Landscape
NG29 situated on the south-western corner of the Okavango Delta, is one of the largest concessions in Botswana and a vast wilderness area that is virtually untouched. A drive around the whole concession would take a number of days.
The eco-system here is diverse. For birds and wildlife, it is a playground of open grasslands, fertile floodplains, crystal clear lagoons, reeded islands, riverine and mopane forests, creating a wonderfully varied landscape for them to live in. Open savannah give way to small expanses of floodplain, and leadwood thickets, mangosteens, marulas, sausage trees and wild sage punctuate the wilderness.
Wildlife
Teeming with herds of elephant and all the exciting predators, with so much space and so much action, it’s no surprise that National Geographic and Netflix filmmaker Brad Bestelink has chosen to base himself here.
Between 5,000 to 10,000 elephants are in the concession at various times of the year and the buffalo herds that come through are also in large numbers. Giraffe and zebra are joined by wildebeest, and all the antelope from kudu, lechwe, bushbuck, tsessebe, to name but a few.
As a result there is a lot of predator action in the concession with a high density of resident leopard competing with strong populations of lion, wild dog, hyena and cheetah for prey.
The smaller species like bat-eared fox, side-striped and black-backed jackal, African wild cats, honey badgers, meerkat and mongoose are also frequently seen in abundance. As night falls, enjoy sightings of all the nocturnal creatures, from porcupine, aardwolf, aardvark, civet and genet.
This is an exciting concession for bird lovers too. From wattle cranes, Pel’s fishing owl, martial eagles, to huge flocks of quelea preyed on by falcon, there’s plenty to tick off on the bird list.
