Savute Safari

Savute is one of Africa’s best-known big game areas. A wild and arid scrubland region, teeming with birds and a variety of wildlife. Here the mysterious 100-kilometer Savute Channel inexplicably ebbs and flows at its own pace. This creates wetlands known as the Savute Marsh and Mababe Depression. The Marsh attracts summer migrants and water birds including fish eagles, Addim storks and bright clouds of flashing carmine bee-eaters.

Botswana’s Savute region nestles in the south of Botswana’s renowned Chobe National Park in southern Africa. It is remote and untouched but has its own airstrip and is easily accessed as a fly-in destination, often paired with a visit to the Okavango Delta safari. For a self-drive option, 4×4 vehicles are recommended.

A Savute safari is famous for its spectacular zebra migrations. Predator populations of lion, leopard, hyena and wild dog are also a big drawcard. It is also not uncommon to witness an elephant or two ambling majestically through your campsite. You may even find a herd of buffalo browsing close to the veranda of one of the luxury Savute safari lodges.

The sheer beauty of this wilderness is remarkable, particularly in the upper Savute areas and the private Linyati reserve. The wildlife viewing is always exceptional. Activities in the area include: day or night game drives (depending on your choice of accommodation), a visit to the ancient San Rock paintings at Gubatsa or a ghostly amble through the mysterious Dead Forest.

Best Time to Visit the Savute on Safari:

Visit the Savute region between November and December, or April to May. Here you’ll get to witness the massive herds of zebra. The zebra traverse the savanna from the North to the lusher grasslands of the South. Although these are the prime times to visit, game-viewing is rewarding all year round at Savute.