Sleeping Under the Stars on a Mobile Safari Through Botswana

08.11.2023 - 00:13 / cntraveler.com

I have been watching a pride of nine lions slowly waking up from their siesta. The adolescent siblings playfully nudge one another. One stretches against a log, reminding me of my dog back home, almost prompting me to hop out of the open-sided Land Rover and get closer. But then I catch a glimpse of a paw the size of my head, with claws so sharp they could slice through mosquito netting with no effort at all, and I’m reminded that this is Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve, home to a rich array of wildlife like bush elephants, leopards, plains zebra, giraffe—and I am just a guest here.

A view of the Moremi Game Reserve with Barclay Stenner Safaris

It’s also difficult not to think about where I’ll be sleeping that night: underneath a barely-there mosquito net on an island that the reserve grants private use of for the Barclay Stenner mobile safari camp—the conclusion of a nine-day trip through a slice of Southern Africa with Rothschild Safaris. Owner and operator Leora Rothschild had worked with me on every detail of the trip—including this final night when I would sleep on a futon on the ground, outside under the stars; evidence of the pride she takes in shaping bespoke itineraries that stay true to the destination. From an electric few nights in Cape Town to getting up close with wildlife in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, here’s how we pulled it off.

A light-filled room in Cape Town's Silo Hotel, located in the the upper levels of the Zeitz MOCAA museum

We arrive in Cape Town, where our home for the next three nights is the Silo Hotel—the stunning Thomas Heatherwick-designed property taking up the upper levels of the Zeitz MOCAA museum, which boasts the largest collection of contemporary African art in the world. My two-story room is light-filled, with eclectic furniture and decor that tie together to create a vibrant yet comfortable atmosphere (the soaking tub didn’t hurt, either). After a breakfast of freshly baked pastries, chili-fried eggs, and a tea service, came a tour in a vintage motorcycle sidecar to get me orientated, and I find myself zooming past the fragrant umdakane trees, along the curvy roads leading to Table Mountain. The wind in my face wakes up my jet-lagged body as I look toward the city, over vineyards, and to the sea. Later, while sampling spirits at Hope Distillery, I spark a conversation with co-owner Leigh Lisk about the Okavango Delta and what I may expect. He urges me to take another sip of the excellent grape-based gin and focus on embracing the adventures of Cape Town—sound advice as I think about the African penguins I saw earlier that day among the sparkling granite slabs and impossibly blue Atlantic Ocean.

The luxurious, eclectic insides of a tent at Duba Plains Camp

Flying