PREDATOR EXPEDITION WILDERNESS JOURNEY AT A GLANCE
Six nights | Botswana
Day 1
- Where you’ll be – Mankwe Explorer Camp
- What you’ll do – Settle into your tent and depart on an afternoon predator safari led by one of our specialist safari guides and featuring ecologist Dr Christiaan Winterbach
- Overnight – Mankwe Explorer Camp
Day 2
- Where you’ll be – Mankwe Explorer Camp
- What you’ll do – Full day tracking predators in the region around Mankwe Explorer Camp
- Overnight – Mankwe Explorer Camp
Day 3
- Where you’ll be – Mobile Expedition Camp
- What you’ll do – Early morning exploration and arrive at mobile expedition camp
- Overnight – Mobile Expedition Camp
Day 4
- Where you’ll be – Mobile Expedition Camp
- What you’ll do – Full day exploring the Khwai region in search of leopards and other predators
- Overnight – Mobile Expedition Camp
Day 5
- Where you’ll be – Mankwe Tented Retreat
- What you’ll do – Transfer to Mankwe Tented Retreat after breakfast via an expedition through the Kalahari scrub and pans.
- Overnight – Mankwe Tented Retreat
Day 6
- Where you’ll be – Mankwe Tented Retreat
- What you’ll do – Full-day predator safari in the Moremi Game Reserve
- Overnight – Mankwe Tented Retreat
Day 7
- Where you’ll be – Mankwe Tented Retreat and transfer back to Maun for onward journey
- What you’ll do – After breakfast transfer back to Maun International Airport for onward flight
Meet Dr Christiaan Winterbach
Dr Christiaan Winterbach is a wildlife biologist with more than 25 years of experience in Botswana. He specialises in survey techniques for large carnivores and conducted some of the first large carnivore surveys in parts of northern Botswana. Dr Winterbach also collaborated with other researchers working across Botswana to assess the countrywide distribution and density of large carnivores in different landscapes.
He is a founder member of the African Lion Working Group (a subgroup of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group) and was a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group from 2002 to 2016. He has co-authored more than 20 scientific publications and has been the scientific advisor on wildlife documentaries for National Geographic, the BBC and Animal Planet.
He holds a Master’s in Wildlife Management and a BSc in Zoology and Botany, all obtained at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
Your expedition in detail
Day 1
- You’ll arrive at Maun International Airport where you will be met by your guide who will accompany you on the transfer to Mankwe Explorer Camp (approximately two hours by road).
- Check in to the camp and settle in with a camp orientation meeting and expedition briefing.
- You’ll depart on your afternoon predator safari led by one of our specialist safari guides along with Dr Christiaan Winterbach, who will introduce you to some of Botswana’s predators as you learn more about tracking and identification.
- You will stop for sundowners in the African wilderness to raise a glass to the setting sun.
- On return to the camp, we will have pre-dinner drinks around the camp fire and then enjoy a wonderful dinner.
Day 2
- You’ll wake up just as dawn is beginning to break and enjoy a quick coffee and rusks before heading out on a full-day predator safari into the area around Mankwe Explorer Camp with a packed breakfast.
- You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch out in the wilderness, wherever the predators lead us.
- Explore the diverse habitats around you, from indigenous forests to vast floodplains, tracking predators as you go.
- Arrive back in camp for sundowners and dinner.
Day 3
- Wake up to an early breakfast before heading out on the next phase of your expedition and our Mobile Expedition Camp, reached via the Khwai Community Concession.
- A picnic lunch will be had en-route.
- Arrive at the camp in time to settle in and enjoy sundowners and a hearty dinner.
Day 4
- Enjoy breakfast in camp before departing on a full-day predator safari with your specialist guide, exploring the Khwai region.
- The safari includes a stop for an educational talk by
Dr Winterbach looking at the spatial ecology of predators and their prey. - Lunch will be served en-route and you’ll be given the chance to enjoy a leisurely mokoro ride through the channels (water levels permitting)
- You’ll return to camp for sundowners and drinks around the camp fire before a traditional barbecue (we call it a “braai”) under the stars.
Day 5
- After breakfast in camp you’ll depart for the full-day drive through the Kalahari scrub and across stark pans to Mankwe Tented Retreat.
- A picnic lunch will be served en-route.
- Today you will be focussing on ecological survey techniques, lion and other predator identification and predator behaviour.
- You’ll arrive at Mankwe Tented Retreat in time for sundowners and will have time to freshen up in your tent before dinner.
Day 6
- Get up early and grab a takeaway coffee and picnic breakfast before venturing out on an exciting day exploring the Moremi Game Reserve where many predators may be encountered.
- Today we will go into more detail on the habitat and biodiversity of the Botswana wilderness.
- You can expect to do predator impact studies, predator spoor identification as well as identifying the apex species of Botswana. Lunch will be served wherever the predators lead us.
- Take your cameras out, as this day is a perfect opportunity for photographic enthusiasts who would like to see predators up-close in the floodplains of the Moremi.
- Upon your return, relax around the fire and swap stories about life in the bush before dinner.
Day 7
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Wake up at leisure and enjoy your final breakfast in the Botswana wilderness before your transfer back to Maun International Airport and your onward journey.
Please contact us should you wish to extend your stay into other areas of Botswana or South Africa