Botswana Game Reserves And Nature Reserves

Central Kalahari Game Reserve / Cantral Kalahari National Park

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a large national park in the Kalahari desert region of Botswana. The reserve covers an area of almost 53,000 square km, making it the second largest game reserve in the world. The park is populated by a wide variety of wildlife such as giraffe, brown hyena, warthog, cheetah, wild dog, leopard, lion, blue wildebeest, eland, gemsbok, kudu and red hartebeest. The terrain is mostly flat, the sand dunes covered with bush and grasses and areas of larger trees. Many of the river valleys are fossilized with salt pans. Four fossilized rivers meander through the reserve including Deception Valley which began to form around 16,000 years ago.

Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park is located in northwest Botswana and has one of the highest concentration of game on the African continent. By size, this is Botswana's third largest park, after the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Gemsbok National Park, and is the most diverse. Chobe National Park was also Botswana's first national park.
Accommodation in and around Chobe National Park

Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a large wildlife preserve and conservation area in southern Africa. The park straddles the border between South Africa and Botswana and comprises two adjoining national parks: Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa and Gemsbok National Park in Botswana. About 75% of the park lies in Botswana and 25% in South Africa. The park is located largely within the southern Kalahari Desert where the terrain consists of sand dunes, sparse vegetation, occasional trees, and the dry riverbeds of the Nossob and Auob rivers. Underground water flow and provides life for grass and camelthorn trees growing in the river beds. The park has abundant, varied wildlife. It is home to large mammalian predators such as black-maned Kalahari lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. Migratory herds of large herbivores such as blue wildebeest, springbok, eland, and red hartebeest also live and move seasonally within the park, providing sustenance for the predators. More than 200 species of bird can be found in the park, including vultures and raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and secretary birds.

Khutse Game Reserve

Khutse Game Reserve is the southern extension of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve that was established to conserve the pans of the Central Kalahari. The reserve's plant life and seasonal water sources attract herds of antelope and other grazing mammals, which in turn attract predators, such as cheetah, lion and wild dog. After a good rainfall you may get the opportunit to spot up to 150 species of birds around the pans.

Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan located in Northern Botswana and is the largest salt flat complex in the world. The area is home to one of Africa's largest zebra populations, and usually only quad bikes are permitted on the fragile plains. The main water source is the Nata River, called Amanzinyama in Zimbabwe where it rises at Sandown about 60 km from Bulawayo. Kubu Island, a rock island, is within the Makgadikgadi Pan.

Mashatu Game Reserve

Mashatu Game Reserve is located in the eastern corner of Botswana where the Limpopo and Shashe rivers merge. The name is derived from the magnificent Mashatu trees, which occur throughout this immense tract of privately owned land. Mashatu is home a waide variety of animal life, such as elephant, lion, giraffe, eland, ostrich and the kori bustard.

Mokolodi Nature Reserve

Mokolodi Nature Reserve is a National Park in Botswana that was founded in 1994 and is situated on 30 square km of donated land outside of the capital Gaborone.

Moremi Game Reserve / Moremi Wildlife Reserve

Moremi Game Reserve is a National Park in Botswana. It is located on the western side of the Okavango Delta and was named after Chief Moremi of the BaTawana tribe. Visitors to the park can see lions, giraffe, leopards, caracals, elephants, cheetahs, buffalo, zebras, red lechwe, African wild dogs, wildebeest, impala, Kori Bustards, Hippos, Nile Crocodiles and a variety of smaller mammals and birds.

Nxai Pan National Park

The Nxai Pan National Park is situated in Northern Botswana and consists mainly of forest and savanna woodland and large areas of open grassland. Wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, giraffe and eland are all common in the area making for spectacular game viewing.

Okavango Delta

The Okavango is home to a wide variety of wildlife and attracts thousands of tourists and safari travellers per year. There are numerous camps within the delta region that cater to these visitors. The delta provides a seasonal habitat to numerous different species that include African Bush Elephants, the African Buffalo, the Hippopotamus, the Lechwe, the Topi, the Blue Wildebeest, the Giraffe, the Nile crocodile, the Lion, the Cheetah, the Leopard, Brown and Spotted Hyenas, African Wild Dogs, the Greater Kudu, the Sable Antelope, both the Black and the White Rhinoceros, the water monitor, Plains Zebras, the Warthog and the Chacma Baboon. The delta also includes over 400 species of birds, including the African Fish Eagle, the Crested Crane, the Lilac-breasted Roller, the Hammerkop, Ostrich, and the Sacred Ibis.
Accommodation in and around the Okavango Delta