Your Guide to the Ultimate African Safari Experience

Picking up speed through the bush, our guide, Issac, looked back at us with wide eyes and said, "it's now or never." We all had chills, flooring it through the tall grass and trees, waiting to see what Issac had discovered. Then, we saw her.

Within the greenery; spots. Hard to find even during the dry season, we thought for sure we wouldn't have the opportunity to see a leopard during the green season, but there she was.

Yawning, relaxing, and cleaning herself before slinking through the trees, peeking out briefly, leaving us filled with an overwhelming sense of happiness and gratitude as we observed her for a while.

Before traveling to Botswana, I used to think a safari was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, once you go on one, you'll be planning the next one from the airport. Botswana is filled with beautiful regions to explore like the Savuti of Chobe National Park, the riverfront in Chobe National Park, and the Okavango Delta. From the moment you step outside of the airport, you're greeted by a guide in a safari vehicle. On the way from the airport to the hotel, we spotted hippos, elephants, jackals, and more, leaving us excited for what's to come if that's just the drive to the resort!

Circling back for a moment, it's hard to know where to begin when planning a safari from scratch. Starting with the initial flights, check out Kenya Airways business class for a comfortable long flight from the states where you can lay down and relax, and maybe even turn on the Lion King while you sip champagne. It's definitely worth the splurge.

When it comes to planning the internal travel, experiences, and resorts for your safari vacation, it can be quite intimidating to organize all of the moving parts, so having a safari operator to guide you through the process and manage your trip is a game changer. Desert & Delta Safaris is a successful safari operator located in Botswana, that has been in business since the early 1980s. Through their safari planning, they have 9 properties under their wing, in addition to chartered bush planes to get you to various resorts quickly and efficiently.

Air conditioning can be hard to come by, even in luxury camps, and that is one of the many amenities offered at Chobe Game Lodge. There are sunny terraces and plunge pools attached to the rooms, where you can look out onto the Chobe Riverfront to see animals and Namibia across the way. The pool at the hotel is surrounded by greenery and animals can come right up to you while you're cooking off.