Category: Botswana

Glide through the watery maze of the Okavango Delta and witness hundreds of elephants in Chobe National Park. This is an incredible glimpse of Botswana in just 8 days.

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Day 1: Victoria Falls

An airport arrival transfer is included. Please provide your flight details at the time of booking, or at a minimum 15 days prior to travel. On arrival in Victoria Falls, you will be met by a Wild Horizons representative and transferred to your hotel. Located about 3 km from the town centre, Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is set high on a plateau and enjoys uninterrupted views of the African bush and an on-site waterhole. Lodge facilities include a complimentary shuttle service to the town centre, swimming pool and sundeck, complimentary Wi-Fi, gift shop, bar and restaurant. All rooms have an ensuite, safes, air-conditioning, fans, mosquito nets, tea and coffee making facilities, and a balcony overlooking National Park. Your representative will give you a short briefing explaining the arrangements for tomorrow’s trip to the falls. The rest of the day is free for you to relax by the pool, check out the visitors to the local watering hole with a cold sundowner, or catch the complimentary shuttle into town where there is a great range of curio and craft shops.

Hotel: Victoria Falls Safari Lodge or similar

Day 2: Chobe National Park

One of the world’s true natural wonders, Victoria Falls are commonly referred to by their Kololo name, Mosi-oa-Tunya or ‘the Smoke That Thunders’, and you’ll see and hear why on a morning tour, after you’re collected from your hotel at 7:30am. Your guide will take you through the falls area, stopping at different vantage points along the way to explain the history of the falls and their surrounds: hundreds of miles away in northern Zambia a little spring wanders along the earth, eventually ending in over 1 million gallons of water torrenting down a 328-foot high drop a mile wide. Afterwards, you will return to your lodge, farewell your Wild Horizons representative, and meet your Sheerwater/Chobezi representative at 10am for your transfer into Botswana. Follow the Zambezi River to Botswana and make your way to Chobe National Park (approximately 2–3 hours, not including border formalities). You will arrive at your lodge, located on the bank of the Chobe River just outside of the National Park, around midday. On arrival, meet with a local representative to go over the rest of your itinerary. After lunch there’ll be time to relax until a mid-afternoon game drive – you’ll almost certainly see elephants drinking at the waters’ edge, and keep your eyes open for the park’s large herds of buffalo too. The sunsets viewed from the river can be breathtakingly spectacular too. Accommodation at Chobe Safari Lodge is usually in rondavels – comfortable individual circular thatched units with private facilities and balconies. The lodge bar is a great place to enjoy a drink at the end of the day, and the pool is also the perfect place to wash off the heat off the day or safari dust.

Hotel: Chobe Safari Lodge or similar, 2 nights

Day 3: Chobe National Park

Today is a full day of wildlife exploration. You’ll begin with a morning game drive to see the animals at their most active, followed by some time back at the lodge for relaxation during the hottest part of the day. Then, in the late afternoon, you’ll take a boat trip out on the Chobe River. Chobe National Park is archetypal big-game county, where huge herds of buffalo and elephants are matched by the size of the lion prides. An estimated 70,000 Kalahari elephants roam the park and are the largest known subspecies of elephant in the world by size. You may also see zebra, impala, wildebeest and giraffe. The bird life on the river can be truly spectacular with sightings of saddle-billed storks, malachite kingfishers, fish eagles, goliath herons and beautiful bee-eaters. Elephants will often congregate to drink and play in the river, and there are good hippopotamus numbers too. You might even spot a crocodile on the riverbanks – although they are surprisingly shy. Tonight, return to the lodge for your final evening and perhaps enjoy a drink as you look out over the waters of the Chobe River.

Notes: A visit to Chobe National Park itself is not a complete wilderness experience – you’re sure to see other people, boats and vehicles inside the park. But the beauty of Chobe is that you’re also bound to see wildlife that’s equal to anything anywhere in Africa.

