Sensory Safaris: Botswana

Mornings in Botswana come early. You rise with the chirping birds before the sun to head out on a drive, in search of the myriad species that inhabit these wild lands.

The night has blanketed the watery landscape in a chilly mist. Wrapped in a blanket with a hot drink to warm your hands, enjoy the morning breeze as your guide takes you in search of the area’s waking wildlife.

As the sun rises, you’re greeted with the waking calls of creatures. The snorts of antelope, a zebra’s bray, the low rumbles of an elephant — all crescendo into a natural symphony as old as time.

In the Kalahari, the rising sun beckons skittering meerkat colonies out of their tunnels, as they prepare for their daily patrol.

Following a delicious bush lunch, you ward off the heat with a siesta or a dip in your private plunge pool. Your veranda offers ample views of animals doing the same. Lion prides find reprise from sun in the shade of trees, while elephant and buffalo find solace wallowing in the cool waters of a lagoon.

Above, a panoramic blue sky; all around, the intense greenery of trees, reeds and lily pads. The rhythmic thump...plop...donc...plop are the only sounds as your poler propels your mokoro inches above the surface of an Okavango waterway.

Ahead, a glimpse of fawn and brown. Suddenly the scene explodes in glittering droplets and skittering, splishing sounds as a herd of impala bound and leap across the channel.

Rounding a bend in the waterway, a collection of artfully arranged floating tyres contain a mouth-watering selection of canapés, gins and tonics. Sundowner time!

Miles away, afternoons in Makgadikgadi are glimmering hot over the sun-scorched earth. You can feel the rumble of the engine as you race each other on quad bikes across the sandy landscape

Sipping your bittersweet G&T in a secluded spot, watch as the sun sets fire to the floodplains. In the distance a herd of buffalo saunters by, searching for a safe place to bed down for the night.

On the drive back to camp, you hear the unmistakable grunt of a lion. The guide picks him out in the spotlight, sauntering across a recently burnt savannah plain.

Further along, a cacophony of baboon screeches erupts, then silence — a sure sign of a leopard’s kill. The guide swings the light around, only to catch a glimpse of the spotted prowler, before she slinks into the bush with her dinner.

Back at camp, dinner is an extravagant, candlelit affair. You wonder how such a feast can be prepared in such a remote locale, before tucking in, drinks in hand.

After drinks and stories around the boma, you’re escorted along the path to your tent through the blanketing darkness, with a million stars emerging overhead. Lying in your bed, the nearby contented grunts of hippo that have come ashore to graze lull you to sleep.