9 Days Okavango Budget Botswana Breakaway

Day 1

Upon the arrival of your flight at OR Tambo (formerly Johannesburg) International Airport, you will be met by a Falcon Safaris representative who will assist you with your check-in for the scheduled Air Botswana flight to Maun (departing 10.00). When you arrive in Maun, you will be met by a representative of Planet Baobab and transferred by road to the lodge. The transfer will take approximately two hours.

Arrive at the Baobab capital of the world! A traditionally styled mud Kalanga and Bushmen grass hut village shaded by giant baobab trees whose average age is 4000 years old!

Take a stroll with one of the local Guides through the surrounding bush as he points out local ecology, geology, and culture, and watch the sunset with a cool Gin and Tonic over a campfire set deep in the bush. Return to Planet Baobab for a tasty, wholesome dinner.

Day 2

At the crack of dawn, the camp staff will have you transported to Ntwetwe in a little over two hours. You can spend the day exploring the pans and the surrounding area. Ntwetwe is the bigger of the two Makgadikgadi Pans, extending as far as the eye can see in all directions – truly a breathtaking expanse of nothingness.

The peripheries are dotted with the remains of cultures long since departed and the pans are scattered with the salty, petrified skeletons of past wet seasons. Birds, insects, mammals, and reptiles have all succumbed to the sapping heat of the pans and their perfectly preserved remains are a strange reminder of the fleeting fertility of the rains.

After a delicious lunch, head off on quad bikes into the magical unknown – far across the unexplored wilderness of the salt pans. Enjoy a drink before a barren and beauteous sunset followed by a barbeque dinner cooked to perfection by the ever-talented guides.

At the end of an action-packed day snuggle into your bedroll under the phenomenal Makgadikgadi, your very own star-spangled ceiling.

Day 3

Today you will be transferred back to Maun Airport by a representative of Planet Baobab. Arrive at Maun Airport where you will be met by your Delta Air pilot for the 20 minute light aircraft flight over the Okavango Delta to Oddballs Camp. This flight is an experience in itself, affording superb aerial views of the Delta and its wildlife, so ensure your cameras are to hand.

On arrival at the Oddballs airstrip, you will be met by your own personal professional Guide who will be looking after you during your stay. At Oddballs you will be accommodated in a 2m x 2m domed tent set on a raised wooden platform with mattresses and pillows provided, please bring your own sleeping bags (although these can be hired from Oddballs at Euro 4 per day) and towels.

After lunch – (ALL your meals are included in your Tour; breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as all your teas and coffees, but you will be required to pay for additional drinks), you will go out with your Guide for either a mokoro (dug-out canoe) excursion or a walking safari. Dinner this evening is taken in the Dining Room overlooking the Boro River, to the accompaniment of the ‘sounds of the Delta’

Day 4

You will collect all your camping equipment and a hamper of food from the store (all included in your tour price) and accompanied by your Guide will go out on Mokoro Trail, your Guide will find a suitable camping spot in the ‘bush’ close to the water, and assist you to set camp, and build a fire. Whilst on Mokoro Trail your food is provided, but you will be responsible for its preparation.

From your base camp your Guide will take you out on Walking Safaris – truly the only way to go out ‘on safari’, enabling you to be ‘at one’ with the environment, and mokoro excursions on the myriad of crystal clear waterways that make up the Okavango Delta obtain stunning views of both the wildlife and birdlife that congregate at the water’s edge. Your Guide will be happy to track and stalk particular animals that you are interested in seeing.

Day 5

An early morning wake-up, and after some coffee an early morning walk conducted at your pace, in the Moremi Game Reserve, returning after three hours or so for a hearty breakfast. During the heat of the day, you can relax, and then after lunch another excursion by mokoro. Dining by the light of the campfire under the canopy of the ‘African Sky’ completes your day. If you are particularly energetic you can go out on a longer walking safari taking a picnic breakfast or lunch with you.

Day 6-7

Early morning walking safari, breakfast a rest, and after lunch back to the airstrip for your light aircraft charter flight to Kasane Airport where you will be met by a representative of Elephant Valley Lodge and transferred to the lodge for check-in.

2 x Overnight at Elephant Valley Lodge in a standard twin tent with private en-suite facilities inclusive of all meals and all game-viewing activities

The lodge is situated in the Kasane Forest Reserve which forms part of the Chobe National Park and is close to the border crossings for both Zambia and Zimbabwe

It is the only lodge situated in the Kasane Forest with an incredibly active waterhole at the lodge providing excellent game viewing from the comfort of the hide. Game viewing at the lodge (at night the waterhole is well lit) includes elephant, buffalo, leopard, wild dog, antelope, genet, baboon, monkey, and honey badger to name a few. The birdlife at the lodge is also prolific. The lodge offers morning boat safaris on the Chobe River, evening safaris into the Chobe National Park, and night drives in the forest in ten-seater open game viewers with experienced and knowledgeable guides.

Day 8

You will be collected by your driver and transferred to the Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls. The transfer will take approximately two hours and will involve customs and immigration formalities.

1 x overnight at the Kingdom Hotel in a standard twin room with private en-suite facilities on a bed and breakfast basis. The complex comprises a luxury hotel, and an adjacent Entertainment Wing with a Casino, restaurants, nightclubs, tourist shops, pharmacies, and bars.

Rooms are modern and well equipped some having views over the ornamental lake and waterfall. The Hotel section has its own Restaurant serving Buffet lunches and Dinners, with such specialties as Mopani Worms! Every evening there is a floor show of African dancing.

The swimming pool and sun deck is a welcome oasis in the middle of the bustling town of Victoria Falls, as is the pool bar.

The Kingdom Hotel is perfect for those looking for the style and standards of an International Hotel providing ‘comforts from home.

Day 9

You will be collected from the Kingdom Hotel and transferred to Victoria Falls Airport in time for your return flight to Johannesburg, flight BA 6282 departing at 13:50 and arrival at 15:30