August 2025: tracking lions in the Kalahari

It was with some trepidation that I embarked on a three-week solo self-drive safari in Botswana.

The itinerary created by Tawana (Julie and Vincent) took me across the country, passing through Moremi, Khwai Concession and Chobe before heading down the Makgadikdadi Pans then ending up in the Kalahari.

This intense self-drive trip will remain among my favourite memories of Africa.

Julie’s road book is extraordinary and I let myself be completely guided by their itinerary, tips and advice. This allowed me to focus on the

game drives and searching for the lion prides I wanted to photograph. Luck was on my side, and as they say, sometimes you have to make your own luck. There’s no doubt that Tawana’s excellent organisation played a part in this.

In the end, these three weeks went by without a hitch – everything is relative, though, as I did crash the 4×4 into the river on the first day; luckily, a big truck that was passing by pulled me out :-)

Botswana is still a gem waiting to be discovered. Let’s enjoy it!

Published on: 10 September 2025