Linyanti Kwando

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Linyanti Kwando

is one of the best locations in Africa

for intense predator interaction

the best safari guiding in Botswana

At around 2330 square kilometres, the Linyanti Kwando Concession is a superb and absolutely enormous private safari area.

The concession is restricted to just 36 guests in two small camps. That’s around 64 square kilometres per person, which is an extremely low guest density.

Kwando is an utterly pristine wilderness, free from all signs of humanity other than these small-scale safari operations and where you are free to explore unhindered by the strict regulations and often chronic vehicle traffic of the national parks.

The most interesting sections lie to the eastern side, where there are substantial stands of hardwood forest and large open floodplains dotted with palm-tree islands.

These landscapes combine to create a situation which is uniquely good for the viewing of predators. The populations of lions, leopards, wild dogs and spotted hyenas may not be higher than other areas, but here they are more easily located than anywhere else in Botswana.

The incredible level of intense sightings is delivered through utterly superb guiding. It took us many years to appreciate this in detail. It is an absolute work of art, the pinnacle of safari in Africa.

Linyanti Kwando comprises an unusually broad range of ecosystems, which gives rise to a very diverse and reliable wildlife.

The concession is centred on an expanse of broad open plains, with a network of channels and lagoons.

There are also some fabulously atmospheric leadwood and knobthorn forests.

All this is backed by enormous tracts of dry mopane and apple-leaf forests into which the wildlife disperses during the Dec-Apr green season.

The general wildlife is diverse rather prolific, with each drive delivering a good range of species.

However the area has a well-earned reputation for predators, especially lions, spotted hyenas, wild-dogs and leopards.

For some reason there also seems to be a disproportionate amount of serious predator on predator warfare.

During Jun-Aug the area reliably hosts one or more wild-dog dens, one of the great safari highlights.

During Jul-Nov the northern sector in particular becomes home to some seriously big herds of elephants and buffaloes.

With all these predators around, no surprise that the prevailing activity is vehicle safari.

The concession owners are very focused on their safari guiding and are just about the only people to still use two man guide and tracker teams.

We cannot over-emphasise how much a tracker adds to the safari experience.

This is also one of very few locations which still offer serious night vehicle safari, leading to many of the most intense sightings.

To the north it is also possible to undertake motorboat safari in the Kwando River.

The two camps are intimate and comfortable, but quite earthy and simple by modern standards.

Access is only by light aircraft from Kasane, Maun and other camp airstrips.

Gallery

Map

When it comes to trip durations in Botswana, most visitors combine 2, 3 or 4 lodges by light aircraft over 6-12 nights, one of which will usually be here in Linyanti Waterfront, often in combination with further nights at the Victoria Falls and/or down in the Cape.

Seasonality

Linyanti Kwando can be visited year round.

The Jun-Oct dry season is the most popular time for safari, when the weather is reliably good. The drying out of the seasonal waterholes in the vast hinterland during Mar-May causes enormous numbers of animals to migrate towards the Kwando and Linyanti rivers. For some reason the dry season conditions in the Kwando Concession encourage an unusual clustering of mixed predators, leading to the epic predator on predator battle scenes for which the area is so well known.

During May-Jun temperatures can drop towards freezing during the night, but this has little adverse effect on safari, the days are gorgeous and there are virtually no insects around.

During Oct-Nov the temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high in advance of the rains, which can be much more of an issue given that the vast majority of camps do not have air-conditioning.

During the Nov-May green season, the landscapes are verdant and beautiful, the animals are well-fed and there’s lots of babies around, providing a great contrast to the harshness of the dry season. A proportion of the animals, notably elephants, head south and east in search of better grazing at this time, although there are still some around. We have experienced some really excellent safari in the Kwando concession throughout this period and there can be substantial savings making it a smart time to travel.

Getting there

Access to Linyanti Kwando is usually by light aircraft from Kasane, Maun and other camp airstrips.