A full day of wildlife and local culture in Botswana! - The Full-Day Mokoro Experience was the very first thing that we did in Botswana - and it was the perfect introduction to the country! From the start, the Open Sands Safari team was very communicative. I got a WhatsApp message a few hours after I booked the tour, and I got another message the day before the tour with information about our guide and pickup time. Our guide, Shaku, picked us up at our lodge at 6am on the day of our trip. He gave us nice warm ponchos to wear during the early morning drive, since it was quite windy in the back of the open-air truck. We drove about 2.5 hours from our lodge to the Mokoro Station via a dirt road that required 4WD. It felt very remote to me, but we passed several villages along the way, and eventually we crossed through the gate into the NG32 concession. Once we were in the concession, we saw abundant wildlife - elephants, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, hippos, warthogs, and more. Shaku, who I believe said he had been a guide for over 15 years, stopped for each animal that we saw and taught us about the animals as we went along. Before we reached the Mokoro Station, we stopped in the shade and had a little breakfast of coffee, cereals, bananas, muffins, and more. Once we reached the Mokoro Station, we met Waka, who would be our Mokoro poler and guide. We sat in the Mokoro while Waka stood and guided it in the shallow water. Waka grew up on a nearby island and has lived in the village near the Mokoro Station for most of his life. We asked Waka many questions about plants and animals, his life here in this village, what it was like to grow up here, conservation in Botswana, and more. We are so grateful for his openness to answering our many questions. After a bit, Waka parked the Mokoro on an island, and we began a 90-minute bush walk. During the bush walk, Waka pointed out animal tracks on the ground, and we admired the wildlife (elephants, hippos, crocodiles, antelopes, etc) from a safe distance. The highlight of the day was when Waka noticed some tracks on the ground - then looked up in the tree and saw a leopard's lunch half-eaten! Waka was able to spot the leopard hiding in the bush watching us. He pointed it out to us, and then we moved along. I thought I would feel afraid in that moment, but I felt so safe and secure with Waka. (It seemed to be quite uncommon to come across a leopard, by the way!) After the bush walk, we took the Mokoro to another island to eat our packed lunch. I am vegetarian, and thankfully they were able to accommodate with a vegetarian meal for me. After lunch, Waka guided the Mokoro back to the Mokoro Station, where we met Shaku and began the 2-hour drive back to Maun. This was such an amazing start to our trip in Botswana, and our first safari ever! During our trip we also went on safari in Chobe National Park, but the Full-Day Mokoro Experience was such a different type of trip, I am glad that we did both. The Full-Day Mokoro Experience with Open Sands had many of the same animals, but it was also a much richer experience from the cultural perspective. We got to see glimpses of what life is like in villages in Botswana and speak to people who lived there, plus learn about and ride in the traditional Mokoro canoe. Our guides Shaku and Waka made us feel so welcome. And Shaku was so great at taking photos for us! This was a day I'll cherish for a long time!

Great experience - Great experience! Although a long and bumpy ride, it's well worth it. All arranged perfectly! Recommendation to all!