Great Plains launches mobile safari and new camp

The Great Plains Expeditions Botswana cross-country safari, which begins operating from this month, includes stays at three overnight camps in the southern African country.

The itinerary, running from August to October 2021, will also give guests the chance to take part in conservation work and data collection, including counting elephants and hippos, and logging the GPS co-ordinates of dens.

Guests embarking on the safari will also be able to help with the use of DNA collection kits, pattern analysis tools and software to identify leopard and painted dogs, contributing to the understanding of future conservation efforts.

"There really is nothing like feeling as if you are the first explorer in an area and doing it for a reason," said Great Plains founder, Dereck Joubert, adding he was also on the lookout for similar opportunities in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

There will be a maximum of eight guests on each one, and the expeditions will also run from mid-May until the end of October 2022.

The company is also launching a new camp in Zimbabwe during August - Tembo Plains Camp, which has been constructed in the Sapi Reserve on the banks of the Zambezi river.

The camp includes four guest tents plus one two-bedroom family Tembo Suite for up to four people, with shared lounge, dining area and pool.

Activities at the camp include day and night wildlife-viewing drives, walking safaris, canoeing and boating.