Kwando Reserve

The 2,300-square-km (900-square-mi) private Kwando concession has more than 80 km (50 mi) of river frontage. It stretches south from the banks of the Kwando River, through huge open plains and mopane forests to the Okavango Delta.

It's an area crisscrossed by thousands of ancient game trails traversed by wildlife that move freely between the Okavango Delta, Chobe, and the open Namibian wilderness to the north. As you fly in to the reserve, you'll see this web of thousands of interlacing natural game trails—from hippo highways to the tiny paths of smaller animals. This should clue you in to Kwando's diverse animal life: wall-to-wall elephants, crowds of buffalo, zebras, antelope of all kinds including roan and sable, wild dogs, lions, and wildebeests. Participants on one night drive came upon a running battle between a pack of 14 wild dogs and 2 hyenas who had stolen the dogs' fresh kill. The noisy battle ended when a loudly trumpeting elephant, fed up with the commotion, charged the wild dogs and drove them off. There's a sheer joy in knowing you are one of very few vehicles in a half-million acres of wilderness.

If you'd like to take a safari with children, there's no better place than Kwando, where under care of top rangers you'll not only have a memorable time but learn lots about the bush. The safari starts with a safety briefing, and kids get their own tents next to mom and dad (or you can share). Kids learn to track and take plaster casts of spoor, sit up in the tracker's seat on the vehicle to follow game, cook marshmallows over the boma fire, tell stories, catch and release butterflies, and make bush jewelry. Kids can eat on their own or with you, and if you want an afternoon snooze, they'll be supervised in a fun activity. This program is available at both Kwando camps; the price is the same per night as for an adult.