Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Most of the national parks in Botswana are characterised by vast open spaces with a
few private safari concessions, next to no infrastructure and limited amenities. Exceptions
include the Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve, which both have relatively
larger volumes of travellers visiting each year.
Most national parks in Botswana boast four of the Big Five - buffaloes, elephants, leo-
pards and lions. In Chobe National Park alone, the elephant population has swelled to an
estimated 71,000 (at last count), and in Moremi Game Reserve (the only part of the
Okavango Delta to be officially protected) there survives one of the few healthy wild dog
populations in Africa. Because the Okavango Delta and Chobe River provide an incongru-
ous water supply in a semi-arid environment, nearly all Southern African mammal species
are present in the Moremi Game Reserve, parts of the Chobe National Park and the
Linyanti Marshes. In the Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pans National Park, herds of wildebeest,
zebras and other hoofed mammals migrate between their winter range on the
Makgadikgadi plains and the summer lushness of the Nxai Pan region, one of the largest
such migrations on earth.
NATIONAL PARKS - BEST OF BOTSWANA
PARK
FEATURES
ACTIVITIES
BEST
TIME
Central Kalahari
Game Reserve
52,800 sq km; one of the largest protected areas in
the world; semi-arid grassland
wildlife viewing; walking; vis-
iting San villages
Jun-Oct
Chobe National
Park
11,700 sq km; mosaic of grassland & woodland;
high elephant population
wildlife viewing; birdwatching;
fishing
year-
round
Kgalagadi Trans-
frontier Park
38,000 sq km; straddles the South African border;
semi-arid grassland
wildlife viewing; birdwatching Dec-
May
Khama Rhino
Sanctuary
43 sq km; last refuge of Botswana's rhinos
wildlife viewing; birdwatching May-
Sep
Khutse Game
Reserve
2590 sq km; adjoins Central Kalahari Game
Reserve; same features
wildlife viewing; walking; vis-
iting San villages
Jun-Oct
Makgadikgadi &
Nxai Pans NPs
7300 sq km; largest saltpans in the world; migrat-
ory zebras & wildebeest; flamingos
wildlife viewing; trekking with
San; quad biking
Mar-Jul
