Both the green and dry seasons in Khwai have their own charms, and we rather like both. When the rains fall from December to March, the area floods and you’ll find astonishing numbers of hippo, elephant and buffalo, accompanied by a rainbow-coloured array of water birds. The rains do however scatter the wildlife far and wide, and you may need to travel a little further on game drives during these months to spot the wildlife. As the grass grows, it’s slightly harder to spot predators, but fear not! This cover of grass means that the wildlife doesn’t see you coming, and the intimacy of the encounters is not to be sniffed at.

In Botswana, winter brings a scorching desert sun (lucky for some) and the seasonal waterholes evaporate, whilst smaller ones dry up completely. At Hyena Pan, the water remains, and animals flock to the last droplets of water, and there’s drama aplenty between predator and the unlucky prey. June, July and August are traditionally the best times for game viewing in Botswana, but don’t rule out September and October either. And regardless of when you go, we’d recommend at least three nights and two full days, to discover everything you need to.

If you are driving to Hyena Pan, please click here to download our directions.

Seasonality

• Shoulder season: 01 April – 31 May | 01 November – 19 December
• High season: 01 June – 30 June | 01 September – 31 October | 20 December – 09 January 2022
• Peak season: 01 July – 31 August

• Enjoy morning and afternoon game drives through the 200,000 hectare concession and along the Khwai River.
• Get a great view (and some pretty good photos) of the wildlife from our ground level hide alongside the waterhole.
• Swap a hippo’s-eye view for a bird’s-eye one, and spend the morning or afternoon atop a five-metre high elevated platform, close to camp.
• Take a game walk with one of our informative guides.

Landscape

One of the perks of being well-established in the safari industry is that we get trusted with things, which is exactly what happened with Khwai Private Reserve. Previously, the reserve was rather unimaginatively called NG18, so we’ve assigned it the catchier moniker of Khwai Private Reserve, after the Khwai River that runs through it. The reserve borders the lush Moremi Game Reserve to the south, and the wilderness of Chobe National Park to the east, both of which are part of the larger Okavango Delta World Heritage Site. It’s also something of a hidden gem and visitor access is restricted to a small handful of guests at Natural Selection’s camps. Hyena Pan itself overlooks a natural water pan from a forest of cathedral mopane, a mere 12 kilometres north of the Khwai River.

The flight to Khwai Private Reserve from Maun is approximately 35 minutes, and then it’s an hour-long drive to Hyena Pan from the airstrip. It’s also possible to drive here from Maun, and it takes between three and four hours.

Wildlife

We’re not exaggerating when we say that Khwai is one of Botswana’s densest, big-game areas. Chobe National Park is just to the north of our reserve, where dense mopane woodland attracts the world’s largest population of elephant. We’ve heard mutterings of 7,000, but many scientists believe there are nearer 10,000 trunk-swinging pachyderms in the area. And the best bit? There are no barriers and certainly no fences interrupting their movement into Khwai. Lucky us!

Your binos will be buzzing on game drives from Hyena Pan. Giraffe and elephant come from the north, whilst herds of buffalo and zebra migrate from the south, joining the resident hippo who fight fiercely for their space. Out on game drives, you’ll learn the difference between kudu and tsessebe, and distinguish rare roan antelope from the even rarer sable antelope. And don’t get us started on the birdlife; it’s as diverse and multi-coloured as the resident big game.

Then come the big cats. On some Botswana safaris, you enjoy brief glimpses of these predators. But in Khwai, we go one step further. Our guides know exactly where the territorial lines are drawn, and what to find, where. There’s a good chance you’ll see lion on the prowl, leopard slinking through the trees, as well as cheetah and even wild dog.

During the construction of Hyena Pan, we always had one question in mind: how can we maximize the game viewing experience from camp, without interrupting the flow of life? Well, we think we came up with some pretty good solutions! The camp overlooks a waterhole that comes alive with wildlife; harrumphing hippo splash below your private deck, and elephant are never far from the pool, making for exhilarating siesta swims! Sofas and armchairs are all perfectly positioned for the best views across the landscape, and not far from camp is a sunken photography hide, offering a rather different perspective of the surroundings. As a guest once told us, a stay at Hyena Pan feels like spending time in a friend’s home; it’s intimate, homely, perfectly comfortable – and we wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted to stay forever.

*This concession and its eco-tourism (non-consumptive) designation, relies on the sustainable use of areas in which eco-systems are intact and, in the process, provides important refuge to countless species and biodiversity under threat, important corridors for migration as well as buffers between wildlife and surrounding land uses. It wasn’t always like this, historically it was utilized for hunting. The conversion from hunting to ecotourism was made a success story by Natural Selection and the KPR management team. At Natural Selection, we recognize the important role that eco-tourism plays in the protection of wilderness areas, and therefore continue to promote and expand our conservation efforts.