Botswana Kayak Bushcraft Safari

By Tom Williams, winner of Channel 4’s Alone

Glide through the Okavango Delta by kayak, camp in the bush, and test yourself with a survival challenge.

From:

£5,350

Duration:

12 days

Date:

VARIOUS

Max People:

10

Min Age:

18+

★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · 1,000+ adventurers

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Only £490 deposit

Step Into the Adventure

Our adventures follow a simple arc:
Learn → Survive → Celebrate.

Learn

In the Okavango Delta, you kayak past elephants, buffalo, hippos, and hundreds of bird species by day, then camp under the stars by night, with sunrise bushwalks, bushcraft lessons from Bayei guides, and evenings of BBQs, sundowners, and campfire conversation.

Survive

Then comes the survival phase: 48 hours on a remote island with minimal kit. You’ll face challenges like fire-making, shelter-building, and fishing. all while lions, hyenas, and hippos call in the distance.

Celebrate

This is more than a safari. it’s raw, hands-on Africa, where glamping comforts meet survival challenge, and it all culminates in a final celebration to honor your adventure

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elephant, people in kayaks, Okavango Delta

Elephants swimming in Botswana, part of a luxury safari experience.

Secluded group of travelers relaxing under a large tree near a wetland, preparing for outdoor survival activities on a.

Key Facts

Location

Okavango Delta, Botswana.UNESCO World Heritage site.

Length

12 days / 11 nights. Safari + bushcraft + survival.

Group Size

9 people. Intimate tribes, guided by Bayei locals.

Who It’s For

Adventurers who want safari experience, wildlife encounters, and a taste of survival with glamping comforts along the way.

Remarkable Moments

Kayak through the Okavango Delta, past elephants and buffalo.

Walk toward lions on sunrise bushwalks.

Paddle alongside hippos and spot crocodiles.

Sleep under African skies with no fences, no walls.

Test yourself in a 48-hour survival challenge on a remote island.

The Day-by-Day

Day 1: We spend the night in beautiful lodgings in Maun getting to know one another over a tasty dinner.
Day 2: To avoid paddling upstream, we first head deep into the delta with a two-hour drive to the riverhead, followed by a comfortable speedboat ride through wildlife-filled waters. By evening, we reach camp, set up our tents, and enjoy our first BBQ under the stars.
Day 3: Start the day with coffee and a sunrise bushwalk, then travel upriver by speedboat past Moremi’s wildlife-rich edges. By evening, we make camp, learn bushcraft, enjoy sundowners, and fall asleep under the stars.
Day 4: After a morning game walk and breakfast, we switch from speedboat to kayaks, cover hippo safety, and paddle 15 km with support boats ahead and behind before relaxing at camp.
Day 5: After breakfast, we paddle 28 km past elephants, buffalo, and hippos, then settle into camp with a cold drink, sunset, and deep campfire conversation.
Day 6: We kayak to a small village to try mokorros, see traditional houses, buy handicrafts, and enjoy singing and dancing before paddling to camp to gather wood and start building shelters.
Day 7: After hot paddling, we take a carefully guided swim in safe waters, then end the day with a cold beer at sunset.
Day 8-9: The optional survival phase takes you and your tribe to a riverside glade for 48 hours of challenges, surprises, and a night under the stars surrounded by wild nature.
Day 10: After breakfast, we return to the kayaks for the penultimate leg, ending at a camp that feels especially luxurious after the survival phase.
Day 11: On the final kayak day, we paddle back to Maun as wilderness gives way to villages, showers, phones, and a celebratory dinner.
Day 12: After breakfast, the tribe parts ways with a lifetime of adventures and stories.

This is the shape of the expedition, not a fixed timetable. The exact training days flex with the weather and conditions, that’s part of the adventure.

Is This For You? Is It Safe?

NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED

No survival experience needed. The first week is kayaking, bushcraft and camp skills, building you up to the optional 48-hour survival phase. It is a genuine challenge, and that is exactly the point: most people call it a reset like nothing else.

YOUR SAFETY COMES FIRST

Sites are handpicked to avoid real hazards, every instructor is wilderness-first-aid certified, we run on a system of informed consent, and you stay in contact with the team throughout.

