11 Day Out of Africa

Days 1-2: The Wonder Of Victoria Falls

Arrive at Victoria Falls Airport. Upon arrival, you will be met and assisted by our guide who will transfer you to your accommodation for your 3-night stay on a bed and breakfast basis.

Activities while in Victoria Falls will include A guided walking tour of the magnificent Victoria Falls, a group dinner at the award-winning Palm Restaurant, and a breakfast cruise along the Zambezi River on the Ra-Ikane River Cruiser!

The balance of our time here will be spent at leisure, which gives you ample time to explore the town of Victoria Falls or to enjoy a self-booked itinerary (recommended is a helicopter ride over the falls)!

Days 3-4: Transfer to Botswana – Experience Chobe River Front

In the morning you are met and transferred to Chobe Bakwena Lodge (or similar) where you spend 2 nights in the Chobe Riverfront on a fully inclusive basis.  Flight time permitting you will enjoy an afternoon game drive into Chobe National Park on arrival and the following day a Chobe River Cruise and game drive into the park again.

The Chobe Riverfront is an elephant mecca; home to the largest density of African elephants in the world. Travel here during winter and you’ll fast run out of fingers and toes while you count them drinking at the riverbanks and socializing out on the floodplains.

Thanks to its ease of access from Victoria Falls, the Chobe Riverfront is the busiest part of Botswana (though still a much quieter affair than most South or East African safaris). What Chobe lacks in solitude during the busier months, it more than makes up for with quality game viewing.

Chobe will leave you feeling tiny as giant elephant bulls stroll up next to your vehicle or snorkel alongside your boat. It will make you feel lost as hundreds of hippos and buffaloes crowd you out on the floodplains. It will put your heart in your throat as the pride of lion stalk antelopes by the water’s edge, and it will leave you alone with your thoughts while the classic red sunsets melt over the river to a soundtrack of whistling fish eagles.

Chobe is not just a great introduction to Botswana. It also makes a rewarding repeat journey once you’ve ticked off the big stuff. It’s a place to search for the rare sable antelope, to spot that gem from the birders’ bucket list, and explore the remoter corners.

Days 5-7: Into the Okavango Delta

After breakfast and a morning activity (if flight time permits), transfer to Kasane Airport in time for your light aircraft flight down to the Okavango Delta (included) where you spend 2 nights at Setari Camp (or similar) on a fully inclusive basis.

The Okavango Delta is where the wild things are: an immense, waterlogged oasis alive with elephants and birdlife, adrift in the middle of Kalahari sands. The real magic of the Delta lies in its water, trickling through from far away highlands, and spreading across the channels and floodplains.

During winter in the Kalahari, when the sun has baked the earth bare and turned the desert its driest, water fills the Okavango; transforming the floodplains into Noah’s Ark of African wildlife.

As the water brings life to the delta, its local residents shape and recreate it. Termites slowly build mounds into islands, germinated with palm trees by passing elephants. Waterways open and close on the whim of wide-bottomed hippos, carving out channels where they crash through reeds and leaving room behind them for exploration by mokoro.

The Okavango has many faces, which change throughout the year, prompted by that most unpredictable diva of all: the weather. Water levels rise and drop, expanding and shrinking islands, while animals move where life is easiest and the grass greenest. In a few days, a sandy road driven by a vehicle can become a waterway of unknowable depth, prompting a safari by boat instead.

Where and when you stay in the Okavango Delta will hugely influence what you do in the bush each day, the animals you’re most likely to see, and finally, the safari experience you’ll have.

The delta’s watery heart is best discovered by mokoro through shallow channels and floodplains, as well as crossing the islands on foot. For less water and more of the big game, visit a camp on its drier edges (including Moremi Game Reserve and the Khwai Community Area), jump on a vehicle, and seek out the animals hiding in the woodlands.

Day 8: into the Kalahari Desert

This morning we travel east across the Kalahari. The nomadic San people are the hunter-gatherers who call the Kalahari home. Their knowledge cascades down the generations and their affinity with the environment is simply remarkable. Tonight we get a first-hand experience of the San culture which is renowned for its traditions of song, dance, and story-telling.

Day 9: Central Kalahari

The day begins with a guided walk that will introduce some of the secrets of the Kalahari. Later on, we return to the road and travel to the desert town of Kang, the gateway to the Central Kalahari Desert.

Day 10: to Johannesburg

Today we cross the border into South Africa and after quite a long, yet scenic drive we arrive in Johannesburg, “city of gold”.

Day 11: The safari ends

This morning you land back home, bringing with you the memories of all the wonderful sights of Southern Africa.