13 Day Classic Africa Safari In Style

Day 1 Johannesburg/ Livingstone

Arrive at OR Tambo (formerly Johannesburg) International Airport off your international flight.

After clearing customs and immigration, and collecting your luggage, (it will take you around one hour to clear customs and immigration, and collect your luggage off your international flight), you will be met in the International Arrivals Hall, by our Johannesburg representative, who will hand you your British Airways and Air Botswana tickets, and then accompany you to the check-in counter for your British Airways flight to Livingstone Airport in Zambia.

After clearing customs and immigration at Livingstone Airport, you will be met by a representative of Stanley’s Safari Lodge, and driven to the Lodge, which lies around 20 minutes away.

Stanley’s Safari Lodge is situated on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls, high on a hill, overlooking the famous Victoria Falls. The views are really outstanding, the lodge small and intimate, and the hospitality world class. This exclusive lodge is the ideal base for the new explorers of the Victoria Falls, as it is close to the Falls, the game parks, the activities and the airport, yet at the same time, it is secluded in the bush and with its magnificent views, it is the ideal place to rest before or after a safari journey, . ‘Probably the best Sunsets in the world’.

With only 10 cottages and suites and 2 members of staff for every client, Stanley Safari Lodge is able to offer you an unprecedented level of service.

At Stanley’s Safari Lodge you will be accommodated in an en-suite luxury Chalet, with views into the surrounding bush. All your meals and drinks are included during your stay, and a wealth of interesting and fascinating activities may be booked and paid for directly at the lodge.

Days 2 and 3 Livingstone

After breakfast, you will be free to partake of some of the many activities on offer on this side of Victoria Falls:

Game Drives

Local village visit

Helicopter flight

Rafting

Canoeing

Bunji-jumping

Elephant Back Safari

A visit to the Zambian or Zimbabwean side of The Falls

Livingstone Island picnic lunch

Sunset cruises on the Zambezi River

Activities may be booked directly at the lodge, and settled for directly.

Day 4 Livingstone/ Chobe National Park

After breakfast at Stanley’s Safari Lodge, you will be transferred, by a representative of Wild Horizons Transfer Company, by road and a short boat transfer across the Chobe River, into Botswana. This transfer will take around 1 hour and 45 minutes. The driver will take you to Kasane Airport, where you will be met by your Chobe Under Canvas Guide, who will transfer you by road to your semi-permanent Camp, in the Chobe National Park.

With only six luxury, en-suite safari tents, perfectly placed in exclusive semi-permanent camps (on or near the Chobe River), Chobe Under Canvas offers a unique safari experience in the Northern part of the Chobe National Park.

The Chobe National Park comprises 11 700 km2 of wilderness, bordered in the north by the famous Chobe River, and buffered on all sides by wildlife management areas and forest reserves, allowing for the free movement of game. A wildlife enthusiast’s dream, the Chobe National Park is one of the top wilderness reserves in the world and is home to the largest single concentration of elephant. Throughout the year, herds of buffalo and elephant can be seen drinking at the river’s edge with their numbers swelling into hundreds and thousands during the dry season. Two species of region-specific antelope occur here, the puku and the Chobe bushbuck, which cannot be seen in other parts of Botswana except on the Chobe riverfront. Due to the variety of the Chobe vegetation and geological features, this magnificent wildlife sanctuary offers extreme contrasts and a fantastic cross-section of wildlife.

Each tent has a private butler service, a double bed and an en-suite bathroom with a flush toilet and an al fresco hot water bucket shower, offering a true African on-safari ambience. The guest areas comprise comfortable tents for dining, meeting for a pre-dinner drink, or just for whiling the time away between safaris – complete with delicious Pan African meals, and traditional bush dinners served under the stars.

Days 5 and 6 Chobe National Park

Activities include twice-daily game drives in semi-open 4×4 safari vehicles and a tranquil boat cruise on the Chobe River – both with expert guides.

Chobe’s wildlife roams in profusion and diversity. It is home to the largest concentration of Elephant in Africa and during the dry season (May – October) the herds congregate along the fertile flood plains of the Chobe River. Large herds of Buffalo also concentrate on the floodplains during the dry season. Other major species such as Lion, Wild Dog, Puku, Red Lechwe, Sable and Roan Antelope are encountered in many areas of the Reserve.

Day 7 Chobe/ Okavango Delta

After your early morning activity and brunch, your Guide will return you to Kasane Airport, where you will meet the pilot, who will fly you, in a light aircraft, into Baines Camp. This flight will take around 80 minutes, offering amazing views of the Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta.

Located on the Boro River and set amongst the shady trees and water of the Okavango Delta, on a private concession neighbouring the Moremi Game Reserve, Baines’ Camp is an exclusive oasis for those wishing to experience the true wilds of Botswana.

This private camp is located by definition in the Okavango’s seasonal delta. The flood waters arrive in June, though there is often navigable water all year round due to the presence of the Boro River. The beautifully-appointed tents evoke an atmosphere of “classic Africa,” with hand-crafted beds, antique furniture and Thomas Baines prints combining to create the surroundings of colonial-era luxury.

The camp features five luxurious suites set on elevated platforms along a tree line bordering on a perennial floodplain. Wooden decks offer expansive views over the permanent water of the Boro River and a lagoon teaming with life. The camp is named after the famed nineteenth century explorer and artist, Thomas Baines. The inspiration for Baines’ paintings is evident when looking at the quintessential Okavango waterscape that stretches from the camp.