CHANGED YOUR MIND?

A 7-day cool-off with a full refund, flexible rescheduling up to 90 days before departure, and our safety promise.

What’s Included

2 days of speedboat safari
6 days of kayak and bushcraft skills.
2 day survival challenge
2 nights at 4* boutique hotel in Maun (shared, twin rooms, £150 for solo supplement
kit (incl. Kayaks, tents, bedding chairs, machetes, etc.). There are a few essential items that you need to bring.
All meals and (limited) alcoholic drinks
All park permits
Heli-evac cover
Airport transfers

What’s Not Included

International flights
Visas, if required
Personal travel insurance (Aside from Heli evac covered by us)
Personal expenses (For handicrafts etc )

More Trip Details

Trip Summary

Imagine waking up to the dawn chorus of hundreds of bird species as the deep red African sunrise warms the cool morning air welcoming you for another day in total wilderness. You are camped on an island. The waterways are the roads. After another full English breakfast over the campfire it’s back in your kayak for your water safari, as you glide past elephants and animals galore to the next spot of bush to set up a new camp.

The Okavango is a flood of water across the Kalahari desert that transforms it to life drawing in wildlife from thousands of miles. Elephants are an everyday sighting. Every day, the Okavango shares more secrets, including hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, honey badgers, lions, wildebeests, antelopes, and much more. This is a twitcher’s paradise with over 480 bird species. Most days are spent kayaking this watery maze spotting new animals before we camp out in the bush, no fences just us in nature. Before dinner is cooked on the campfire, we go on bushwalks to spot big game, learn about the flora and fauna here and develop local bushcraft skills.

This expedition is a little more “bougie” than our typical adventures. Think: large private tent, thick comfy bedroll and duvet. Hot water wash basins at sunrise and sunset, sit down toilet tents, cooked breakfast, steak BBQs and even cold beers, we really do spoil you. However, just before you get too complacent, there is a two day isolation phase where you survive out under the stars to the soundtrack of lion roars, frogs and crickets. As a tribe you are set a series of challenges such as making fire by friction, catching fish and building a shelter. If this part is just not for you no problem, take a couple of days of rest in a hammock reading your book and enjoying morning and evening bush walks.

We are immensely privileged to gain access to this remote wilderness. The only other via safari lodges in excess of $3,000 USD a night, we hardly see another soul here.

This really is something very special. I hope so. If you like time spent in wilderness, being up close with nature, a dollop of challenge adventure culture and bushcraft then this trip is the one.

SHELTER

Shelter building
Palm thatching
Machete and knife safety, sharpening and skills
Palm cordage making

Fire

Fire theory
Friction fire skills (bow drill and hand drill)

Water

Filtration
Physiology

FOOD

Fishing with hand line and gill net
Primitive cooking and fish preparation
Smoking and preservation
Trap building (no catching allowed)
Wild edible identification * Please note the variety of wild edibles in winter is low.

OTHER

Psychology discussion and case studies
Astro-navigation
Animal print (spur) ID and tracking

Location

The World Heritage Okavango Delta is a bucket list spectacle that anyone with an interest in nature should have near the top of their list. At this time of year the Kalahari desert is transformed into a water paradise as wildlife from thousands of miles away is drawn in and you have a front-row seat.

There is no more hands-on or intimate way to experience the savannas of Africa than by kayaking and camping in style, with private tents, thick bedrolls, and warm water basins to wash. Each night you will camp in a new location deep in the remote bush under a blanket of stars, while learning bushcraft skills from our instructors and Bayei guides.

For a time, this will be your new life, kayaking through the Okavango Delta, and spotting wildlife along the way. Followed by a 2 day challenge surviving on an island deep in this African water world.

You can spend tens of thousands on a safari and you will never experience this level of intimacy with the savannahs of Africa. This trip is not to be missed.

At this time of year, there are not so many mosquitos and no other biting insects. The chance of contracting malaria in the Delta in August is exceptionally low, our guides who have lived most of their lives have never contracted malaria or heard of tourists doing so. That being said, We can not rule out the chance, nor can we advise you to not take Antimalarials. Therefore we encourage you to follow the NHS fit for travel document and make your own informed decision on vaccinations and antimalarial.

