Bostwana in Focus

 eagle island camp

Sunset at Eagle Island Camp

 

   Botswana has some of the most prolific wildlife on the planet. What better place to learn the finer points of wildlife photography—from the likes of Heinrich van den Berg, no less. Van den Berg is one of South Africa’s leading photographers, and his images have appeared everywhere from the BBC to National Geographic. If you are going to learn how to shoot nature and wildlife, he’s the person to teach you.

   Orient-Express Safaris knows this, clearly. They’ve lined up van den Berg for their Wildlife in Focus workshop, November 10-16 at their three camps in Botswana. Having been to these camps, I can tell you that the photo workshop is the icing on the cake. Eagle Island Camp, deep in the heart of the Okavango Delta, has individual lodges on raised platforms for maximum game viewing. Safaris are by mokoro (a dugout canoe that sits unnervingly close to the water’s surface), or by foot. There are no vehicles in this part of the Delta, and the experience is the more authentic for it. Here, you’ll see all manner of wildlife from the famed red lechwe of the Delta to the truly magnificent fish eagle.

eagle island camp

Relaxing en plein air after a safari at Eagle Island Camp

 

   Khwai River Lodge is in the Moremi Game Reserve, where hippos, lions, leopards, antelopes and elephants roam. Thatched tents face the Khwai River, and all the wildlife it draws. Savute Elephant Camp is known for its population of elephants, who come right up to the watering hole in front of the camp. It’s one of the best places anywhere to watch elephant behavior up close and personal, without giving up life’s little luxuries.

khwai river lodge

Elephant viewing at Khwai River Lodge

 

   The Wildlife in Focus package includes two nights at each of the camps, plus air between Jo’burg and Maun, and between camps. Rates start at $4,530 per person.

 

savute

Relaxing on a hammock at the aptly named Savute Elephant Camp

khwai river lodge

The digs at Khwai River Lodge

 

 

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