Our U.S. Team Visits Botswana for Safari Preparation

We have a lot going on, but we wanted to give you the latest update on everything that’s happening at Brave Africa. We’re so excited about everything that’s happening as we get ready for our official Brave Africa launch with our first 10-day/9-night Botswana safari on August 30, 2019!

We’re Crazy Busy

Honestly, there’s not much more that needs to be said. We’re in the final few weeks of getting our safari up and running, and that means we’re running around like crazy and trying to get everything together.

Of course, as with any business, few things go to plan. Instead, you have to roll with a thousand little punches and make things work the best that you can. You also have to realize that there is only so much that you can control. Sometimes, you just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Our U.S. Team Flew to Botswana for Safari Prep

First and foremost, is the fact that our U.S.-based team flew out to Botswana to meet up with Wina and work on Brave Africa on location. Both our teams have been in near-constant communication over the last few months, but there is something to be said about meeting up in-person, and that’s what this week is about.

Our team flew out of Denver at 4:00 pm on Friday, June 28. Nine hours later—at 10 am local time—they landed in Munich, Germany for a short two-hour layover before taking a one-hour hopper flight to Frankfurt. Then, they had around nine hours in Frankfurt to run around before taking the 10:30 pm flight (local) to Johannesburg.

Twelve hours later, they arrived in Joburg at 9:00 am (local). They then had three hours to check out their luggage and recheck it back in for their two-hour flight to Maun, Botswana. They made it just in time, with only a small amount of airport drama (four gate changes and 4 miles of walking through the airport).

Thirty-six hours of travel later, Wina picked the team up at Maun International Airport in our completed Land Cruiser. And it was worth every second. Check out a little bit about how we made it to Maun on our Getting Here page.

LC 1 and LC 2

LC 1 and LC 2, as we affectionately refer to our two Toyota Land Cruisers, were crazy to see in real life. LC 1 is almost completely done and ready for customers. She’s a beauty! The garage did an amazing job transforming her into a comfortable safari vehicle, and she’s better than we could have imagined.

There are even a few unexpected features that we think we adventure guests are going to love!

• Each row will have two USB ports (one per person) to use while out on safari! So if there’s a charging emergency or you’re draining a battery faster than expected, you won’t have to panic. This is a feature typically only available in photography vehicles, but we’re including it in all of ours.
• We also have a cooler in the front row. This battery-powered cooler will keep your drinks and snacks ice-cold while out on your all-day game drives. The cooler is large enough to easily hold water, beer, soda, juice, and even white wine during your game drives.
• A luggage rack in the back makes air strip pick up super simple. We’ll strap your bags down on the back of the Land Cruiser, covering them securely with a tarp, and keep your bags safe as we go out on your afternoon safari drive before heading back to camp for dinner. This means you won’t miss a minute of your safari to drop off luggage at camp.

There’s so much more to talk about when it comes to our Land Cruisers. For now, enjoy some pictures of LC1 and LC2.

Shopping and Item Delivery for our Botswana Safari

One of the most important things that happened during this trip was that we got everything we needed for camp. Wednesday morning (July 3), our huge shipment from South Africa arrived at the office. We received all the tents along with power, lamps, furniture, cooking supplies, and more. Basically, everything we need to create a comfortable, luxurious, and amazing adventure safari experience. Thanks, Livingstone Supply Co.

However, some of the small details we purchased in Botswana. When we decorate your tents, we want items from local artisans, which is why we hired a bushman based in Maun to create the wooden kists, wooden shower platform, and toilet platform. We love that these items were crafted by a local and we think he did an amazing job. You can check out pictures of our camp on our updated Your Camp page.

First Time Out

At the end of the week, Brave Africa embarked on our first Botswana safari in Khwai. A team-only trip, we tested out all of our supplies to ensure that the Brave Africa safari experience is exactly what we want for our guests. It was the first time we set up a guest tent in the bush, our main tent, and took LC1 out on a short, two-hour game drive. We were in the bush for less than 24 hours in the end, but boy did we get a lot done in that time. We also had some incredible encounters with wildlife in just that short trip, which was a great reminder of why we are doing all of this and why Brave Africa is such a magical experience. We’ll talk about our game drive in the next blog.

For now, check out these camp photos!