We try to keep a gentle pace to allow plenty of time to spot wildlife, take photos and enjoy the scenery. On average we will be kayaking around 5 hours in total per day. It’s not a cardio challenge with more back strength. If you are concerned about your fitness levels fear not, there is always room for you in the boat if it gets too much.

You will see Elephants, African Buffalo, Hippo, Lechwe (antelope), Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, Nile crocodile, Zebra, Kudu, Warthog, monitor lizards the list goes on. We normally see lions and Hyena. Every other trip we will see leopards, honey badgers and wild dog and many more. The Okavango is also a bird spotters’ paradise with over 480 species, many of which are found nowhere else.

You will need to travel to Maun, Botswana (Airport Code: MUB). You should arrive latest in the early afternoon of your expedition start date. We will meet on the expedition start date at 4PM.

We recommend you download Hopper’ for your phone and enter your dates. They will tell you when the best time to book your flights is before the price creeps up, typically 90 days prior is optimum.

We also love using flight connection maps for finding your best route from where you live.

Google flights is our favourite flight search engines, however, we always recommend booking directly with the airline once you have found your flights as you will have a preferential cancellation policy and better upgrade potential.

Check out our Botswana Travel Guide for more information about the destination or check out our blog for Botswana related articles.

Botswana Travel Guide

Botswana Blog Posts

Read our Reviews

“Last year I then did the trip to Botswana… Had never been on Safari before but thought a kayak trip would enable us to get up close and personal with the animals and it certainly didn’t disappoint.”

Dave M

“I’m not sure where to start, this was one of the best trips I’ve ever done. I learnt invaluable skills, reconnected to nature, [and] reassessed whats really important to me.”

Thomas Nicholls

“What a cool, once-in-a-lifetime experience! I feel more human after completing this survival course than I ever have in my life!”

Jeremy Giroir

All upcoming departures

7-Day Cool Off

Flexibility

Safety

FAQs

At this time of year after the flood there is no rainfall but comfortable temperatures with agreeable levels of humidity. The temperature has a huge range with a maximum of 30C but average lows at night of just 11C so you will definitely need a sweater around the camp fire at night as the temperature can drop as low as 6C.

Learning from our world class instructors and the local Bayei guides, we will teach you everything you need to sustain yourself in this environment. We cover the main tenants of shelter, water, fire, food. Within this, you will learn how to identify edible flora and fauna, create fire by friction, filter and purify water, build shelter and protect yourself on the African savannah.

As with all our expeditions, we create an ‘invisible safety net’ so your adventure feels raw and authentic without being contrived and sterile. You are in true wilderness, sharing the environment with animals such as hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, and snakes. However you are with expert guides know how to read their behaviour and movements to reduce risk, and even recognise individual hippos and their temperaments, helping us avoid conflict and pass safely.

We also have clear helicopter evacuation coverage for you and a comprehensive medikit should treatment need to be administered.
For more detail, see our Risks and Dangers section.

Maun the gateway to the Okavango is served by direct flights from cape Town, Johannesberg and Addis Ababa. So despite its remoteness its pretty easy to get to. You are typically looking at 1 change and 15 hours of travel plus no time difference if coming from Europe.

The pace of the safari is gentle and relaxed, so you don’t need to be an athlete. That said, the fitter you are, the more enjoyable the experience will be (true for life in general.). A few months before departure, we’ll share some simple exercises to help strengthen your shoulders and lower back.
We’ll monitor the group’s ability as we go and can adjust daily distances if needed. In the unlikely event we fall behind schedule due to slower paddling, we can make up time by motorboat, though we try to avoid this so you get the full kayaking experience

Not ready to commit to 10 days? Start with the free 72hr Challenge, the smallest version of the idea.

Try the 72hr Challenge (free)

Talk to a Survival Expert on WhatsApp

Botswana Kayak Bushcraft Safari

£5,350

12 days

VARIOUS

10

18+

Step Into the Adventure

Learn

Survive

Celebrate

Key Facts

Remarkable Moments

The Day-by-Day

Is This For You? Is It Safe?

What’s Included

What’s Not Included

More Trip Details

Overview

Skills You Will Learn

Location

Travel Advice

All upcoming departures

FAQs