Things to do in Botswana

Flying over Botswana’s forever-changing landscapes

Seeing the Okavango Delta from above is an especially humbling experience – it’s so huge and unexplored…

By Andrew Flatt

Marketing Manager at Desert & Delta Safaris

Safari Air launched in 1989 to whisk guests between Botswana’s remote camps, and I can say from first-hand experience that it’s an incredible way to see the country.

Flying over Botswana makes you appreciate just how vast it is. Seeing the Okavango Delta from above is an especially humbling experience – it’s so huge and unexplored. Then there’s the Savute region, Chobe National Park, the Boteti River and all the tiny villages and towns dotted in between. There’s so much to see, and you really get a feel for just how remote the lodges you’re staying at are.

Every flight is unique. You can often see larger wildlife like elephants, buffaloes, hippos and giraffes. You might see lions and leopards, or floods arriving and storms building. Smaller animals can be harder to spot, but sometimes you can see impalas, lechwes, warthogs, crocodiles, baboons and zebras grazing on the ground, as well as birds beneath you.

My personal highlight was spotting a sitatunga from the air – it’s a very rare and beautiful antelope, and it was a special moment.

The planes are based at Maun airport and depart whenever guests need them. Flights can be anything from 10 to 70 minutes, depending on routes. They’re light aircrafts – Cessna Airvans and Cessna Grand Caravans – fitting between six and 11 people, so they’re about the size of a small bus. You can see the pilot sitting in the front, which is an experience in itself! The pilot conducts a short briefing on the flight before passengers are flown to and in between each destination.

For guests who’ve just flown into Johannesburg or Cape Town on a huge Boeing and then landed in Maun, it’s an especially exciting – sometimes overwhelming – experience. The highlight is often landing on ‘bush’ airstrips that are often just gravel or grass in what feels like the middle of nowhere.

It really disconnects you from the reality of the Western world. I love seeing the landscapes you’re about to explore from above, taking in the wonders of this country from a totally different perspective.

Available in these itineraries…

Itinerary

Best of Botswana and Victoria Falls
by Adele Jones

Length11 Days

Price range£6,895 - £9,675pp
Itinerary

Botswana Conservation and Community
by Dagmar Marrocco

Length9 Days

Price range£6,095 - £8,595pp

Alfred & Andrew Flatt

Andrew was born and raised in Maun, the gateway town to Botswana’s Okavango Delta, and spent most weekends at Desert & Delta Safaris’ camps and lodges while growing up. He eventually got a job with the company as Marketing Assistant, before progressing to his current position as Marketing Manager, overseeing day-to-day operations and medium-term planning for the operator’s nine lodges.

Plan your holiday withAlfred&

Your journey will start with one of our UK team – someone like Louise, who's travelled extensively in Botswana. They’ll shape your ideas into the trip of a lifetime. But they won't do it alone. They'll draw on the expertise of our contacts on the ground, connecting you to the people who'll make your holiday one you'll always remember - the rangers who'll ensure you'll spot the best wildlife in Chobe, the village chiefs who'll give you an insight into local life and the helicopter pilots who can land you on an island in the Delta never visited by humans before.

Louise Dean

Africa Expert for Alfred&

When it comes to Africa, Louise is well versed. She’s flown into an empty Namibian beach to eat lunch on the aircraft wing, experienced Tanzania’s Great Wildebeest migration and listened to stories of the Anglo-Zulu War on the battlefields where it happened over a centennial ago. While she’s witnessed vast, incredible game including the last two northern white rhinos, it’s the people who she finds most inspiring; the native Maasai women whose lives are deeply rooted within the Olare Motorogi Conservancy and the local guides - resilient, highly knowledgeable, and ever smiling.
Harrison Mangwegape

Guide at Camp Xakanaxa

Harry was born in the Botswanan village of Thamaga, near capital Gaborone. He loved wildlife growing up and trained at the Okavango Guiding School in Maun to pursue his passion. He started working as a guide at Desert & Delta’s Savute Safari Lodge in 2010 and later joined Leroo La Tau in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, before moving to Camp Xakanaxa.
Keitumetse 'KT' Mogale

Guide at Camp Okavango

Keitumetse has been guiding for 12 years. He grew up in the village of Mogotho in the Okavango Delta and began his career as a tracker. He now leads walking safaris and game drives at Camp Okavango and enjoys sharing his stories with guests from all over the world.
Florence Kagiso

Senior Guide at Chobe Game Lodge

Florence grew up in a farming family in the Okavango Delta and has been a guide at Chobe Game Lodge for 17 years. When she joined in 2004, she was the first female guide at the camp - she now mentors a team of 17 women. Her work was recognised in National Geographic Traveller’s recent Reader Awards 2021, where she won The Innovator award.
Andrew Baker

Founder and Managing Director of Helicopter Horizons

Andrew grew up in Zimbabwe before moving to the US to train as a pilot. Botswana had always held a place in his heart, so he began his aviation career as a fixed wing pilot in the Okavango Delta. He founded Helicopter Horizons in 2004, offering photographic flights - without doors - for organisations such as the BBC and National Geographic. The company now offer scenic flights for tourists in the Okavango Delta, Linyanti region and the Makgadikgadi Pans, as well as transfers between safari camps.
Ollie Maitapiso

Guide at Leroo La Tau

Ollie grew up in the village of Xaxaba in the Okavango Delta and began his career as a trainee poler in 1999, taking guests out on mokoro trips. He started guiding in 2004 and joined Camp Xakanaxa in the Moremi Game Reserve in 2007, before moving to Leroo La Tau in 2014.