17-DAY ZIMBABWE - OKAVANGO DELTA WILDLIFE SAFARI (ACCOMMODATED)

Arrival and transfer to the Hotel

On arrival at Harare International Airport, you will be met and transferred to the Jacana Gardens Lodge. Depending on arrival time you may do a city tour, visit the art galleries or the wildlife orphanages (all optional) Overnight at the Jacana Garden Lodge in Harare with breakfast.

Main Destination: Harare International Airport (Airport/Airstrip, Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Jacana Gardens Guest Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located in or near Harare

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)

• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Visit the great Zimbabwe monuments

After breakfast, you depart for the great Zimbabwe ruins/monuments, and you will be in this medieval city at about 12:00 in time for lunch. You will do a guided tour of the monuments in the afternoon.

Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near the town of Masvingo. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country's Late Iron Age and is believed to have served as a royal palace for the local monarch. Construction on the monument began in the 11th century and continued until the 15th century. The stone city spans an area of 722 hectares which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people.

Great Zimbabwe has since been adopted as a national monument by the Zimbabwean govt, and the modern-day state is named for it.

Main Destination: Great Zimbabwe (Ruins, Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Lodge at the Ancient City

• Mid-range lodge located in or near Great Zimbabwe

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)

• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Transfer to Matopo Hills National Park

You will depart early for the Matobo Hills National park near Bulawayo some 250 km due west of great Zimbabwe. You will do an afternoon game drive - your introductory game viewing safari.
Matobo National Park has a wide diversity of fauna: 175 bird, 88 mammal, 39 snake and 16 fish species Game include white rhinos, sable antelopes, impala and leopards. The game park has been restocked with white and black rhinos. It has been designated as an Intensive Protection Zone for the two species, as well as hyenas, hippopotamus, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and ostriches.
This is one park where you will have a realistic chance of encountering the rhinos in their natural habitat and shy and elusive African leopards.

Main Destination: Matobo National Park (Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Matobo Hills Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located just outside Matobo NP

Meals & Drinks: All meals included

• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Matopo Hills National Park

Matobo National Park is home to a wide range of game, including Africa`s largest concentration of leopard, which is a major attraction in the landscape in addition to the white & black rhinos.
Elsewhere in the park, some more obvious game includes bush-buck, impala, kudu, giraffe, lion, baboon, monkeys, and more. Dassies or rock hyrax are very common and a density of leopard that is also very high.
On this day we will visit the worldview point (the highest point in the park) where Cecil John Rhodes is buried and the rock art painting in the morning. We will do another game viewing safari in the afternoon.

Main Destination: Matobo National Park (Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Matobo Hills Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located just outside Matobo NP

Meals & Drinks: All meals included

• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Transfer to Hwange National Park

After breakfast, you depart for Hwange National park. You will be at the Hwange Safari Lodge at around 13:00 in time for lunch.
You will join the late afternoon game drive in the Hwange Safari lodge estate which borders the Hwange national Park - there are no fences between the two reserves. Late afternoons are great for predators and they are seldom missed on these drives.

Main Destination: Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Hwange Safari Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located just outside Hwange NP

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)

• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Safari in the Hwange National Park

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up for the full day safari in the Hwange National park using the Main Camp gate. Mineral water, soft drinks, picnic lunch, and lots of refreshments will be provided. We use any one of the many viewing platforms that dot the park for lunches and, expect to be back at the lodge at around 16H00.

The elephants of Hwange are world-famous and the Park's elephant population is one of the largest in the world. The park is home to over 65000 elephants who, in the dry season, dominate all the water points in the afternoons. Other animals that can be seen in the park are lion, leopard, cheetah, buffalo, impala, kudu, sable, eland, water-buck, zebra, giraffe, baboon, warthog, and a lot more.

