Scenic Wonders: 4x4 Self-Drive Safari in Namibia and Botswana

Fifteen nights across Namibia and Botswana, self-driven in convoy with a guide and crew, bush camping throughout, with the price quoted on application.

This is the Kalahari rather than the Namib, which is a different proposition entirely: red sand, scrub and grass plains rather than dunes, with game spread across country too big to fence.

The crimson dunes of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park open it, then the plains of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in the world and almost empty of people. Botswana follows at Moremi and Khwai on the edge of the Delta, where the game concentrates along the water, then Savuti, a stark channel country known for its predators, and the Chobe region, which holds the densest elephant population anywhere. Self-driven game drives through Chobe’s quieter corners close the trip, where the predator numbers are high and African wild dog is a possibility, though nothing can be promised.

The 4×4, an expert guide and support crew throughout and the bush camping equipment and accommodation are included; international flights, fuel and some meals are not. The price is given on application. The dry season from May to October is the window, when the game is tied to what water remains and the sand tracks are at their most manageable. Bush camping with no fence and no facilities is the format here, which is the authentic version of this and not for everyone. Sixteen days crossing two countries with a crew along is a serious expedition, and no wildlife sighting can be promised anywhere on it.