No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Tour

Dates: small group departure - 5 April 2011 
Cost: from £4449.00 per person sharing a twin/double | Single supplement on application.

Shorter durations and other dates available - please ask for details. Take note of our optional add on for a chance to visit the amazing Victoria Falls!

The best selling "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series of books by Alexander McCall Smith, featuring Precious Ramotswe, a traditional Botswanan lady who starts her own detective agency, have thrilled and captivated millions of readers worldwide. And now the BBC have captured the magic of these books in a TV series of the same name.

The Independent Traveller is delighted to present a tour that takes the very best of the books and adds to it the amazing beauty and diversity of Botswana – so beloved by Mma Ramotswe.

The tour commences in Gaborone – home to Mma Ramotswe and this part of the tour is taken by Tim Race, a friend of Alexander McCall Smith. So come with us an enjoy a cup of bush tea on the veranda of the President`s hotel, meet some of the book`s real life characters and then continue with us as we marvel at the Kalahari Desert, take mokoru rides down the tranquil Okavango Delta and enjoy a spectacular Big Game safari experience before culminating in a gentle game watching cruise on the floating lodge – Nguni Voyager.

Contact The Independendant Traveller for bookings using the Quick Enquiry Form below!

Day 1:
Fly from London to Gaborone via Johannesburg on South African Airways

Day 2:
Arrive Gaborone where you will be met and transferred to The Gaborone Sun Hotel. Located in the city of Gaborone, this international hotel offers guests a sophisticated, comfortable base to relax and commence the tour. The rest of the day is at leisure. Bed and Breakfast

Day 3:
Today you will experience the first tour into the life of Mma Ramotswe. We leave for Mochundi, Mma Ramotswe`s ancestral home. On arrival, we will visit the Kgotla- or traditional court. Here, in keeping with Tswana traditions, you will pay your respects to the Kgosi (or Chief). We visit the fascinating museum and there is time to purchase postcards and printed material and crafts from Mochundi.

After a visit to a traditional home, we also find the spot where Mcall Smith “met” Mma Ramotswe – more accurately the lady who provided the inspiration for the character, and hear the story behind this. Later we return to Gaborone where we find the location of Tlokwng Road Speedy Motors,Zebra Drive, JLB Matekoni`s house and finally, the President Hotel, one of Mma Ramotswe`s favourite stops, where we sample red bush tea! Return to the Gaborone Sun – Breakfast and lunch included.

** A visit to the orphanage can be made by prior appointment. This project is well worth a visit but is subject to a minimum donation of US$ 20 per person paid directly to the orphanage.

Day 4:
We leave on a circuit of adventure following the exploits of Mma Ramotswe to “the edge of the Kalahari”. We pass the original home of Dr David Livingstone. Mma Ramotswe`s investigations take us as far afield as Molepolole and Lobatse. We will stop at the village of Otse for lunch before arriving at Mokolodi Nature Reserve. This reserve featured heavily in “Blue Shoes and Happiness” and indeed is the focus for the new and as yet unpublished novel!

A special afternoon game drive followed by an evening bush braai (barbecue) under the stars and an opportunity to meet a real character from the books!Overnight at Mokolodi Nature Reserve. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 5:
After breakfast, optional opportunities to go elephant riding, or go walking with a guide in search of rhino, or horseback riding or simply relax and take in the beauty of this incredible place. Return to the Gaborone Sun - Breakfast included.

Day 6:
Early morning transfer to Gaborone Airport for the Air Botswana flight to Maun. On arrival, you will be met and driven to The Kalahari Desert to stay at Planet Baobab. Planet Baobab” the Baobab capital of the world and home of the Kalahari Surf Club!

The average age of each tree; 4000 years and beyond, the boundless salt pans of the Makgadikgadi, a lunar landscape the size of Switzerland. Thankfully, the funkiest bar in the Kalahari awaits your pleasure, a well known watering hole for travellers of every description and the more colourful characters from Maun. At any one time, locals jostle the cross-continentals who have slogged it through the bush, and worse, to get here. Just a stone's throw from all this beer and bustle is the elephant's paddling pool. Oblivious to Guests crouching in the nearby trees, the elephants and travellers mostly ignore each other.

