Botswana 2022/23: Planet Baobab & Meerkats!

Follow the road pointed out by the giant aardvark and you’ll discover the intriguingly named Planet Baobab… This is the Baobab Capital of the World, where the average age of each tree is more than 4000 years, and the boundless lunar landscape of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans are the size of Switzerland ... this quirky and welcoming place has the largest swimming pool in the Kalahari, serves great food and offers an oasis in the wilderness... you can sleep on the Pan and meet the Meerkats up close and personal - do not hesitate - just visit this place - it is AWESOME!

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Botswana 2022/23: Elephant Sands

Placed in the middle of nowhere in the Botswanas bush, this amazing natural waterhole attracts elephants throughout the day for water, swimming and chilling... the Bushlodge and Campsite is located 53Km north of Nata on the main road to Kasane and offers 20 en-suite tents and 8 en-suite chalets as well as ample space for campers with an ablution block. There is a restaurant serving decent food and a big swimming pool with bar ... you can laze in the water while listening to the rumble and odd trumpet as the elephants come and go and squabble for their turn to drink... a MUST do on any trip in Botswana!

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SA: Kgalagadi -2022, December – Mabuasehube

Mabuasehube Reserve (a part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park) has some of the most remote Kalahari camping in Botswana. There are very few sites available so they tend to book up far in advance. There are seven camps in Mabuasehube, each with two to four individual sites, totaling just 17 campsites in the entire Mabuasehube reserve. If you’re looking for solitude, you’ve come to the right place. The camps are named for the pan they sit next to (except for Entrance Gate.) There are no fences and the animals roam freely ... we had a resident leopard and brown hyena in Mpaya No. 1 and a honeymoon lion couple strolled though in the morning... AMAZING.

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SA: Kgalagadi – 2022, December – Polentswa

Polentswa is a lovely quiet camp with only three campsites. They each have their own pit toilet and shower cubicle. Polentswa has no water. If you plan to camp there and are fortunate enough to get a spot, because you have to book well in advance, you would need to bring your own. Camping in an unfenced camp means you have to be on high alert for predators. The nearby Polentswa waterhole simply teams with wildlife. This is the Kalahari at its best!

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SA: Kalahari Meerkat Sanctuary

Kalahari Trails, better known as the Meerkat sanctuary, is home to one of the Kalahari’s best-known animals, suricates. Kalahari Trails Meerkat Sanctuary is 3500ha in size, nestled right in the heart of the red Kalahari dune fields, just 35km before the entrance to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP). This unique piece of heaven offers visitor experiences where you can get closer to nature and possibly interact with the Meerkats like no other place in the Kalahari.

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SA: Augrabies Falls

Augrabies Falls National Park is a national park located around the Augrabies Falls, about 120km west of Upington. It was established in 1966. The Augrabies Falls National Park covers an area of 820 km² and stretches along the Orange River. The area is very arid. The waterfall is about 60 metres high and is awe-inspiring when the river is in flood. The gorge below the falls averages about 240 m deep and runs for 18 kilometres. The gorge provides an impressive example of erosion into a granitic basement. The original Khoikhoi people named the waterfall Ankoerebis, meaning the "place of big noises". The Trekboers who later settled in the area derived the name Augrabies. There are many deposits of alluvial diamonds along the Orange River and legend has it that the biggest cache of diamonds in the world lies in the swirl-hole eroded into the granite at the foot of the waterfall by the thundering waters. On the menu of plant species is the enigmatic Quiver tree or Kokerboom (Aloe dichotoma). Traditionally, the Khoisan hunters made their quivers from this tree which dates back thousands of years and which produces vivd yellow flowers in May and June. The Augrabies Falls National Park offers an ancient landscape that will take you back in time to the world of the first hunter-gatherers.

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SA: Strandloper – Langebaan

To us, local is lekker. Local food, local staff, local taste – all on an a scale of international proportions. We welcome guests from far and wide. From Boksburg to Bangkok, from Cape Town to Cairo, we’re here to make sure you enjoy the ultimate in good, old-fashioned, down-to-earth, West Coast awesomeness. You’ll find us to be a tight-knit family who love what we do. Whether it’s building fires, turning grids, baking breads or simply making you feel right at home, we’re into fun, sun, surf and everything that goes with it. We’ve been meeting, greeting and bringing our guests memorable moments since ‘pa fell off the bus’ (which in South Africa is a great way of saying we’ve been doing what we do for a very, very long time). Some of our staff (like Marie) have devoted almost their entire working lives to us. All have been born and raised in the region. We treat them with love and respect because that’s just the way we are.

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SA: West Coast National Park

The West Coast National Park lies 88 km north of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The park is found inside of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The West Coast National Park is home to over 250 bird species, making it a bird-lover’s paradise. There are four hides inside the park, which provide excellent viewing. Flamingos, ostriches and black harriers can be seen hanging out in the area, along with curlew sandpipers, sanderlings and knots, which journey some 15000 km from Russia to breed at the park each year! best time to visit is in August / September for the magnificent display of fynbos.

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SA: Kruger National Park – Albasini Ruins

For the more historically minded traveller on a Kruger Park safari, entering at Phebeni Gate will be a good option, as a stone’s throw from the gate is the Albasini Ruins. The Albasini Ruins gives visitors the opportunity to have a look into the Park’s rich history. Albasini was a Portuguese trader in the area and the ruins are what are left of his 19th century trading post. Goods sold here varied from beads to clothes and even metal products. Although only a few crumbling walls remain there are small display rooms on site where you will be able to view the relics that were uncovered from the area.

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