COVID-19: ACTIVITIES & SERVICES
Welcome to South Africa!
On arrival into Johannesburg International Airport, you will be met at the door of your aircraft by our VIP Airport Service representative holding a sign with your names on it. The staff member will assist you through immigration, baggage collection and customs. You will then be assisted across the road to your five star modern airport hotel.
Check in and spend one night at the Intercontinental Johannesburg OR Tambo Hotel in a deluxe standard room, inclusive of breakfast.
After breakfast, it's time to check out. Make your own way back to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport in time to check in and catch the scheduled Federal Air shuttle flight to the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve.
Touching down into Sabi Sabi Airstrip, you will be warmly greeted by a camp guide who will assist you with luggage into the awaiting 4WD and game drive transfer you and any fellow guests to your luxury lodge sculpted into the landscape in the renowned Sabi Sand Private Reserve.
Experience four nights on safari at Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge in a luxury suite. Your stay is inclusive of all meals, morning & evening open vehicle safaris , environmental awareness walking safaris, house selection of beverages, Sabi Sands entrance fees and Conservation Contribution fee
Please refer to the attached document "Safari Life" found in the documents tab.
The Federal Airlines luggage specifications are as follows:
-Soft (all-sides) luggage/duffel bags with no rigid sides.
Maximum luggage weight is 20kg/44lbs (in the hold)
Maximum hand luggage is 5kg/11lbs (1 piece allowed)
Suggested luggage size is 40cm (16 inches) wide x 30cm (12 inches) high x 60cm (24 inches) long
Welcome to the Greater Kruger National Park...
As you bump along the park roads, the sun warm upon your face and air dry in the back of your throat, your senses are on high alert. This is the real Africa, cut away from the hectic pace of life, home to Africa’s Big 5. The Kruger is alive, from the nervously twitching herd of impala after a night of predator action, to the wild dog cavorting like domestic pets alongside the road. Marvel as a herd of elephant simply appear from out the bush, then silently vanish back into the landscape.
With over 2 million hectares of pristine wilderness, the Kruger’s biodiversity sustains numerous species of game and birds. The dry north consists of Baobab trees, scrubland and rocky outcroppings which can be seen for miles and animals tend to gather around water sources. As you come south, the park gets busier, animal numbers increase and the backdrop changes to grassland and acacia woodlands.
On the western borders, private reserves such as Sabi Sands and the Timbavati open onto the Kruger, offering an exclusive game experience with the flexibility of night drives and off-road 4 x 4 safaris. Swaying to the movement of an open vehicle while wrapped warmly against the night chills, is an unforgettable experience. The call of a Nightjar darting overhead and the flash of eyes reflected from the bushes brings an entirely different twist to your safari and as you drop your head back and look up – the crisp night skies go on forever.
Starlight Bush Dinner
This morning after a delicious breakfast, meet a guide who will game drive transfer you and any fellow guests back to the airstrip in time to catch the scheduled Federal Air shuttle flight to Kruger Mpumalanga Airport.
On arrival into Kruger Mpumalanga Airport, disembark, collect your bags, and proceed to check in and catch the scheduled South African Airways flight departing at 11h35 to Livingstone.
Arrive into Livingstone International Airport at 13h10, clear immigration, collect your bags, and proceed through customs to the arrivals hall. Here, meet a lodge driver who will transfer you to your Relais and Chateaux lodge set on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River.
Enjoy four nights at Royal Chundu Zambezi River Lodge in a suite with all meals, local brand drinks, scheduled lodge activities daily, return Livingstone Airport transfers and laundry included.
Spend these days enjoying the lodge activities on offer, including: river cruises, sundowner cruise, birding, fishing, canoeing, Victoria Falls tour (Zambian side) and a cultural tour.
After breakfast and a morning activity, meet a private driver in reception at the agreed time and transfer to Kasane Airport, crossing the border and clearing immigration into Botswana along the way.
At Kasane Airport, you will be greeted and assisted with check in for your scheduled light aircraft flight to the Okavango Delta.
On arrival into into Vumbura airstrip, you will be warmly greeted by a camp guide who will transfer you and fellow guests to your luxurious camp set under the canopy of an ancient forest and designed to blend in with its surrounds.
Enjoy four nights on safari at Vumbura Plains in a luxurious tented suite. Your stay is inclusive of all meals, local brand drinks, 2 scheduled safari activities daily, park fees and laundry. Spend these days enjoying camp activities including: day and night game drives, bush walks (seasonal and subject to availability of a walking guide), boat and mokoro excursions.
