Things to do in Botswana

Visit a local fishing village from Chobe Savanna Lodge

A local host from the community talks about life in Namibia, recounting stories and telling them about the village and its traditions….

By Andre Birkenstock

Camp Manager at Chobe Savanna Lodge

Guests at Chobe Savanna Lodge might come for the wildlife first and foremost – but we also find they often want to learn about local culture and meet the people that call the region home.

We offer a morning visit to the remote fishing village of Kasinu, where most of our staff come from, for guests wanting to see a different side. They leave with a guide after an early breakfast and take a short boat cruise along the river to reach the village, passing hippos, crocodiles and other animals that dwell on the banks.

They’re taken around the village with a local host from the community who talks about life in Namibia, recounting stories and telling them about the village and its traditions. Depending on term times, guests might visit the school, where they’re welcomed by one of the teachers to learn more about education in the country, and how we support projects here.

After that the group passes by the clinic and then visits the market, where locals sell handmade baskets, bangles, necklaces and other crafts. After an hour or two wandering the village, they get back in the boat and cruise along the river back to the lodge for brunch.

I love hearing stories from these trips; guests really enjoy being able to meet and chat to people in the village. A group once told me how they went to the market and donated what they didn’t think was a lot of money – but to the ladies in the market, it made a huge difference. They were so overjoyed they started dancing and celebrating, asking the family to join in and giving them traditional clothing to wear while they danced together. The family told me it was one of the standout moments of the trip for them.

Available in these itineraries…

Itinerary

Botswana Conservation and Community
by Dagmar Marrocco

Length9 Days

Price range£6,095 - £8,595pp

Alfred & Andre Birkenstock

Andre was born in Namibia and was previously a doctor for Desert & Delta Safaris. He would fly between the operator’s nine camps to enable staff members to attend his surgery with any health or wellbeing issues. He decided to retire from medicine in 2017 to become the camp manager at Chobe Savanna Lodge with his wife Anne-Marie, and now has plenty of stories from his previous career that guests love to hear.

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.