Wildlife Safari In Botswana, Namibia & Zambia

Arrive Maun and check into hotel. Maun is a dusty frontier town on the southern reaches of the Okavango Delta. Your afternoon here is free to relax or maybe take a stroll around Maun and begin to immerse yourself into the ways of Africa.

Overnight Standard Hotel

We will have an early start this morning when we drive to the west side of the Okavango Delta Panhandle to meet our houseboat. Due to the seasonal variations in the level and strength of the river, fed by rainfall in the Upper Zambezi basin, please be aware that for much of the year the houseboat itself remains securely moored and we explore the river by smaller launches. However, the amount of water that falls in the catchment area can be highly variable and the houseboat may cruise in the Delta itself. During our time on the river there may be a good possibility of seeing a variety of game. On our launch, we may cruise past submerging pods of hippos, while crocodiles bask in the shallows and on the riverbanks. This is a home away from home where you are encouraged to enjoy this part of Africa. It is not hard to imagine yourself as David Livingstone when he was in Africa all those years ago!

Overnight Standard Houseboat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

During our stay on the houseboat our itinerary is very flexible. A typical day involves one or two trips out on the houseboat launch to visit the surrounding area. On our launch, we may cruise past submerging pods of hippos, while crocodiles bask in the shallows and on the riverbanks. While you are here, you may also have the opportunity to do some bird watching from the houseboat, or maybe try your luck at fishing. Local fishermen are often seen aboard their traditional dugout canoes, known locally as mokoros. The golden light of late afternoon will also be enjoyed with a traditional ‘sundowner’.

Overnight Standard Houseboat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We include a days excursion to Tsodilo Hills, an intriguing and sacred place. The San Bushmen believe that this was the site of the first creation and as a result it is considered a holy and sacred place. They painted an astonishing 3500 rock paintings here to celebrate this over 350 different sites. There are four rocks that jut out of the expanse of the surrounding land and the San Bushmen believe that the bigger rock, the “male”, has a “wife” and “younger wife” who now lingers in the background.

Overnight Standard Houseboat Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

An early morning start this morning sees us heading north to Namibia’s Caprivi Strip before heading to Livingstone in Zambia. The Caprivi Region has a colourful and interesting history. The Caprivi, known by local tribes as Itenge, was under the rule of the Lozi kings until the end of the 19th century, but it was administered as part of the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, now known as Botswana. As a result of the European superpower political maneuvering, Germany laid claim, in 1890, to the British administered island of Zanzibar to which Britain strenuously objected. The Germans were keen to link their colonies in German East Africa (now Tanzania) with German South West Africa (now Namibia). The dispute was settled by the Berlin Conference in 1890 when Queen Victoria acquired Zanzibar and Germany acquired the territory which became known as the Caprivi Strip. This strip of land was named after German Chancellor General Count Georg Leo von Caprivi di Caprara di Montecuccoli! Say that after a beer!

Overnight Standard Lodge Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Often referred to as the ‘adventure capital’ of Zambia, Livingstone is a pleasant town with a variety of land, air and water-based activities on offer in the surrounding area. A short drive can take you to one of the natural wonders of the world – Victoria Falls. We plan a visit to view the falls from the Zambian side of the river. Here, the Zambezi River plummets over a sheer cliff wall spanning more than 1676m, and drops approximately 100m into the abyss below. Like David Livingstone before us, you become aware of the awesome cataract long before seeing it. Plumes of water vapour rise like smoke into the sky accompanied by a deafening roar: a fact which inspired the natives to call the waterfall, Mosi-oa-Tunya, ‘The Smoke that Thunders’. You may choose to take an optional half-day game drive into Mosi-oa- Tunya National Park to search for white rhino. You may also like to take advantage of one of the other many optional activities on offer such as a scenic flight over the falls or white water rafting.

Overnight Standard Lodge Included meals: Breakfast

We head to Kazungula and back into Botswana via the ferry over the Zambezi River and then drive into the Serondela area of Chobe National Park. A variety of habitats – flooded grassland, thicket, salt pan and particularly the banks of the Chobe River, one of the Zambezi’s main tributaries, is home to an abundance of wildlife. The northern Chobe area of Serondela is the heart of elephant country – up to 35,000 elephants live within the park, the largest number in any African park. This afternoon we will head out on our first game drive. This area is famed for its beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife  and its magnificent red and gold sunsets.

Overnight Basic Camping Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning we’ll take the opportunity to spend some more time watching huge trumpeting herds in and around the river. Other mammals to be seen are buffalo, kudu, eland, waterbuck, sable and roan antelope, zebra, lion, cheetah, leopard, impala, reedbuck and the rare Chobe bushbuck. In the river are hippo and crocodile and the waters teem with bream, barbel and tiger fish (freshwater barracuda). Next we travel south to the marshes of the Savuti Channel, another area with great concentrations of game.

Overnight Basic Camping Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we will spend the whole day taking in the local scenery and wildlife in the Savuti region. This is an excellent place to view lion and other predators especially during the dry winter months. We may also have the opportunity to see some San bushman paintings.

Overnight Basic Camping Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Leaving our Savuti camp we continue over dirt roads into Moremi Game Reserve – one of Botswana’s most diversified reserves in terms of scenery and wildlife. Tucked into the north-eastern sector of the Okavango Delta, Moremi is thought to be the country’s most beautiful gameland, and is rated as one of Africa’s greatest wildlife sanctuaries. It covers an enormous wilderness area composed of permanent swamps, islands, forest and dry land – an ornithologist’s paradise. More birdlife and larger mammals may be spotted on the flood plain, including elephant, giraffe, zebra and ostrich, as well as predators like lion, leopard and wild dog.

Overnight Basic Camping Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In Moremi early mornings and late afternoons are devoted to game viewing. Here in the Okavango silence reigns, broken only by the roar of a lion or the harsh cry of a fish eagle.

Overnight Basic Camping Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The mighty Okavango is the third largest river in southern Africa and its delta area covers 16,000 square kilometres of crystal clear channels, a myriad of ephemeral lakes and ever changing islands, surviving atop the Kalahari desert. The river flows south east from the Angolan highlands over 1,000 km away, taking up to 6 months to reach the delta area which floods on a perennial annual cycle. We drive into the Delta to our camp at Xakanaxa in Moremi Game Reserve. Exceptional though the geography of the Delta may be, it is the amazing wildlife of the waterways that draws us and we plan to set out game viewing on our arrival.

Overnight Basic Camping Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we intend to spend the whole day in this unspoiled wonderland. Hippo, crocodile, red lechwe are easy to spot. Bird lovers may spot fish eagle, jacana, kingfisher, heron, stork, egret, weaver and bee-eater – just some of the magnificent species found here.

Overnight Basic Camping Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We make an early morning game drive then continue eastwards enjoying the emptiness, until we reach Maun. There may be the opportunity of an optional game flight over the Okavango Delta this afternoon and your tour leader will be happy to assist in organising this.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Our tour ends today in Maun after breakfast. Depending on the schedule of your international flights, you may be able to explore a few hours exploring the town independently.

Included meals: Breakfast