GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD (Lead)
CONTACT DR. LEON for ALL expedition questions BEFORE contacting Center for International Education. chartrandl@xavier.edu or 307-690-2994
ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to protect rhinos, elephants, cheetah and other animals from our giving away their locations to poachers and tourists, specific details will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here.
We depart USA to Johannesburg, South Africa then flight to Maun, Botswana. After lunch we check-in to a Muan guest house and relax for the evening enjoying the sunset and abundant wildlife viewing along the Thamalakane River.
We begin an Eight (8) night mobile-tented safari from Okavango to Kasane. Each bush camp comes with secured, fencing, showers and meals.
Our first leg of the journey begins with a game drive safari from Maun to Daanara, at the edge of the Okavango Delta with stops for wildlife viewing along the way, including hundreds of elephants, buffalo, hippos and antelope.
Our next stay is at the “Lazy River Camp” where we will have meals and storytelling around the campfire and a sundownder by the lagoon to have close experiences with hippo, crocodile, bird viewing.
We then partake in a mokoro (canoe) excursion and an island walk which includes bird-watching and river-based safaris as we float down stream.
Our next move is from the Lazy River Camp to Moremi where we undergo a wildlife safari around the famous Black Pools as we head to Xakanaxa and the Moremi Game Reserve. There we have more meals around the campfire while staring at the night sky, which is surreal in this part of Africa!
We pack lunches for a picnic for an all day game drive on the Moremi Game Reserve and finish with a boat safari at Xakanaxa
We then move on from Xakanaxa to Khwai, where our next camp includes a full day of game viewing. Hundreds of elephants, lion prides, hyenna, wild dog, leopard, giraffe, buffalo and endemic birds.
Our camp at Khwai is something special. We are in the heart of the famous Okavango Delta where Sir David Attenborough and a host of nature documentarians have been for the BBC, Nat Geo and PBS.
After two days we move from there to a camp in Savuti where we encounter more wildlife and locals. We carry soccer balls to leave behind for when the opportunities for a soccer match break out!
After so many wildlife experiences by way of 4WD, mokoro, boat or hiking in the Delta, we move on to Chobe National Park for two days. After two days we will have likely experience the Big Seven in countless numbers (elephants, lions, leopards, hippos, buffalo, giraffe, rhino).
We leave Botswana and finish off our adventure with an overnight at the famous Victoria Falls in Zambia. From there we begin our journey back to the USA.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: February 1, 2026
FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; George Farnsworth, PhD
COURSES: 6 Total Credits.
BIOL 108/109 or 280, Dr. George Farnsworth, 3 Credits, CORE Science Perspectives, Science Elective, Free Elective
THEO 388, Dr. Leon Chartrand, 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective
PROGRAM FEE: $6,575 includes roundtrip international airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, vehicle safaris, elephant/wildlife trekking, mokoro (canoe) safaris, boat safaris, Bushmen-guided hikes and cultural experiences, bush camp experiences, Chobe National Park, Moremi Game Reserve and the Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls (Zambia), meals, snacks, beverages.
TUITION: $3,630 ($605/Credit Hour x 6 Total Credits, separate from Program Fee)
DEPOSIT: Nonrefundable $400 deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.
LIMIT: Maximum 14 Students
VALUE: Attempting this program on one’s own would cost ~$19,400/person. For THIS expedition, a student’s total cost is $6,575 (Program Fee) + $3,630 (6 Credits Tuition) = $10,205 total. That’s 53% of the actual cost!!! Plus, our experiences are uniquely specific to private experiences as is characteristic of Dr. Leon and Xavier Expeditions’ guiding reputation. For questions on payment plans, contact Xavier University’s Office of the Bursar. For questions on grants and scholarships, contact Xavier University’s Office of Financial Aid.