My first major trip in 2014 will be to Botswana.  I was there in March of 2013 with my friend Kay and loved it so much that I knew I had to go back... this time I will be going with Sandi and Tom from Edson, who were with me in Tanzania in 2012.

We leave Calgary in mid-March and fly to Johannesburg for one night and then on to Maun, Botswana.  This is where the fun starts... we'll board a small plane and fly into the Kalahari Desert for 4 nights at Nxai Pan Camp.

I stayed at Nxai Pan Camp at the end of my trip to Botswana in 2013, where we saw the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets... we watched huge elephants, their trunks swinging back and forth as they lumbered across the desert towards one of only two watering holes in the area.  We saw large herds of Springbok, tiny little Steenbok, herds of Oryx... Lions, Cheetah and most everything else that you would expect to see in Africa.  I look forward to seeing the staff again, who took great care of us and made us feel like family.

From the dry Kalahari, we fly into the lush Okavango Delta for three nights in the Kwara Concession at the Kwara Tented Camp. Where this past year we learned that Toyotas do indeed double as a watercraft!

 From there we fly to the Linyanti region and the Kwando Concession with hope of seeing the African Wild Dog.

After four nights in the Linyanti region we take flight again and head to the Chobe River where we will spend 3 nights on the Ichobezi Safari Houseboat.  Our days will be spent cruising up and down the Chobe in smaller boats, looking for animals as they come down to the water to drink.  The Chobe is known for its huge Elephant population and we expect to see many at the waters edge, playing and grazing on the lush green grasses.  

Our final stop before flying home will be The Elephant Camp in Victoria Falls.  Hopefully we'll get the opportunity to walk with Sylvester, the Cheetah at the Wild Horizons Animal Orphanage.