Botswana

We spent New Year’s day in Botswana in 2015-2016 with our dear friends Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and her husband David.   It was their first safari trip, and as soon as we’d landed in our remote camp’s airstrip, our guide drove for 10 minutes before parking next to a pair of sleeping lions.

We fell in love with Botswana there and then!

The next few days were spent in total bliss, waking up early each morning for a safari drive, before returning to our luxurious lodge for brunch.  A few hours of resting later, we’ d be off for an afternoon safari drive, culminating with sundowners — wine, gin & tonic, you name it — while parked near elephants at a watering hole, or lions waking up from a day of napping, etc.    Absolutely out-of-this-world experiences, each and every day!

Spending time at different camps in Botswana means a totally different experience from on place to the other.  The dryness of Savuti, in Chobe National Park, is home to thousands of elephants and many lions, while the water-world of the Okavango delta feels like a completely different country, with its marshes, delta, thousands of birds, hippos and crocodiles.

Botswana is and remains one of Africa’s great safari destinations along with some awesome vegan food, both in sheer number and variety of its wildlife, but also in the beauty of its landscapes and the kindness and warmth of its people.