Things to do in Botswana

Savute Elephant Lodge: where the wildlife comes to you

You don’t need to go far to see some of the Chobe National Park’s amazing animals…

By Cindy Boshoff

Director of Sales and Marketing for Belmond Safaris

We’re on the banks of the Savute Channel but it’s a very dry area. We’re waiting for the day the water starts to flow again but for now we actually pump water (we run off a whole solar plant) into the waterhole which attracts animals all day and night. Once I woke up to a pack of wild dogs enjoying their morning water and later that afternoon saw big herds of buffalo. You will often see different birds throughout the day and hear the lions roaring. That’s one of the highlights. You don’t need to go far to see some of the Chobe National Park’s amazing animals.

A lot of people may not know this about Savute but it’s a great area for lions. Just seeing these huge prides of lion – 20 or 30 – walking slowly past you on the hunt is amazing. We also have an animal hide where you’re at eye level with the waterhole and you could literally sit there for hours. We arrange lunches in the hide and in the evening it’s floodlit so our guests can enjoy private dinners. I must’ve seen 20 elephants and you can hear them so clearly – it’s almost surreal.

We have a boma, and dinners here are very emotive. Everybody sits around the fire, there’s a barbecue going and the staff choir comes to sing. It’s one of those moments you’ll always remember – a feeling that you get which is difficult to describe but you might get goose bumps and become a little bit teary because it’s such an emotional evening.

Available in these itineraries…

Itinerary

Unsurpassed Botswana and Cape Town
by Daniel Heatly

Length8 Days

Price range£6,895 - £7,750pp

Alfred & Cindy Boshoff

Originally from Johannesburg, Cindy Boshoff moved to London to embark on a career in hospitality. After 10 years of experience abroad she returned to Africa where she has lived for eight years in Cape Town working in the luxury hospitality industry. She is an avid birdwatcher, keen photographer and conservationist. Most of all she loves creating bucket-list Botswana travel experiences for her clients, one dream trip at a time.

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.