The elevated suites feature a luxury bedroom, with softly draped fabrics adding the romantic touch of a bygone era. The four-poster beds are fully mobile, giving guests the choice of slumber under star laden skies. Avid astronomers will delight in stargazing from the privacy of their own deck.

Each room is equipped with a hairdryer, ceiling fan, in-room safe and mini bar. The camp also provides a torch as well as complimentary mosquito repellent & toiletries.

Electricity, 240 volts, is supplied by a combination of silent packed generator and battery system allowing 24-hour power supply.

The main area features an oversized deck for outdoor dining and views over the permanent water of the lagoon, as well as a swimming pool for refreshing sunbathing.

Days 8 and 9 Okavango Delta

This area is superb for viewing all animals and bird species. Guests may explore by land and water, often into the night, to discover nocturnal species.

Mokoro (dug–out canoe) or Motorised boat safaris: The permanent water of the camp will reveal a world of floating safaris, atmospherically silent at the gentle pace of a poled mokoro, or faster in a comfortable motorboat.

Walking Safaris: Sometimes there is no better way to tune into the bush than on foot, and walking safaris will be a speciality at Baines’, with skilled, armed professional guides introducing the area’s natural wonders.

Game viewing in the area is extremely good with excellent numbers of predators and plains-game on offer. The area houses one of the largest Buffalo populations in the Okavango Delta. In the dry season, the population can concentrate into a herd in excess of 2000 head. Day game drives in open 4 X 4 vehicles, as well as Night game drives in open 4 X 4 vehicles and, at an additional cost, and interaction with elephants are all on offer.

Day 10 Okavango/ Kalahari

After a light breakfast, an early morning activity, and brunch, you will be transferred to the airstrip for your charter flight to Maun Airport (20 minutes), where your Meno-a-Kwena Guide will meet you, and transfer you by road to the Camp, around one hour and thirty minutes away.

Meno A Kwena Tented Camp prides itself in getting seriously involved in local tribal community development projects to create an increased awareness of the importance of the country’s wildlife resources, and therefore its preservation. This is the conservation action they have taken to secure a future for the region’s wildlife potential through maximum benefits to the people and wildlife of the Boteti in the Kalahari region of Botswana.

Southern Africa’s largest remaining zebra and wildebeest herds, dependant on regular drinking water, migrate within the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans ecosystem. There are numerous desert-adapted animals and birds that move through the area in search of grazing and browse. This very diverse system, contrasts between riverine and open saltpan habitats with varying woodland and scrubby vegetation.

The tented safari camp is an experience in itself. All the tents are pitched on a cliff overlooking the dry Boteti riverbed, where Meno A Kwena provide water for wildlife to drink in full spectacular view of the camp. The river hasn’t flowed in over ten years. The tented safari camp is themed around the former ‘mobile’ safari camping days when the ‘real’ safari experience was provided. The rustic, but stylish camp has been created from a mixture of the authentic safari mood with a traditional rural African touch.

Each of the seven fully serviced safari tents with semi-attached bathrooms, including a bucket shower and flush toilet each, are set on the edge of the riverbank. A hundred feet below camp is the waterhole that attracts thousands of animals during the dry season. A lot of emphasis in the camp experience is placed on the theatre view from camp, and so no matter where guests are they may watch the scenes played out, whether from the plunge pool, their tents, the verandas, or the bathrooms.

The safari camp cuisine is prepared in a way it is as much of a safari experience as all the other aspects of life in the bush. They cook on the campfire – BBQ Botswana beef fillets, BBQ chicken, BBQ chops, grilled fish, and these are supplemented with fresh vegetables and salads. Puddings, cheese, biscuits and fresh tropical fruits end the meals on a sweet note. Picnic lunches are supplied for day trips into the national parks.

Days 11 and 12 Kalahari Desert

Wildlife viewing by 4X4 safari car into the parks and reserves are dependent on where the seasonal wildlife is concentrated for water and food, determined by rainfall. There is actually no need to leave the camp during the dry season as most of the wildlife in the area will drink from the lodge’s waterhole at camp. This is a perfect opportunity for guests to take a break from game drives and to sit quietly and watch the wildlife from the comfort of camp.

Relaxing in camp – The camp’s water hole attracts enough wildlife to just stay in camp and relax, after days of busy activities on safari this is a welcome option. The dry season (May to November) is most productive for the zebra and wildebeest migration. Birdlife is impressive all year round.

Day trips from camp – Licensed, experienced, and knowledgeable guides lead the day trips to three protected Kalahari wilderness areas all year round. An impressive packed picnic lunch and drinks are provided for these safaris. Day trips are dependant on wildlife movements, influenced by the rains, and limited available surface water. Below is a list of where to go when.

Nxai Pan National Park including Baines’ Baobabs – All year-round. The pumped water hole is best in the dry season, (May to November).

Makgadikgadi Saltpans – Access onto the pans is possible during the dry season, (May to November).

Zebra and Wildebeest migration, Makgadikgadi Pans National Park – The herds concentrate on the Boteti during the dry season, (May to November). The migration moves through the national park to the salt pans during the rains, (December to May).

Boteti River – All year round for general wildlife, the zebra and wildebeest migration drink along the riverbed during the dry season, (May to November). Bird varieties increase and start breeding during the summer months, (September to May).

Day 13 Maun/ Johannesburg

After breakfast, you will be driven back to Maun Airport, where you will connect with Air Botswana, flight BP211, departing Maun at 15h00, and arriving back in Johannesburg at 16h40.