Botswana

Nestled between South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia, the Republic of Botswana is a land of stark beauty and tremendous contrast. Although dominated by the vast Kalahari Desert, the largest stretch of sand on Earth, Botswana is also home to the life-sustaining Okavango Delta. It is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world and, as a result, contains some of the most pristine and uninterrupted wildlife habitat on the continent. Chobe National Park alone encompasses more than 11, 000 square kilometres - the size of a small country. This makes it the ideal place for spotting resident elephants and zebras, hippos and rhinos, African wild dogs, meerkats, cheetahs and hyenas, Cape buffalos and blue wildebeest, more than 400 species of birds, and even black-manned lions and the reclusive leopard.