Keen travellers will be able to straddle themselves between reality and fiction with a new Botswana safari themed around hit author Alexander Mccall Smith.  The writer of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency will lead a special tour with Belmond Safaris from November 10-16, 2016, comprising three luxury lodges – each located in a completely different ecosystem.

The six-night itinerary – titled Journey to the Heart of Botswana with Alexander McCall Smith – begins at Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge in the centre of Chobe National Park. Guests will stay on banks of the Savute Channel, known as the elephant capital of the world, at a lodge that boasts an elevated view of the river, with elephant herds and lion prides up to 40 strong roaming the plains.

The second stop is Belmond Khwai River Lodge, overlooking vast floodplains in the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. It’s known to be a year-round destination for viewing wildlife, predators and plainsgame. The lodge also offers the opportunity to experience a night drive, followubg nocturnal predators on the hunt, with a chance to witness hippo feeding frenzies and potentially spot nocturnal birds such as the Giant Eagle Owl.

The third and final destination is Belmond Eagle Island Lodge in the Okavango Delta, which featured in McCall Smith’s much-loved novel, The Double Comfort Safari Club, as well as the children’s tale Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion. The lodge reopened in November following an almost total rebuild, offering a very water-focused safari experience, with activities including motorboat safaris, barge cruises and mokoro safaris – a form of canoe or small barge. The journey also includes an open-sided helicopter ride over Botswana’s incredible landscape.

“I am delighted to be accompanying readers of the books on another African safari,” said McCall Smith. “The previous safaris that we have undertaken at these marvellous safari lodges have given readers from all over the world an opportunity to meet one another in Mma Ramotswe’s own country. Friendships have been formed and adventures have been experienced that have given me and my accompanying readers the greatest possible pleasure.”