Africa. This is a highly recommended tour for anyone passionate about wildlife and photography.