Kayaking with John Sandenbergh is the new and adventurous way to go on safari and enjoy the wilderness of Botswana. It is for people who have an active approach to their holiday, and who enjoy nature and wildlife. Using wilderness kayaks, organised expeditions take you paddling through the most pristine and beautiful areas of the Okavango Delta with no impact on the wildlife and environment around.

Kayaking safaris are offered from 2 nights upwards, and for the wild at heart, if you would like to really put yourself out there and explore new areas with little regard to comfort and time constraints John will be very happy to take you, indeed, this is where his passion lies.

Starting from Maun, you will head into wilderness areas in the Okavango Delta, or towards the Kalahari down the Boteti River. The kayak of choice is the Wilderness System Tsunami 125, a highly versatile kayak which offers great comfort, speed, maneuverability, stability as well as storage capacity. 

A usual day would see you waking up around 6am with coffee and tea around a campfire while the camp staff prepare a large breakfast of cereals, eggs, bacon, toast with all the trimmings. After breakfast you prepare the kayaks for the day with snacks and drinks and set off. In certain areas you will encounter wildlife; elephant are abundant as are certain antelope that inhabit the river’s edge and floodplains. The Okavango is also well known for its spectacular birding.

Usually around 12.30pm you stop for lunch which typically consists of cold meats, salad, bread, cheese and biscuits. After lunch, and due to the heat at midday, time is taken to relax in the shade on hammocks until around 3 pm when you set off again and enjoy a few hours of paddling until you arrive at your campsite for the night. Here the camp staff have made a camp fire, set up hot showers, ablutions, tents and bedding. A large dinner is cooked and served with wine, and you can kick back and recount the day on the water.

In the bush, dome tents are provided with bedrolls. A motor boat (where water levels permit), provides support and moves the equipment and camp staff when on trips.  This motor boat is also used to scout ahead of the paddlers to inform of any possible danger. These trips require a reasonable level of fitness as you will kayak approximately 25 km (15 miles) per day. Every safari carries a satellite phone in case of emergency, able to call in helicopter evacuation, and a first aid kits is also on hand.

At the end of your trip, you will understand, and feel part of the nature around you in a way you’ve never experienced before. More people have climbed K2 than have kayaked in the Okavango and this is an ideal trip for those who have previously experienced kayaking on the Zambezi River, and who are looking for something new and exciting to try out.