Botswana Wild Parks Safari

JOHANNESBURG to KHAMA RHINO SANCTUARY  [chalets – LD]
(B=breakfast, L=lunch D=dinner)
Departing Johannesburg at 06:30am we head north into Botswana and the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust is a community based wildlife project established in 1992 to assist in saving the vanishing rhino, restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state and provide economic benefits to the local Botswana community through tourism and the sustainable use of natural resources. This reserve situated on the Kalahari sandveld, has several natural waterholes and provides prime habitat for white rhino, zebra and wildebeest.

MAUN  [lodge BL-]
We drive through the Kalahari to Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. Since Maun’s founding in 1915 as the capital of the Motswana people, it has had a reputation as a hard-living ‘Wild West’ town helping the local cattle ranching and safari operations. The name Maun is derived from the San word ‘maung’, which translates ‘the place of short reeds’.

OKAVANGO DELTA  [tented camp x2 BLD]
We drive into the Okavango Delta to the launch station where we board our mekoro’s and pole to our tented camp in the heart of the largest inland delta in the world. This amazing environment has large numbers of red lechwe, buffalo, elephant and birds, particularly kingfishers! One of the best experiences in the Okavango Delta is to be poled along reed-lined channels in a mokoro (dug-out canoe). Sit back and relax as the water gurgles gently under the mokoro while your skilled poler points out the fauna and flora.

MOREMI  [3x tented bushlodge BLD, 1x lodge BL-]
We take an open 4WD into Moremi Game Reserve for fantastic game viewing! Chief’s Island is the largest landmass within Moremi and was the Batswana tribe’s richest hunting ground, before being declared a game reserve by the tribe. We spend 4 days on game drives watching the abundant wildlife including elephant, hippo, buffalo, lion & other game, both in Moremi Game Reserve and in private concession reserves surrounding the park. For an extraordinary wildlife experience we have a session in an underground hide. As the only water source in the area, wildlife is attracted to this waterhole, particularly the large bull elephants. You are so close these magnificent creatures that you can hear them breathing. We return to Maun midday on day 8 for an evening restaurant meal (own expense).

MAKGADIKGADI PANS  [tented lodge or chalets BL -]
We have time for an optional game flight over the Okavango (own expense) before we head to Nata. The shimmering saltpans of Makgadikgadi appear as a glaring white, endless plain. When the rain comes a dramatic change takes place as thousands of wildebeest and zebra migrate to the sweet nutritious grasslands and clouds of flamingo feed in its algae rich waters. It is an area of low rainfall so this spectacle only lasts a short while. (Please note due to high rainfall in the area over the last few years that there is water in the section of the pans we visit)

CHOBE NATIONAL PARK  [lodge BL -]
The Chobe River is a stunning feature of Botswana and will be the focus of our lodge stay. The Chobe River flows lazily along the northern boundary of the Chobe National Park attracting some of the largest herds of elephant in Africa. Early morning 4WD game drive in the Chobe National Park and an afternoon game viewing “sundowner” cruise to see the mighty elephant herds return to the Chobe River to quench their thirst.

VICTORIA FALLS (ZIMBABWE)  [hotel Bx2 – -]
We visit “Mosi oa Tunya” or “the smoke that thunders” – Victoria Falls. These magnificent falls are one of the seven natural wonders of the world. A rich and fertile rain forest, fed by the spray or “smoke”, surrounds the falls attracting colourful birdlife. Opportunities to white water raft on the mighty Zambezi River,bungi jump, or take a “flight of angels” (own expense).

VICTORIA FALLS – TOUR ENDS  [- B – -]
Tour ends after breakfast at 08:00am.