ST Y LE
BEAUT Y
LIFE
CU LT U RE
TRAVEL
A CLOSER LOOK
PLAIN MAGIC
A journey through the continent’s most remote corners made extra memorable with Micato Safaris
I
’d been to Africa a handful of times before I found myself in Botswana earlier this year, my first trip back to the continent since before the pandemic. Every one of my previous trips had been magical, each in their own unique ways, but I’d long heard that Botswana was something extra-extraordinary. “Botswana has a fascinating history and the most abundant wildlife concentration in all of Africa,” Steven Lake, the safari director for upscale safari outfitter Micato Safaris, told me before our trip. “It also has the highest elephant population in the world—about 130,000 elephants roam here.” It was a lofty expectation that Lake was, in fact, able to help fulfill: During our time together in the country, we would see herds and herds of elephants of all ages, plus the usual-suspect zebras, giraffes, hippos and all manner of antelope, as well as unbelievably close encounters with the harder-to-come-by lions, leopards and the endangered African wild dog. As for the history, we’d learn that for 80 years Botswana was a British protectorate, earning independence in the 1960s and never looking back—and, thanks to one forward-thinking prince and a great love story, is now one of the most prosperous countries in Africa due to its abundance of rich natural resources, including diamonds. Topographically, Botswana’s highlight is the UNESCO Heritage Site Okavango Delta, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in southern Africa and a vast and largely undisturbed wilderness that runs through the country. Every year, the delta triples in size due to seasonal flooding, seeing some 200,000 animals migrate through its waters before emptying into the Kalahari Desert. Lake likes to tell guests that the Okavango Delta is one the few accessible places left on earth that remains mostly untouched by humans, due in part to Botswana’s policies restricting mass tourism and an abundance of small safari camps, such as Zafara Camp, Botswana’s first Relais & Châteaux property that overlooks the spectacular Zibadianja Lagoon, and our first home base in Botswana. “The crystal-clear waters of the delta give life to what would have been an arid landscape, and in response, animals have adapted to living here, such as swimming lions, and even sometimes leopards,” says Lake. “It’s a privilege to witness.” Lake was part of my group’s Africa experience from the beginning through the very end, an offering that sets Micato apart from other safari outfitters. Although Micato’s partner lodges are carefully chosen and strictly vetted to be among the best of the best— among them the Great Plains Conservation collection of camps founded by famed wildlife photographer and filmmaker couple Beverly and Dereck Joubert—it’s the dedicated safari directors who
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BY ALYSSA GIACOBBE