In the Okavango Delta, paddle across lagoons filled with hovering birdlife and along crystal clear backwater channels past grassy islands teeming with wildebeest, hartebeest, buffalo, giraffe and zebra. See elephants wade across channels, hear antelope rustling through water reeds and look out for semi-submerged hippos and crocodiles. Watch prides of lion hunting through the golden grassland of the Savuti Marsh, admire flocks of pink flamingos preening on the white surface of the Makgadikgadi Pans and, in the desolate Central Kalahari Game Reserve, meet remnants of the indigenous Kalahari San Bushmen.

Highlights

Okavango Delta  Surrounded by the sands of the Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta is the world's largest inland delta (1.8 million hectares). Known locally as ‘the river that never finds the sea,’ the largest freshwater wetland in Africa is home to a rich concentration of wildlife.

Discover Chief's Island, the largest island in the Delta, marooned from the mainland by mostly inaccessible wetlands and a permanent dry home to big game. Look out for lion, spotted hyena, leopard and cheetah. Walk or ride an elephant to see rare birds and large herds of buffalo, kudu, oryx and sable antelope. Explore the maze of sparkling lagoons, meandering channels and overgrown islands in an open 4WD vehicle, or pole silently through the reeds of the Delta in a traditional mokoro dugout canoe to view crocodiles, hippos and tiny painted reed frogs. The Delta is also home to zebra, giraffe and many species of antelope and is one of best areas to spot the endangered African wild dog.

Moremi Wildlife Reserve One of the world's most beautiful wilderness areas, the Moremi Wildlife Reserve is a 300,000ha wildlife paradise located in the central and eastern parts of the Okavango Delta. Moremi is a colourful montage of lily-covered wetlands, waterways, floodplains, open grassland and forests. Look out for elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard, hyena, wild dog, buffalo, hippo, antelope, zebra, giraffe, monkey, baboon and more than 400 species of birds, including the carmine bee-eater and woodland kingfisher.

Tsodilo Hills Discover more than 4000 rock paintings scattered among caves and cliff faces at this religious site that is sacred to the indigenous San Bushmen. Archaeological studies have revealed that these rocky hills have been inhabited for at least 100,000 years. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is located around 50km from the town of Shakawe, to the west of the Okavango Delta.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve Explore one of the largest conservation areas in the world, covering an area of 5.2 million hectares and set in the Kalahari Desert, a vast arid savannah wilderness stretching 2500km across south-western Africa. Within this immense region of flat grassland scattered with acacia trees, spot a variety of unique wildlife including brown hyena, gemsbok, kudus, African wild cats and porcupines. Take to the skies in a hot-air balloon or watch out for resident leopard, cheetah and the huge black-maned Kalahari lion from an open-topped jeep. Meet people of Bushman origin to find water-filled tubers in the sand and to listen to their tales of desert survival: for more than 30,000 years the Kalahari was home to the nomadic San Bushmen, whose descendants now live predominantly in settlements.

Chobe National Park Discover one of Africa’s greatest game reserves, a 1.1 million hectare park that boasts up to 90,000 elephants – arguably the world's largest concentration of this incredible animal. Cruise the river to see large herds of elephant, buffalo and zebra congregate along the Chobe River to drink every afternoon. From an open-topped vehicle look out for lion, leopard, hyena, wild dog, impala, waterbuck, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and warthog. Try to identify some of the more than 460 different species of bird life hovering overhead, including slaty egrets, rock pratincoles, pink-throated longclaws, lesser gallinules and Pel’s fishing owls.

To the south-west of the park lie the golden grasslands of the Savuti Marshes. Once home to a vast Paleo super-lake and a river that suddenly vanished in the early 1980s, the Savuti reclaims some of its former glory during the wet season, attracting thousands of migrating zebras, wildebeest and buffalo, which are closely pursued by lions, cheetahs and hyenas. Watch baboons playing in scattered rocky kopjes and look out for leopard, klipspringer antelopes and large herds of bull elephants roaming through the grasslands. Overhead, spot several species of birdlife including falcons, eagles, kestrels and goshawks.

Makgadikgadi Pans Take a quad bike safari across the vast, gleaming, salt-encrusted white sand of the Makgadikgadi Pans. At 1.2 million hectares they are the largest flat salt pans in the world. During the dry season, watch out for springboks, gemsboks, red hartebeests, black-backed jackals, and, if you’re fortunate, cheetahs and lions. Or visit the salt pans during the wet season when rains transform them into a huge lake interspersed with sandy islands. See thousands of migrating pink flamingos paddle in the waters as vast herds of zebra and wildebeest line the water’s edge to drink.

Nata Bird Sanctuary A 23,000ha community-run wildlife sanctuary that protects antelopes, zebras, jackals, foxes, monkeys and squirrels, as well as a large population of water birds. Discover more than 165 species of birds, including pied kingfishers, carmine and blue-cheeked bee-eaters, martial and black-breasted eagles, secretary and kori bustards. When the Nata River flows in the rainy season, the sanctuary also becomes a haven for Cape and Hottentot teals, white and pink-backed pelicans and flamingos.

Mokolodi Nature Reserve See giraffes, elephants, zebras, baboons, warthogs, hippos, kudu, impala, waterbucks and klipspringers, as well as cheetahs, leopards, honey badgers, jackals and hyenas and more than 300 different species of bird. Located just 15km south west of Gaborone.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park Discover a sea of red sand dunes, sparse vegetation and dry riverbeds in this 3.6 million hectare park that flows between South Africa and Botswana. See herds of gemsbok desert antelope, springbok, eland and blue wildebeest. Try to spot black-mane Kalahari lions, cheetah and leopards seeking shade beneath imposing camel thorn trees, while pygmy falcons, one of more than 90 species of bird in the Park, circle overhead looking for prey.

Side trip to Zambia

Victoria Falls Discover one of Africa's best-known natural wonders, an awe-inspiring World Heritage site protected under the auspices of the Mosi-O-Tunya National Park in Zambia. At their highest, the Victoria Falls drop a distance of 108m (almost twice as far as Niagara Falls). Spilling into a gorge nearly 120m deep and 2km wide, the spray from the falls has created its own tropical rainforest ecosystem in the midst of semi-arid African tundra. Take in a sunset cruise or flight-see one of the world's most impressive waterfalls, made known to a wider world in 1855 by the famous British explorer Dr David Livingstone.

Best time to go

Game viewing is best during the winter dry season from May to October when the days are dry and sunny and daytime temperatures average 20C to a high of 30C. Watch out for cool evenings; the temperature can drop to 5C at night. Bird watching is best during summer, between November and March. The days are hot and sunny in the morning with thunderstorms in the afternoon. Daytime temperatures have a high of 38C while night time temperatures can drop to 20C.