At Planet Baobab, the accommodation is in individually styled Bakalanga Bushman huts with en suite showers and toilet. Base yourself here and you can take guided walks and quad bike trips into the bush and the Pans with our expert Guides discovering the geological origins of what was once the world's largest ever super lake.

Follow the palm trail created by elephant droppings as these ancient creatures trekked across the arid waste when the super lake dried up. Pick up, (and replace!), thousand year old flint spear heads left by the Stone Age hunters who were the region’s first inhabitants. An afternoon stroll with your guide through the surrounding bush as he explains the local ecology, geology and introduces you to aspects of his tradition and culture. Breakfast and Dinner included.

Day 7:
Visit the village and Ntwetwe Pan. After breakfast, we visit Gweta (population of 2000) to experience modern African rural culture. If you are lucky, witness the mixing of aphrodisiac droppings and roots at the Traditional Healer`s home.

After lunch and a siesta, we take the quad bikes to reach an area known as “the moon”! On reaching the lunar landscape of Ntwetwe, explore the wilderness of vast and empty salt pans. Tonight is a magical and very special experience as we have dinner under the stars – marvelling at the 360-degree view of the Southern Hemisphere. A delicious barbecue dinner cooked to perfection and rounded off with wine and liqueors. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Day 8: Meerkat Mission

Up at sunrise for coffee and then the magical opportunity to visit an area known as “Sweet Waters” the only permanent water in the vicinity of Ntwetwe, a magnet for desert birdlife and livestock. We search for the meerkats, bat eared foxes, ground squirrels and other desert species as we head back to Planet Baobab for our transport to Maun.

At Maun, we take a light aircraft to Kanana. Kanana means “paradise” in Setswana – and truly it is aptly named! Kanana Camp is a jewel set on the Xudum River - in the south west Okavango. Kanana Camp is set in a private concession, encompassing a number of islands dotted with palm, fig, ebony and knobthorn trees, and is home to diverse species of wildlife, including numerous species of birds - including many migratory species. This is, indeed, a perfect place to experience the diversity of species found within the Okavango Delta.

Guests are accommodated in eight spacious, twin-bedded 'Meru' (East African) style tents, each set on a raised teak deck, and offering breathtaking views across the waterways and islands. All tents offer en-suite bathrooms with hot and cold running water, shower and flush toilet. The tents are placed in such a way as to afford privacy, yet are still within comfortable distance from the central dining and lounge area.

The annual flood transforms this dry camp into a true water experience and in the early months of the year you may actually enjoy the visible spectacle of the water rising around the camp. Being in a private concession a wide variety of activities is available at Kanana Camp and the focus of activities varies with the rising and falling levels of the Okavango Delta. Your guide will assist you in planning your days to best enjoy and explore the area.

There are game drives, in specially designed vehicles, in the morning and late afternoon, which continue into the evening as night drives. You can explore the crystal clear waterways by mekoro (dug-out canoe) or small powerboat, and enjoy the diversity of species around the Camp. Birding, in particular, is excellent, as Kanana hosts a seasonal heronry that teems with activity from August through to March - truly a highlight of a visit to this Camp. In addition, guided walks are highly recommended, and you might also wish to try your hand at fly or spin fishing for tilapia (bream), African pike and sharptooth catfish. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Day 9:
A day to relax and enjoy this amazing place! Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.

Day 10:
After your morning safari activity, we are flown by light aircraft to Little Kwara Lodge. Kwara is located in the remote northern part of the stunning Okavango Delta within the private Kwara concession. The camp fronts onto a huge floodplain, adjacent to the permanent water of the Delta and is backed by extensive bush.

