Day 1 - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
On arrival at Victoria Falls Airport you are met and transferred to the elegant Victoria Falls Hotel. Originally built in 1904 to house engineers and associates working on the construction of the railway, the hotel is decorated in a style reminiscent of Edwardian times. You are left to your own devices this afternoon and we recommend you take the time to visit the Victoria Falls, approximately 10 minutes walk away (entrance fee is US$30, payable locally). Alternatively, relax by the pool, pamper yourself in the spa, book a sunset cruise or take high tea on Stanley's Terrace.
No meals included.
Days 2 & 3 - Chobe National Park
A road transfer, possibly shared with other travellers and lasting about 90 minutes, takes you from Zimbabwe into Botswana to Kasane Airport where you'll meet your safari guide and the rest of your group. From here you travel in your private safari vehicle to Chobe. Chobe National Park encompasses 11,700km2 of wilderness, bordered in the north by the Chobe River, and buffered on all sides by private concessions and forest reserves allowing for the free movement of game. You will spend two nights at a private mobile camp in the Serondela area of Chobe National Park, near the Chobe River.
As well as being renowned for its large variety of bird and animal life, beautiful scenery and magnificent sunsets, northern Chobe is the heart of elephant and buffalo country. On safari drives you may spend time watching the huge herds as they make their way to drink at Chobe River's edge. Two species of region-specific antelope occur here, the puku and the Chobe bushbuck, which cannot be seen in other parts of Botswana. There is also time to enjoy the adventure of a stunning boat cruise on the Chobe River: enjoy the coolness of being on the water while spotting the colourful water birds; from fish eagles to a multitude of herons and waders.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Days 4 & 5 - Savuti
A five-hour game drive takes you from the Chobe River to Savuti, where you will spend two nights in a private mobile camp in the vicinity of the Savuti Channel. Well-known for it's density of predators, at certain times of the year huge animal concentrations are also attracted to this area by its particularly nutritious grasses. Note: during the month of February and April you will stay in Savute Under Canvas Camp, which has larger, walk-in, en suite tents than the usual mobile tents used.
Savuti, within Chobe National Park, is one of Africa's most famous wildlife areas, with an atmosphere all of its own. It is especially renowned for the large prides of lion that hunt elephant during the dry season. Central to this area is the Savuti Channel, which occasionally flows from the Linyanti's waterways, flooding the Savuti Marsh. This channel's flow is unpredictable; it has appeared and then dried up again several times over the past few centuries. It's also one of the few areas where Botswana's usually flat landscape is broken by volcanic outcrops, and you might pause to view the Bushman paintings found here.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Days 6 & 7 - Moremi Game Reserve
A game drive of about five hours takes you to the game rich Khwai Community Reserve, and your mobile camp located on a private concession overlooking Moremi Game Reserve. Set aside for protection in 1962 by the BaTawana tribe, Moremi Reserve is considered to be Africa's most beautiful wildlife sanctuary.
The Okavango Delta is a fascinating ecosystem, an inland delta situated in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the world - the Kalahari basin. Moremi Game Reserve encompasses a large area of the Okavango Delta's eastern wetlands. Near its northeastern edge, the waterways gradually narrow and are spanned by a wooden pole-bridge into the Khwai Reserve. The game-drive routes that run beside the river and around the floodplains are often stunning in their beauty and prolific in their wildlife.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Days 8 & 9 - Okavango Delta
Swap your vehicle for a light aircraft and fly deeper into the Okavango Delta. This experience is an adventure in itself; from the air, you will begin to get an idea of the vastness of this unique and beautiful ecosystem, characterised by small palm islands that began as termite mounds, pools filled with basking hippos and the criss-crossing wildlife pathways.
Spend two nights at a mobile safari camp located within Nxabega, an exclusive 70km2 private wildlife reserve. Spend your time here exploring on safari drives, or by gliding through the papyrus-edged waterways of the Okavango Delta by mokoro (dug-out canoe), and on foot taking short walking safaris to investigate the small, vegetated islands.
Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 10 - Flight home
A short flight lasting about 30 minutes takes you to Maun Airport, where you bid farewell to your guide and meet your scheduled flight home.
Includes breakfast.
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