Meno a Kwena

If you were to go on a game drive around the Makgadikgadi Pans and look for a picture-perfect picnic spot, then it would be Meno’s exact location, perched above the river bend, gazing down at the wildlife. But when you’re staying at Meno a Kwena, game viewing isn’t just a snatched hour over lunch; it’s all day, every day. Just sit back on the veranda and watch the zebra and antelope from your cliff-top position (G&T optional). Meno also has a great mix of bush birds in camp, waterbirds by the river, and desert species as you head on a drive. The camp also has an abundance of owls including barred and Verreaux’s.

If you can drag your eyes away from the view, hop on a game drive to find desert-adapted animals that can’t be found elsewhere in Botswana. There’s antelope with comical twisted horns, and remarkable desert elephant. The rumble of hooves heralds the arrival of Africa’s second largest migration. A stonking spectacle of 30,000 zebra and wildebeest migrate across the Makgadikgadi Pans, alongside a scattering of other hooved beasties. As the pans dry from April onwards, the zebra complete their journey at the river in an explosion of black and white stripes, followed closely by the predators: lion with their impressive black manes, leopard and cheetah using the surrounding bushes as cover, packs of wild dog, and mischievous jackal. Wow.