This active safari will take you through the very best parks and reserves of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Starting in Mana Pools, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for its natural beauty and as one of the continent’s premier game-viewing areas. Guests can experience a canoe safari which provides a unique and memorable way to experience the wilderness. Guided walks are also a great way to take in the pristine riverside forests and you might catch a glimpse of an elephant stretching to reach acacia pods.
Hwange is Zimbabwe’s largest national park and home to a profusion of wildlife, including giraffe, lion, zebra, and over 45,000 elephants. It provides a sanctuary for endangered species, including a population of wild dogs thought to be among the most sizeable surviving groups on the continent. The park’s magnificent terrain ranges from desert dunes, savannah, and mopane woodlands to rocky outcrops and teak forests.
Fly to the Linyanti wetlands, which lures wildlife in the dry season. Large herds of impala, blue wildebeest, giraffe, and buffalo are often seen. Night drives allow for the discovery of nocturnal creatures such as civets, genets, honey badgers, and spring hares.
Culminate your safari at the crown jewel of southern Africa, the Okavango Delta, a World Heritage Site and the largest inland delta in the world. The magnificent Okavango River sprawls out over the dry sands of the Kalahari Desert, forming this flourishing waterlogged oasis featuring countless meandering waterways and crystal clear lagoons studded with water lilies, as well as fertile floodplains and reeded islands inhabited with abundant wildlife. The Okavango Delta stretches over 15000 square kilometers. Visitors can enjoy a number of wonderful activities such as game viewing, fishing, bird watching, or taking an authentic guided mokoro excursion through this wetland paradise in a traditional dugout canoe. Commonly spotted animals include lions, rhino, leopards, giraffes, hippos, elephants, crocodiles, and countless bird species.
Welcome to Zimbabwe! On arrival at Harare, you’ll be met and escorted to your light aircraft for your connection to Mana Pools. On touchdown at the airstrip, set off on a game drive to camp. Situated in a large private concession in the heart of Mana Pools National Park, Ruckomechi overlooks the mighty Zambezi River. Local elephants frequently visit the camp in search of seeds from the ana trees.
Spend the next few days exploring this wildlife paradise. Game drives in open 4×4’s and walks with your professional naturalist guide are both possible, allowing you to get up close with wildlife. Huge herds of elephant and buffalo, as well as zebra, waterbuck, and other antelope species, migrate to the banks of the Zambezi for food and water. Cheetah, lion, hyena, and endangered wild dog are also often seen. A boat cruise along the mighty Zambezi is a wonderful way to see wildlife and waterbirds from a different perspective. For the more adventurous – there’s the option of canoeing along this famous river!
After a final morning game drive, depart Mana Pools by light aircraft bound for Hwange, one of the premier locations for dense wildlife populations in Africa. Massive herds of elephant are the stars of the show here. Activities from camp include game drives and morning nature walks. The many nearby waterholes yield amazing sightings. Skip the drive and relax at camp and wait for wildlife to come to you! Wildlife frequently encountered includes large lion prides, buffalo, leopard, spotted hyena, giraffe, sable, blue wildebeest, common waterbuck, and reedbuck.
You’ll explore the vast wilderness of Hwange over the next few days. By vehicle and on foot, you’ll never know what each day will bring. Your camp’s private concession is situated in the most productive area of Hwange National Park. The varied habitats and vegetation types as well as countless waterholes mean that game drives are exciting with always something new to be seen.
Today you’ll bid farewell to Zimbabwe and fly to the Linyanti wetlands (via Victoria Falls and Kasane). Fed by the fickle Savute Channel, this wetland ebbs and flows due to tectonic plates shifting, which opens and closes off this waterway. Your camp is perched high on the banks of the channel, looking down on a miraculous ribbon of territory that has been both savannah and river over the last few years. The area has always been renowned for its game viewing. It holds a magnetic attraction for elephants, amongst other plains game, and predators.
By luxury 4×4 and on foot, your guide will lead the way each day as you explore this wildlife wonderland. After dark, night drives with spotlights allow you to find nocturnal animals you cannot see during the day. These often include the lesser bushbaby, spring hare, aardwolf, serval, spotted genet, and if you are extremely lucky, the elusive pangolin! If the water level is high, you can enjoy a boating safari for a totally different perspective of elephants coming down for a drink or even a swim.
Today you’ll fly deep into the heart of Botswana’s vast Okavango Delta. The magnificent Okavango River sprawls out over the dry sands of the Kalahari Desert, forming this flourishing waterlogged oasis featuring countless meandering waterways and crystal clear lagoons studded with water lilies, as well as fertile floodplains and reeded islands inhabited with abundant wildlife. This small, intimate camp embodies all that is best about the Okavango Delta – breathtaking beauty, remote, peaceful island location, abundant game, and varied landscapes. Add in the warm hospitality of the people of this region – who are stakeholders in the ecotourism success story of the Okavango – and you have a winning (and beautiful) combination.
Each day you are spoilt for a choice of wildlife activities. Game drives, boating safaris, guided nature walks, and night drives are all possible. Keep an eye out for elephant, lion, leopard, and even sable antelope. Slow down with a traditional dugout mokoro canoe ride and get silently poled through the narrow reed-lined canals looking out for birds and amphibians. For the more adventurous, ask about a dawn hot air balloon safari over this amazing landscape.
Depart your camp via a light aircraft to Maun in time for your international departure. Consider extending your trip to visit the winelands of Cape Town or trekking to see mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
