basto

Hello,

Would be very grateful for any information on what to expect in Kwando/Kwara/Kalahari in december.

I know it is green season but how much will this affect game-viewing? Will it rain everyday, will roads be accessible etc. Itīs only our second safari (first one in Tanzania), so we are quite easy to satisfy, but I still would want some advice on what to expect. The reason behind going in december is the lower off-season rates, that makes this possible for us.

We are planning for 10 days with either:

5 days L Kwara
5 days Deception Valley

or

3 days Kwando Lagoon
4 days L Kwara
3 days Deception Valley

What would you go for ?

thanks in advance,
Tom

santharamhari

Tom,

November is also part of the green season. The game viewing will be a touch better than December. Try to book for early November. IF not, November is good also.

All camps are good. Lagoon, Kwara/Little Kwara and lebala (you missed out on this one).

Kwando concession is HUGE and so you may need a bit more time.

Rgds,
Hari

basto

Hari,

Thanks for your reply. I will check if rates apply for november. That would be perfect.

Perhaps we should skip deception valley and also go to Lebala instead ? That would give us 6 days in Kwando (split Lebala/Lagoon), and 4 in Kwara.

rgds,
Tom

Patrissimo

Just returned from Botswana. Although we didn't stay at Kwando lodges, our game viewing was excellent. We saw Chettah 2X, wild dogs 2X, lions and cubs, and so many other birds and animals. I cannot imagine the game viewing being any better. It did not rain everyday and roads were fine .
Patrissimo

PredatorBiologist

Tom: you should have some great viewing as that is the calving season so you may get some great viewing of new life and that makes it a very active time for predators as well.

I am a huge fan of Deception Valley Lodge but 3 nights there is perfect. That gives you enough time to walk with the bushmen, make a whole day journey into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and still get a few drives on the DVL lodge property.

Lagoon and Lebala are close enough to each other that I would choose one or the other for the length of time you will be there and keep your stay at DVL along with Kwara.

Personally I would do:
3 Deception Valley Lodge
3 Little Kwara
4 Lebala

Although if you want a little extra luxury or want more time for water activities 4 nights Little Kwara would be the way to go.

santharamhari

Tom,

Deception Valley.....i personally have never been to, so i take Pred's word for it.

Really they are all great camps....lagoon, lebala and LK....you cant go wrong with any combination. As with any game viewing it is all the luck of the draw!!! at any of the camps.

Good luck,
Hari

basto

Hello,

and a big thanks for replies. I feel good about this now and will proceed with booking Deception Valley, Kwara and Lebala according to PBs suggestion.

I did not think about it being calving season, that makes it very interesting, even though I find it hard too see the small ones taken by predators.

rgds,
Tom

santharamhari

Tom,

If you can squeeze in a couple of additional nights, may be ideal. The wild dogs have been prolific in recent weeks at Lagoon, Lebala and Kwara. However, they have a HUGE homerange and it boils down to the luck of the draw!!!

Either way, good luck with the planning

Hari

PredatorBiologist

Tom: that will be a fantastic safari and you will love having some green in your photos, yet be early enough in the season that the bush won't be too thick for your sightings.

I stayed in all the same camps in March (except it was Kwara and not the more luxurious Little K) and had an excellent time although last year was extremely wet in March and the bush was thick. I have traveled the general area (different Botswana camps) in early January (December should be even better) also and found it to be a most excellent time. You are going to love that trip!

Woolfie

I went to little Kwara in September and the guides and the service was amazing. We happenend to fly into Deception Valley picking others up and it didn't look great - rather dull by comparision with other places and the people who were picked up said it was okay but not as good as they hoped for. These guys had stayed in camps all over Botswana in many years and they said they wouldnt go back.


We had amazing viewing at Kwara - the guys go everywhere and do thier best to find the game. The camp was very new when we got there - it could do with a little bit of softening but Mel the manager said she was on the case!

PredatorBiologist

Woolfie: A stay in the Kalahari is far from dull in my mind but it is important to understand that it can be very different from being in the Delta or any other 'standard' safari location. To those who need constant Big-5 sightings or you are bored or disappointed please do not set foot in Deception Valley because you may consider it dull.

For those who appreciate a different type of landscape, diveristy of gameviewing with an interest in adaptations for a harsh environment, birds, and have an interest to learn the ways of the oldest human culture on this planet do not miss a stay here.

