Botswana's lush summer, its most productive and colorful time, offers natural spectacles most travelers miss. Sporadic light rains in the Kalahari Desert mark a time of dramatic change, signaling a great influx of migrating wildlife and plains animal births..."bush babies" are everywhere! From January to April, witness Africa's second-largest migration, with 50,000 zebra and wildebeest passing through the Kalahari. Meet the San people, the earliest hunter-gatherers in southern Africa, whose culture dates back more than 30,000 years. In the Okavango Delta, water levels are typically low during this season, and the drier region of the delta bordering the Moremi Game Reserve offers superb wildlife viewing, with stable populations of lion, leopard, wild dog and much more. A special highlight is a visit with a predator researcher at Gomoti Camp, plus exclusive private stays at intimate luxury camps.
Trip Highlights
Rare Green Season Immersion
Experience intimate animal encounters at a quiet time of year, and capture stunning landscape photos against a backdrop of dramatic skies with constantly shifting clouds
New Animal Babies Abound
On 4x4 game drives, enjoy prolific wildlife encounters at the time of year when new births fill the plains
Victoria Falls at Peak Volume
Witness Victoria Falls during its mightiest seasonal flow, producing spray so profuse it creates a rain forest microclimate on the rim
Go to Photo Expedition Trip
The Best Southern Summer Safari You'll Find
Experiencing the Kalahari Desert and Botswana’s Okavango Delta during the green season is a distinctive nature adventure in its own right. But to do it the way we do it—maximizing seclusion, with close-up wildlife encounters in especially remote areas—takes this safari experience to a whole different level. Read on!
A Small Group—Just 7 Guests—Ensures a More Authentic Safari
Encounters with the natural world are more meaningful in smaller groups—that's why we limit this safari to a maximum of seven guests. This very small group size ensures the most personalized experience possible, in exceptionally secluded locations.A Diverse Summer Season Itinerary
Our less-conventional itinerary offers an experience of Botswana's prolific wildlife during a season when new life abounds but visitors are few. In tandem with World Wildlife Fund, we’ve designed it to maximize a diverse array of habitats and settings, for the best range of wildlife viewing—including Africa's second-largest migration of zebra and wildebeest from January to April.Stay in Solitude on Private Reserves
In contrast to more heavily visited national parks, we stay in seclusion on Botswana’s premier private reserves, including a coveted location next to Makgadikgaki Pans National Park, where we have easy access to all the activities the area has to offer. At this time of year, floodwaters are receding in some areas of the Okavango Delta, opening up vast areas for wildlife viewing on land. In addition to regular daytime game drives, we also do exciting night drives, not allowed in the public parks, in search of nocturnal wildlife.Intimate Luxury Camps
A stand-apart element of this safari is our exceptionally small and secluded camps. Within the privately owned Santawani Concession, Gomoti Tented Camp is for us alone, offering an encounter with the African wilderness evocative of a century ago—which very few safari-goers get to experience.Chartered Flights Maximize Your Time on Safari
We book seats on chartered light aircraft for transfers between safari locations, enhancing your time with wildlife and maximizing comfort by eliminating long drives over rough dirt roads.An Open "Window" Seat for Everyone
The top-quality safari vehicles we charter have open sides (no glass to interfere with your view) and 10 cushioned passenger seats—one in front next to the driver followed by three rows of three seats each. Yet we limit our capacity to just seven travelers per vehicle on wildlife drives! The three rows of seats are tiered, with higher seats in the rear so no one’s forward view is impaired.This ensures maximum comfort, viewing, space for gear, and easy photo opportunities.Private Verandas for Personal Wildlife Viewing
Our luxury tented safari camps have private verandas so you never miss a chance to encounter animals that may wander past—and enjoy the view from your own secluded space.The World's Finest Naturalist Guides
We’re proud to work with the best-trained, most experienced naturalist guides in Africa. A Nat Hab Safari Expedition Leader accompanies your group from start to finish, ensuring highly personalized service. Our Expedition Leaders are among the most qualified guides in Africa, averaging 15 years' guiding experience, with additional training resources provided by WWF scientists. Our philosophy is simple: an African safari is only as good as the guide, so we must provide the very best! See Expedition Leader bios with traveler comments regarding the quality of our leaders.Our Quality-Value Guarantee Ensures Your Outstanding Safari
Every traveler receives Natural Habitat’s exclusive guarantee, which clearly states that we will meet the lofty expectations we set in our promotional materials. To our knowledge, this is the most ambitious guarantee made by any adventure travel company. Read our important promise.Feel Good About Your Carbon-Neutral Journey
We care deeply about our planet, as we know you do. When you travel with us, the carbon emissions from your trip are 100% offset—including your round-trip flights from home. Natural Habitat Adventures has been the world’s first carbon-neutral travel company since 2007.Natural Habitat Adventures is WWF's Travel Partner
Because of our commitment to environmentally friendly travel, as well as the exceptional quality of our adventures, World Wildlife Fund—the world's leading environmental conservation organization—has named Natural Habitat Adventures as its worldwide travel partner, a designation that makes us exceedingly proud.
