Kati Knowland, our director of business development, was delighted to return to her favorite country – Botswana – for the chance to visit a few new and existing properties to get firsthand insight for our clients.
During her stay, she visited Karangoma (the newest property opened by Wild Expeditions), Mokete (a new Wilderness Safaris property), and Setari Camp, Kala Camp, and Treehouse (three privately owned water-based camps). She’ll be discussing each property in turn and sharing photos – this time, Mokete.
Wilderness Mokete
If you are looking for nonstop wildlife action, then you definitely need to visit Wilderness’ new property in an untouched part of Botswana – the Mababe Depression.
I was beyond lucky to experience this camp shortly after it opened, as I have a feeling there will be no availability here as word gets out about the spectacular experience that is offered.
Just on the helicopter flight in, we saw a HUGE herd of buffalo – approximately 5,000 strong – making their way down to the waterhole. Of course, with this many buffalo, you’re going to have a healthy lion population, and the lions here are buffalo-killing machines, usually killing 4 buffalo per day with an 80% success rate. (By comparison, the average success rate for lions is about 30%, depending on the situation.)
We saw 14 lions on our first drive, all eating various buffalos that they had killed. Then the next morning, we saw another group of lions waiting in the grasses near the waterhole for the buffalo to cautiously make their way down for a drink. Unfortunately, a helicopter flew right over the buffalo herd, spooking them and making the lions wait to surprise them later in the day. (When we returned later, the lions were indeed feasting, so they were eventually successful!)
In other parts of this huge concession, you’ll find herds of several hundred elephants gathering at sunset for a drink (there’s a hide for an eye-level view!), or cheetahs roaming enormous Serengeti-like plains (we saw them chase a baby warthog). On a night drive (which, I unfortunately missed because I wasn’t feeling well), the group saw a porcupine, three aardvarks, 4 African wild cats, 6 pair of bat-eared foxes, a hyena, and more. All in about an hour and a half after dinner!
While we were staying at Mokete, we were joined by a filmmaker who is working on some documentaries for various outlets like the BBC, who said that this is one of the most productive wildlife areas in all of Africa.
So, if this sounds like a destination you’d like to explore – you need to visit as soon as possible! Prices are unbelievably reasonable at the moment, and they won’t stay that way for long!