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.

£4,350

per person

Secure your spot from £490

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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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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.

Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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Last Remaining Spots for Botswana 2026

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All upcoming departures

More Info

Day 1: We spend the first night in Maun. There’s a pool, a good dinner, time to get to know the people you’ll be spending twelve days with, and a proper briefing for what’s ahead.
Day 2: To kayak the delta you have to get into it first. We drive two hours to the riverhead, then board a speedboat heading deep into the wilderness. This is not a travel day. The wildlife starts immediately and it doesn’t stop. We make camp, set up tents, and eat our first dinner under the stars.
Day 3: A gentle wake-up at 6:15am as dawn breaks. Coffee, biscuits, then a sunrise bushwalk. One of the best ways to spot game on foot, including big cats. Last year we walked to within thirty metres of two adolescent lion brothers. Back to camp for a cooked breakfast, then into the speedboat for a ninety-minute run upriver. We stop under a mopane tree for lunch and skirt the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve. We make camp, learn our first bushcraft skill, make fishing reels, then sundowners and dinner. You’ll be asleep before 9pm. The desert temperature sees to that.
Day 4: The speedboat goes no further. Today you get in the kayaks. After a game walk and a full cooked breakfast we pack up camp and slip into the water. One speedboat leads, one follows. Today is fifteen kilometres, just enough to find your rhythm and settle in.
Day 5: Back in the kayaks after breakfast, drifting past elephants, buffalo, hippos. This is a longer day on the water. Twenty-eight kilometres with a slow current, but you’ll manage it. At the end of it a cold Coke, a beer, or a G&T is waiting. No phones. The conversation around the campfire goes somewhere it wouldn’t otherwise.
Day 6: Today’s paddle takes us to a small village. You’ll see how traditional houses are built, try out a mokoro, which sits somewhere between paddleboarding and punting and is harder than it looks, buy handmade crafts, and watch traditional singing and dancing. It’s genuinely special. We paddle on to camp and gather the right wood to start building our own shelters.
Day 7: All that paddling is hot work. Today we swim. Our guides make a careful call on the few places where Nile crocodiles can’t hide. A cold beer at sunset finishes it off.
Day 8: The survival phase is optional. After breakfast you and your tribe head to a glade by the river with limited kit and eight challenges to complete in forty-eight hours. Sleeping under the stars with animals moving around you in the dark is something else entirely.
Day 9: Survival Phase.
Day 10: You made it. A hearty breakfast, then back in the kayaks for the penultimate leg. Tonight’s camp feels different after survival. Everything about it feels like a luxury. That’s the reset working.
Day 11: The final day on the water. We paddle all the way back to Maun. The landscape shifts as we leave the park and cross the buffalo fence, small villages lining the river, cattle and donkeys replacing elephants. After ten days with no civilisation it’s a lot to take in. A hot shower, phones back on, and that evening a celebration dinner. Kudu or ostrich? Perhaps both. An Amarula nightcap to finish.
Day 12: That’s a wrap. Breakfast together, then the tribe goes its separate ways. You’ll be telling these stories for years.

Included: 2 days speedboat safari, 6 days kayak safari, 2 days survival, tents + bedding, meals + drinks, park permits, 2 nights boutique hotel in Maun, heli-evac cover, airport transfers.
Not included: International flights, visas, travel insurance (beyond heli-evac), personal kit, personal expenses.

How fit do I need to be?
Moderate. Around 5 hours paddling per day, with support if needed.
What skills will I learn?
Shelter, fire by friction, fishing, water filtration, tracking, bushcraft.
Is it dangerous?
You’re in real wilderness with hippos, lions, crocs. but expert guides ensure safety.
What’s the food like?
Cooked breakfasts, BBQs, sundowners, and fresh-caught fish.
Mosquito risk?
Very low at this time of year; malaria risk is minimal.

Only 5-Star Reviews

“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, reassessed whats really important to me, and made some new friends along the way…”
Thomas Nicholls
“There are experiences that are memorable and there are experiences that are life altering, Desert Island Survival was certainly the latter for me and it happened in the exact right moment in life when I desperately needed to reset, heal and regroup….”
Oleg Ravnushkin
“Amazing! ☀️ This trip was incredible, and I am so glad I did it! I would 100% recommended this company, they are great. They offer consistent communication and support from booking to preparing for your trip, and look after you well during it…”
Ciara Rooney

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