At additional cost a scenic helicopter flight and hot air ballooning (01 Apr-30 Sep and weather permitting) can be arranged at an additional charge.
These days are spend enjoying safari activities in this game rich 60 000 hectare private concession, home to a wide array of wildlife including lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, spotted hyena, sable antelope, elephant and hippo as well as a rich variety of antelope.
Luggage Restrictions for light air charter;
All luggage (check-in and carry on) is strictly restricted to 20 kgs per person including hand luggage in a soft bag with no frames or rigid structures.
Passenger weights are required prior to travel.
There may be one or two stops between point A and point B
Welcome to the Okavango Delta…
As old as time, the seasonal flood from the Angola Highlands is the heartbeat of Botswana. Seeping along the panhandle and into the largest inland delta system in the world, the water creates a uniquely beautiful National Heritage Site, the incoming tide of life bringing with it birth, transformation and replenishment. These ancient, cyclical changes provide an exceptional safari experience and the area supports vast herds of elephant, buffalo and hippo, as well as numerous antelope, giraffe, zebra and the ever present predators.
From March the waters spread outwards, reaching the inner delta by June and peaking in July and August. The inbound flow creates a buzz of energy as it spans out towards Maun, the country as a whole conscious of the gift the waters bring, and caught up in the primordial movement.
Depending on nature’s temperamental dictates, the flood levels vary each year, never under the control of man. This makes it difficult to assess what will happen in the upcoming season: the Delta may swell up to 3 times its size. Under natural forces, the face of the earth renews itself, the landscape of channels, grasslands, reed islands and lagoons burst with life and vitality. As the levels recede in October, the earth starts to dry altering the scenery and game viewing. The summer months bring life from a new angle, and the November/December rains come, announcing the green season, and a land lush and verdant. Whether flood or rain, water, the very essence of life, plays a vital role in the Okavango Delta.
After breakfast, it's time to check out and meet a guide who will game drive transfer you and any fellow guests back to the airstrip in time to catch the scheduled light aircraft flight to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.
On arrival into Tsigaro airstrip you will be warmly greeted by a camp guide who will transfer you and any fellow guests to camp.
Spend two nights exploring the Salt Pans at San Camp. Your stay is inclusive of all meals, local brand drinks, 2 scheduled safari activities daily, park fees and laundry. Spend these days enjoying camp activities including: nature drive in search of unique desert inhabitants, meerkat interaction, Zu/’hoasi bushman walk and interaction, visit a remote cattle post and Chapman’s baobabs.
During the Green Season (November-April) this region comes to life, the rains bringing huge herds of zebra, springbok and other plains game in Africa's second largest migration.
Welcome to the Makgadikgadi...
Once an ancient lake, the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans form part of the Kalahari Basin in central Botswana. The largest salt flats in the world, the area consists of stunning scenery and fascinating, desert-adapted animal species. Written into its history are the archaeological signs of stone-aged habitation. Arid and desolate, much of the landscape looks like another planet, the endless moonscape stretches of white sand continuing on to meet blue horizons. Baobabs claw at heated skies and rock formations dot the landscape, breaking the earth’s profile. Mineral-rich grasslands are completely transformed during summer rains.
Springbok, gemsbok, eland, hyena and meerkats can be found in the merciless desert-scape, but the December to April rains usher in a complete renewal of the land. Sweet grasses and even water-filled pans draw migratory birds and game. Massive flamingo flocks bring colour to the expanses of water, while large herds of zebra and wildebeest add a chorus of noise to the previously soundless environs. Awe-inspiring cloud formations decorate the skies, and at night, a panoramic view of star-studded skies opens up the heavens. From April to October, massive herds migrate to the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi, the Boteti River, for sustenance - their presence producing a frantic cacophony of sound, kicked up dust and activity.
After breakfast, it's time to check out and meet a guide who will transfer you and any fellow guests back to the airstrip in time to catch the scheduled light aircraft flight to Maun. On arrival into Maun Airport, disembark, collect your bags, and proceed to check in and catch the scheduled Business Class flight SAA8301 departing at 14h00 to Johannesburg.
Arrive into Johannesburg OR Tambo at 15h40, disembark and follow the International Transfer signs and board onto your onward international flight.
All arrangements with Encompass Africa come to an end.
