Linyanti Bushcamp

We visited Linyanti Bushcamp in Botswana's Linyanti Wildlife Reserve in May 2017, when the bush was still thick and green. If you're after easy gameviewing, it's better to visit this region in the dry season, around August to late October. This is when all the leaves would have fallen off the trees, making visibility better. The waterholes would also have dried up, so animals have to gather around whatever little water is left. 

Despite the dense vegetation, our guides nonetheless demonstrated extremely good tracking skills, finding us elephant, antelope and a pair of lions. 

They also showed us a black mamba (which looks green!) in the trees,  whose presence was made known by hornbills, rollers and other birds, irritated by the snake's presence.

Something that set Linyanti Bushcamp apart was that a helicopter joy flight was included in our stay. So we took to the air (in a doorless chopper, no less!) to gain a perspective of the vast, open Linyanti wetlands and its larger inhabitants.

In the evening, for a change of pace, we enjoyed a mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) cruise, where our skilled guide and poler Gilbert showed us the enormous variety of birds that lived in the area. Aside from his immense knowledge of avian behaviour, Gilbert was an artist, fashioning us a stylish lily pad hat!