Splash Pro

private vehicle and guide for an elevated safari experience

Located in the Kwara Concession in the Okavango Delta, Splash Camp is one of the very best safari bases in Botswana.

This particular area of the Okavango Delta is, undoubtedly, the most productive for predator sightings. Between us, we have visited dozens of times and never have we been disappointed.

At times the sightings have been truly extraordinary, with regular hunting sequences, sometimes involving two or three different predator species (such as lions taking a kill off a leopard, then being faced off by spotted hyenas).

Apart from this being a naturally good area for wildlife, the main reason for the reliability of sightings here is the quality of the safari guiding. The owners are arguably the only operators in the country who really take their safari seriously, as most clearly demonstrated by their continued use of spotters on the front of their vehicles, an essential practice that has been conveniently forgotten at most lodges.

Splash Pro is an advanced-user option which combines three nights at Splash Camp with two or more nights in another outpost in this vicinity.

Guests get a private vehicle and guide throughout the stay. A much elevated safari experience, which perfectly showcases the owner’s elevated levels of guiding, and which will be greatly appreciated by returning guests and other experienced safari travellers.

Activities

Splash Pro provides the following guided activities …

• Vehicle safari
• Mokoro canoe safari
• Motorboat safari
• Walking safari
• Night vehicle safari

When it comes to trip shapes and durations in Botswana, most visitors combine 2, 3 or 4 lodges by light aircraft over 6-12 nights, one or two of which will usually be here in Okavango Delta, combined with the Linyanti Waterfront and/or Makgadikgadi areas.

These trips are often done in combination with further nights at the Victoria Falls and/or down in the Cape.

The usual stay duration for Splash Pro is 5 nights, but it can easily be extended if you want to chill and really enjoy this very special experience.

Seasonality

The Kwara Concession can be visited year-round, but does experience considerable seasonal variations.

The May-Jun flood season is considered to be a great time to visit, with verdant landscapes and lots of baby animals. Temperatures can drop towards freezing during the night, but the days are gorgeous and there are virtually no insects around. The camps here are primarily focused on vehicle safari, which should be very strong throughout this period. This period is a little early for full flood and mokoro canoe safari, but the camps are usually able to offer motorboat safari in the permanent water channels.

The Jul-Sep dry season is the classic time to visit the Okavango Delta and is considered to be the best time for wildlife viewing as animals are drawn to the floodwaters which are at their peak. This is the high season in terms of prices and visitor numbers but, due to restrictions, traffic issues are only an issue in the public access areas. As well as strong vehicle safari and motorboat safari, mokoro canoe safari should be possible during the early part of this season, but by the middle of August the waters have usually receded.

The Oct-Dec hot season is the transition period between the peak of the dry season and the start of the rains. Temperatures and humidities can become uncomfortably high in advance of the rains. With the floods having receded in most areas, the wildlife becomes very concentrated around the few remaining water sources, making for very strong wildlife viewing. If the rains arrive, the wildlife may disperse somewhat, but sightings remain strong. Water-based activities are unlikely to be available. The camps are significantly discounted during this period.

Jan-Apr is the main green season when the area experiences the majority of its rainfall and temperatures drop slightly. The landscapes tend to be verdant and beautiful, the animals well fed and there’s lots of babies around. Conditions prove dramatically through these months, making late March and the whole of April particularly attractive, especially given the often dramatically discounted prices.

Getting there

The camps in the Kwara area are almost always accessed by light aircraft into the local bush airstrip.

From the airstrip it is a drive of around 45 minutes to Splash Camp, with good chances of some early animal sightings.

Unusually the camp can also be reached by motorboat from the end of the Mopane Tongue. Penetrating the delta by boat can be fun and provide a heightened sense of adventure.

usually combined with sister camps in the Linyanti Kwando area