The Botswana operation transports guests, staff and freight to safari camps in the Okavango, Linyanti, Chobe and surrounding areas. 90% of our Botswana operations are conducted within the triangle described by Maun, Shakawe and Kasane. Our base is in the Wilderness Air hangar at Maun Airport, adjacent to the terminal building. This is also the location of the Wilderness Air group administrative centre.

Wilderness Air Botswana flies to remote camps in the Okavango and Linyanti areas. Each lodge accommodates between 10 and 16 guests. This has a bearing on the size of the aircraft used, as it is seldom that a camp has all its guests vacate and replaced on the same day. Rather, most of the client groups we fly average between 2 and 4 people. We therefore have a mix of planes that are capable of carrying 5 to 13 passengers.

Over the years we have found that the average sector length is 100km and typically the longest sector is 300km. For this reason, the fleet consists of Cessna 206, 172 and Cessna Caravan aircraft. These aircraft are well suited because of their ability to carry large loads out of short airfields economically. Wilderness Air Botswana has 8 Cessna 206s and 5 Cessna 208 Grand Caravans.

Increasingly clients prefer to fly in the Caravan. The Caravan has a quiet, spacious, air-conditioned cabin with large windows offering excellent visibility. Our Caravans are equipped with a Great Guide Entertainment System. As the aircraft travels between destinations, interesting commentary triggered by GPS coordinates explains the scenery below the planes, the area’s history and its ecological significance. Each guest boarding a Wilderness Air Cessna Caravan is issued with a pair of headphones that is plugged into a side panel for all window seats and roof panel for all middle seats, complete with individual volume control knobs for adjusting sound. Guests travelling with their IPods can even use their own set of headphones if they prefer. While the Caravan is a single engine aircraft, this engine is a turbine and our clients are comfortable with its proven reliability.

In busy months Wilderness Air Botswana carries up to 300 seats of passengers and freight per day. It has also flown over 1 000 operational hours per month in busy season. Wilderness Air does not run a scheduled operation, so each day is different and each day is scheduled to ensure that passengers are moved with the least possible amount of flying. This constant variation makes Wilderness Air a complex and logistically challenging operation to run if poor systems are in place. Massive amounts of data are generated each day. Much of this data is inter-relational and it needs to be effectively managed. Wilderness Air has a sophisticated in-house developed computer software system around which all systems are built. Managing the large volumes of information generated in a charter operation is thus made possible.

Helicopters:

See the Okavango Delta from a different angle

Enjoy a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. This flight provides an experience few have enjoyed: to be in the Delta or to see it from the ground is nothing compared to seeing it from the air, particularly from a helicopter.

Doors can be removed from the helicopter, offering the best photographic and filming opportunities of the blue meandering channels, the abundance of wildlife and the biodiversity of the Okavango.

The opportunity to have a flight of a lifetime creates a golden memory, perfect for a special occasion.

Wilderness Air Botswana:

Tel: +267 686 0778
E-mail: reservations@wilderness-air.co.bw