Living with the Elephants: The Botswana Experience

Multi-generational travel is the fastest growing segment in the luxury safari industry and many camps in Botswana are endeavoring to become more family friendly. So armed with my enthusiastic son Finley (aged 11), complete with a clipboard and lots of questions, 5 rubiks cubes and some Setswana phrases under his belt, we set off for a 2 week adventure (sight-inspection tour) of Botswana’s northern region. Botswana is well known for having some of the best wilderness and wildlife areas on the African continent. With a full 38 percent of its total land area devoted to national parks, reserves and wildlife management areas – for the most part unfenced, allowing animals to roam wild and free – travel through many parts of the country has the feeling of moving through an immense Nature wonderland.Our first stop was Machaba a wonderful 1950′s style safari camp that has been completely re-furbished along with a new set of owners in 2012. The camp is set in the Khwai river area of the Delta, an incredible area for wildlife sightings,. We saw packs of wild dogs, elephants, leopards, lions, giraffes and a huge variety of antelopes. Machaba was one of our favorite camps on the trip, it was extremely comfortable without being too fussy, and genuinely relaxed with excellent staff and service, we felt at home immediately. The swimming pool was fun until an elephant joined us and we had to make a quick exit! You might want to read this related article: Experience a…

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