Personally maybe its because I already know a lot about wildlife with it being my passion to the point that my career is built around it but to me possibly the most fascinating experience I have had in 3 trips to Africa was walking with the bushmen and rediscovering what my ancestors have forgotten over the last 100,000 years from the time when we walked Africa for survival.

The DVL concession itself can be hit or miss as there is typically only one or two vehicles out on the entire property. They do have 5+ leopards on their concession as well as a pride of lions and the sand makes for good, fun tracking of spoor. The chalets are great and we arrived to find tracks all over next to our chalet where the pride stayed the night keeping the entire camp awake with roaring the night before our arrival. One of our nights the lions roared and then crossed right through the camp, we followed their trail the next morning for about an hour and half before discovering 3 cubs hidden in the bush. So although there is not sexy-megafauna at every turn there is great chances to experience the big cats. A day drive in the Central Kalahari is a must -- I missed out on this but plan to return for it. They say Deception Valley is teeming with oryx, springbok, etc. - species not often seen on typical Botswana safaris and this is possibly the best area to see cheetah (especially hunting) in Botswana. My guide told me of seeing 9 cheetah in one day (obviously not typical).

I'll add to this that Adriaan and Wanda were terrific camp managers, this camp is tied for the top of the best food I have had (be forewarned that oryx, kudu etc. are on the menu), and Adriaan was probably the best guide I have ever had (Tom be sure and request him!). Even their curio shop was by far the best I have been in featuring many items made by the bushmen including lots of ostrich egg jewlery and even bushmen bags with spears.

I guess the simple questions are do you think its amazing that people can live in a desert and survive with only a couple of items that they carry in a bag. That they can look and know a use for everything around them. Are you interested in slowly following a trail of tracks that may cause you to change directions 6 times before maybe finding an elusive cat? Do you want to drive for a day in overwhelming nothingness in a land with virtually no horizon, no people, and then discover odd concentrations of game tucked into natural oasis? If that sounds great go! If not and a large animal is needed ever 10 minutes the Sabi Sand has lots and lots of great lodges with Big 5 viewing daily.

I think combining this with Kwando camps provides for an overall big wilderness trip with great, diverse game viewing along with some adventure.

santharamhari

I have to concur with PB. Although, i havent been to DVL, i have been to Jack's camp in 2004. It's certainly not big game country like the delta or the greater Linyanti system, but, is still a great trip. I had a similar experience there....walking with the bushmen, going out in the pans, going to see the brown hyena den, walking with the meerkats etc etc.,

Hari

afrigalah

I know exactly what Bill (PB) is talking about. My walking safari experience in Chizarira NP, Zimbabwe--a truly wild area but with nothing like the profile of places which most Fodorites speak of-- remains one of my favourites. The essence of the African bush has nothing whatsoever to do with frequent sightings of the 'glamorous' species. You have to search for what you want to see, and in the process, you find things you never imagined might exist.

I knew this country was wild, and gladly embraced it...but I was still a little surprised to learn just a few days ago that in more recent years, my guide on that walking safari has been both sat on and shat on by a buffalo which he was forced to shoot when it charged. Fortunately, he suffered no more than bruises when the mortally wounded buffalo landed on him. And in another incident, he was fired on by poachers, and killed two of them when he returned fire. This was just a couple of years ago. It makes me wish I was younger and fitter so I could return to country which is not tame.

John

basto

Hello,

It has been a loong process, but now we have finally secured a booking for 4 lagoon, 3 Kwara and 3 nights at DVL. Absolutely brilliant to finally know that we are going back to Africa.

Just wanted to say thanks for the great info provided here, and if anybody has questions I`ll be happy to answer, and of course will give you all a trip report at next Christmas.

Have just ordered Cry of the Kalahari from Amazon. Can you recommend any other great books to prepare us (and make the time go a bit faster) ?

Thanks!
Tom

PredatorBiologist

Tom: Congrats! That should be a fantastic itinerary and I'll be excited to read the report on your return.

I am very early into reading The Old Way: A Story of the First People by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. Her family were the first people to every live with and document the Bushman way of life. Since you will be staying at DVL and visiting the Kalahari you may enjoy this read as a background to the Bushman way of life.