It is a magnificent wilderness area in excess of 1,700 square kilometres, bordering the Moremi Reserve. No trip to Botswana is complete without a visit to the Delta, the shimmering and unique watery jewel in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. Kwara encompasses a wide diversity of habitats, ranging from the clear Delta waters with reed-lined lagoons and channels, to open grasslands, mopane woodlands and palm-fringed islands. The forested island on which the camp sits is typical of those encountered throughout the vast 1.6 million hectares of the Okavango Delta. At Kwara, you will discover why the Okavango is considered one of the ecological wonders of Africa and indeed the world. It is mysterious, calming, unpredictable and very wild.

Little Kwara offers mekoro trips and 4x4 safari drives (day and night), and the team here are enthusiastic about tracking predators. Drives always have a tracker as well as a driver-guide, which helps to produce some excellent game sightings. Note that the vehicles are completely open - this is good for photographers but be sure to take a sun hat!

The four spacious and stylishly furnished en-suite tents, with their large shaded verandas, are raised onto individual wooden platforms. Each room has an indoors bath, partly-covered outside shower and separate toilet. The balconies are accessed by large sliding doors which allow great views of your surroundings. Please note that the beds do not have mosquito nets, but as far as they possibly can be, the tents are “insect-proof”. Ample storage space is provided, along with all the usual complementary items including mosquito repellent, bug spray, shampoo and shower gel. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.

Day 11:
A day to enjoy the safari opportunities! Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.

Day 12:
Today, we head north for a luxurious and magnificent finale – 3 nights on board the luxurious Nguni Voyager. We fly to Kasane, where you are met, assisted with immigration and transferred to join Nguni Voyager for 3 nights of luxury river cruising on the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers.

NGUNI ZAMBEZI VOYAGER is more than a houseboat and it is not just another lodge in Africa. Nguni is a luxuriously appointed, fully serviced and activity driven floating lodge, that operates on the Zambezi and Chobe rivers. Nguni is a custom made and an owner run operation which brings you an extremely unique and personalised product. This is a Namibian operation which floats gently along the Chobe River and one of the most prolific wildlife areas of the Namibia Caprivi Strip and Northern Botswana.

There are 5 berths and each of these delicately decorated rooms has its own guide and boat which enables guests to have a choice of activities on the mosaic of wetlands and the 3 predominant rivers in this area – the Zambezi, The Chobe and The Kasai. There is the opportunity to travel for hundreds of kilometres on all these rivers. Each river is unique having its own character and charm, access to all of them is possible. Impalila Island is located nearby and is the only place where 4 countries meet each other and The Victoria Falls is a day trip away.

All activities will be conducted from tender boats. Each cabin will have its own tender boat and guide where possible, however staying aboard Nguni is an activity in itself.
 

• Game Viewing

Game viewing will take place on the Chobe River. Viewing game from the water is a memorable experience, the game does not feel threatened from a water born source therefore the photographic opportunities are exceptional. The Chobe has the largest concentration of elephants in Africa and for this reason alone the Chobe is a must for any visitor to Nguni. There are vast buffalo herds and numerous plains game species that traverse the area as well as the possibility of sighting predators such as Lion, Wild Dog, Hyena and Leopard.
 

• Local Culture

All clients aboard Nguni will be part of the Zambezi culture. The river communities that live along the banks of the river are known as the Lozi and Masubia. Visitors are able to experience their lifestyle by simply observing as they tend to their daily duties or be more participatory as guests in one of their villages. Here we have the opportunity to understand how they live their way of life.

• Walks:

The floodplain and wetland areas of the Zambezi and Chobe have a diverse ecological makeup. The opportunity to take guided walks is available over varying distances and within different habitats. The walking is comfortable as the terrain is reasonably flat and is not exclusively for the energetic. Breakfast and Dinner included.

Days 13 and 14:
At leisure to relax on board Nguni Voyager or participate in the many activities, game viewing and sightseeing opportunities. All meals included.

Day 15:
After breakfast, you will be transferred back to Kasane for a road transfer to Livingstone. Fly on South African Airways from Livingstone to London via Johannesburg

Day 16:
Arrive London Heathrow in the morning.

*Optional add on: Livingstone and Victoria Falls
We have a special two or three night add on that will give you the time to marvel at the amazing sight of Victoria Falls from the Zambian side. Ask us for more detials and a price!