Day 4: Moremi Game Reserve

After breakfast you’ll fly into the Delta where you’ll be met and transferred to your beautiful accommodation – spacious permanent tents with ensuites, all set on raised decks, with individual verandas. In the Angola Highlands the rain water accumulates and forms a river. This river flows into Botswana as the Okavango River, where it splits into a myriad of rivers and waterways creating the Okavango Delta, which eventually reach the Kalahari Sands in the South. The Okavango Delta, perhaps the greatest inland waterway in the world, is remarkably different to the countryside of the previous few days. The Delta offers an amazing contrast of shallow waters, deeper channels, interspersed by islands spread across some hundreds of square kilometres. There are few who fail to be moved by the tranquil beauty of the Delta and its magnificent surrounds. Here you’ll spend our time searching for aquatic antelope, relaxing, and soaking up the unique ambiance of this remarkable environment. You’ll also go ashore on some of the larger islands to stretch your legs and explore. Once you’ve settled into your accommodation, enjoy a spot of high tea, then head off for an afternoon gliding quietly through the wetlands and papyrus-clad waterways in traditional dugout canoes (mokoros) or on a sunset boat cruise. Propelled from the stern by skilled ‘poler’ guides, this trip allow you to sit back and absorb the scenery.

Hotel: Gunn’s Camp or similar, 2 nights

Day 5: Moremi Game Reserve

Your days will generally take the form of a morning and afternoon activity in the wilderness. These are the cooler times of the day when the animals tend to be most active. While there are no guarantees, there is a good chance of spotting giraffe, kudu, impala, baboon, elephant, buffalo, tsessebe, warthog, wildebeest, waterbuck, zebra, hippo and crocodile in the waterways. During the hotter central part of the day you are free to relax on the camp’s open decks or siesta by the pool. The bird life in the area is prolific and a true birders’ paradise. If you’re lucky you might even see the very rare and shy Pel’s Fishing Owl.

Day 6: Okavango Delta

After breakfast and a morning activity, you will leave Gunn’s Camp by small aircraft and fly to Rra Dinare Camp, your next base from which to explore the abundant wildlife and life-sustaining waters of the Okavango Delta. Your unique accommodation is located in a large private concession on the eastern side of the Delta. It overlooks the Gomoti River and has spectacular views of classic flooding of the Okavango across the adjacent seasonal flood plains. The area lies on the far south westerly boundary of the Moremi Game Reserve and offers a true Okavango wilderness experience. This afternoon you’ll have the opportunity for another game activity before dinner. Your activities at Rra Dinare camp include game drives and walks, plus blissful time out on the water in a mokoro

Hotel: Rra Dinare Camp or similar, 2 nights

Day 7: Okavango Delta

Today the morning and afternoon are spent taking in the unspoiled and diverse wilderness of this stunning area, of open plains, riverine forests and mopane woodlands, as well as inland waterway. This area normally receives floods last, therefore, contains some of the closest dry-season watering points for the game that spreads out towards Nxai and Makgadikgadi Pans during the rains. The area has good game viewing all year round due to the abundance of mopane woodlands – a favourite location for animals during the rains and early dry season. Familiar favourites to the region include: Elephant, Buffalo, Giraffe, Kudu, Impala, Hippo, Crocodile, Genet, plus rare Antelope breeds including Roan, Sable & Eland. Further, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog come down to the riverside to drink and hunt. For those keen on bird-watching, the combination of the wetlands and the drier Acacia and Mopane veldt provide a perfect habitat for a variety of aquatic species including Open Billed Storks, Hammerkops, Egrets, Ibis and forest/savannah dwellers including Raptors, Shrikes, Drongos, Sunbirds and Ground Hornbills among others.

Day 8: Depart Maun

Enjoy breakfast with the group on your final morning before flying to Maun Airport, where our adventure comes to an end.

* Tour departure dates are subject to availability at time of booking.
* Prices and itinerary are correct at time of publication and are subject to change without notice.