At Victoria Falls, the earth splits open and swallows one of Africa’s greatest rivers, the mighty Zambezi, creating the largest sheet of falling water on earth. As the water hits the narrow depths of the Batoka Gorge beneath, it blasts a cloud of mist skywards, lending the falls their local name ‘mosi-oa-tunya’ (the smoke that thunders). When the Zambezi is its fullest, the mist hangs a permanent raincloud above the falls, showering visitors on even the sunniest of days and visible for miles around.
Above the falls on the upper Zambezi, boats cruise the tranquil water at sunset while the distant spray catches the fading light downstream. Below the falls, the Batoka Gorge’s rocky walls funnel the lower Zambezi into a chain of world-class rapids, prime for white water rafting.
Aside from being a UNESCO world heritage site and a natural world wonder, Victoria Falls also forms a natural border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The falls can be seen from both countries, and for the most part the same activities are offered on both sides, from helicopter scenic flights to village visits and souvenir shopping.
Whether your idea of getting away from it all is a relaxed high tea in colonial grandeur or a heart-stopping bungee jump off a bridge, Victoria Falls keeps both the faint of heart and the most insatiable of adrenalin junkies busy for days.
From Zambia, a side on view of the falls is on offer with views into the Batoka Gorge, as well as the possibility of perching yourself at the edge of the falls on the vertigo-inducing Livingstone Island.
From Zimbabwe, you’ll get a full-frontal view of three quarters of the falls’ 1.7km wide curtain of water from viewpoints and footpaths meandering through a rainforest kept hot and humid by the spray of the falls.
The Linyanti is a safari addict’s bush nirvana. One of the most remote and exclusive pockets of Botswana, this pristine wilderness is what great game viewing and wildlife documentaries are made of.
Only private concessions are on offer here, where the rules are flexible and the crowds can’t go. The Linyanti is not just for ticking off the big game; it also has a knack for delivering lesser-spotted bucket list items, whether it’s a rare bush pig or that long-searched-for wild dog.
Very few camps operate in the Linyanti. Each offers different habitats and landscapes with one common theme: a strong track record for game viewing during Botswana’s drier winter months. Together with the Chobe Riverfront, the Linyanti homes the highest density of African elephants in the world. Many camps also offer seasonally dependent water-based experiences, be it on a spillway, river, lagoon or channel to break up the game drive routine.
Just one of the Linyanti’s concessions alone is twenty times the size of Manhattan, yet only forty people can stay during any night of the year. If Botswana puts a heavy emphasis on preserving the wild and taking only a handful of people into the bush, then the Linyanti is where this concept is taken to the extreme.
Here, you can follow the big game off-road, whether in a white-knuckled pursuit of a lioness chasing buffaloes, or during a quiet crawl off-track to see wild dog puppies emerging from their den for the first time.
Possibilities exist for exploring the bush on foot for adrenaline-pumping game approaches, and many camps offer game viewing hides for a more relaxed approach to wildlife sightings, or even overnight sleep outs.
Looking at a map of Botswana, you’d miss Khwai completely if you didn’t know it was there. Wedged between the big-ticket attractions of Chobe National Park to the east and Moremi Game Reserve to the south, Khwai exists as a significant big game destination of its own.
Lying on the eastern fringes of the Okavango Delta with a rich wildlife population and no borders drawn around it on the map, Khwai is often overlooked in favour of its more famous neighbours, though in the winter months it can hold its own for the quality of big game viewing.
During your time here, you’ll spend most days exploring the narrow Khwai River, which forms the natural boundary to the Moremi Game Reserve on the south. The Khwai River is a beacon for wildlife and plays host to leopards stalking lechwe in the long grass, lions swimming from the banks to save their cubs’ during territorial disputes and crocodiles competing with wild dogs for a midday meal of impala.
As Khwai lies outside the parks, it offers the freedom and flexibility normally only possible with the heavier price tag of a private concession. Go off-road for a closer look at sightings, night drive in search of nocturnal species, and, with a little advance planning, head out on game walks to track wildlife on foot.
Khwai is also home to a village community where people live side by side with the resident wildlife. Some camps will offer village visits for a dose of cultural insight to go with your safari. For those not visiting the water camps of the delta, many camps in Khwai offer the chance to get out on a mokoro (traditional canoe), although excursions are less traditional in nature, skirting the riverbanks, rather than open delta floodplains.