Main Destination: Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Hwange Safari Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located just outside Hwange NP

Meals & Drinks: All meals included

• Non-alcoholic drinks

Safari in Hwange National Park

You will do another full day safari in the Hwange National Park departing at around 07:30 and coming back at around 16:00. Hwange provides a safari experience to rival the great parks of East Africa - the Serengeti and Masai Mara - but without the crowds. You will have another fun-filled day in the park - now looking for your favorite animal or bird and even ignoring the other now common species. On a good day, you may even return to the lodge earlier as you will have seen all there is to be seen.

Main Destination: Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Hwange Safari Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located just outside Hwange NP

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)

• Non-alcoholic drinks

Transfer to and activities in Victoria Falls

After Breakfast, you will be transferred to Victoria Falls and after check-in, you will do a guided tour of the Victoria Falls. The walk on this 2KM stretch of the falls lasts for about two hours and, nothing prepares the visitor for this heart-stopping experience, the sight, the sound, the smell, and the humbling feeling that here is, without doubt, Nature`s Master Pierce. Mineral water, raincoats, and return transfers are included.

At 16H00 you will be transferred to the jetty for the relaxing Zambezi River sunset cruise. Relax with a sun-downer and snacks as you gaze out onto the banks of the river. Have your camera ready to capture one of the amazing sunsets in Africa. This is a two hours boat trip with all drinks, snacks, and return transfers. Expect to be back at the Hotel at about 19H00.

Main Destination: Victoria Falls (Highlight, Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Elephant Hills Resort

• Mid-range resort located in or near Victoria Falls

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)

• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Optional Tours in Victoria Falls

This is your free day for Victoria Falls shopping and optional Tours. Optional tours may include the following;
• Helicopter flight over the Victoria Falls
• Lion walks
• Devils pool swimming on the Zambia side of the falls
• White water rafting
• Bungee jumping off the Zambezi bridge
• Visit to the real and working African villages some 20km out of town

Dinner will be at the Boma restaurant.

Main Destination: Victoria Falls (Highlight, Zimbabwe)

Accommodation: Elephant Hills Resort

• Mid-range resort located in or near Victoria Falls

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)

• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Safari in the Chobe National Park

You will be picked up at 0730 hours for the safari in the Chobe National park of Botswana only 70km from Victoria Falls. The safari starts with a Game Boat Cruise on the Chobe River - a three-hour game viewing safari from the boat. You will get to see lots of Chobe National Parks wildlife as they come to the river for the morning drink.
After lunch at the Chobe Safari Lodge (or similar), it will be time to take to the Chobe National Park in custom made 4x4 safari vehicles for the three-hour afternoon game drive. We will visit the upper Chobe River part that is not accessible by boats. This is where you will get to see the shy predators (lions, hyena, cheetah, and sometimes leopards) and at times on their kills. The afternoon game drive will lead to the camping spot of the day right in the park.
Dinner and overnight camping in the Chobe National Park.

Main Destination: Chobe National Park (Botswana)

Accommodation: Chobe Safari Lodge 

Meals & Drinks: All meals included

• Non-alcoholic drinks

Safari Chobe National Park

Early morning game drive. This time of day is best for finding the big cats or and other nocturnals as they are still active and hunting and; with luck, we may even find them on their previous nights` kills. You will be back at the Hotel at around 11H00 for lunch and some siesta.

When the day starts to cool off we embark on another game drive , and good sightings are revisited or areas as yet unexplored are visited. Chobe National Park has a wide variety of wildlife – the cats and large herbivores such as elephant and African buffalo being a highlight, but rarer game such as Eland, Sable and Roan antelope among others can be encountered. We return to the lodge after sunset for a well-deserved dinner and rest
Dinner  and overnight at the Chobe Safari Lodge (or similar)

Main Destination: Chobe National Park (Botswana)

Accommodation: Budget camping

• Inside Chobe NP

Meals & Drinks: All meals included

• Non-alcoholic drinks

Transfer to Nata en-route to Maun

You will be picked-up at 07:30 for the transfer to Nata (on your way to the Okavango Delta) where you will spend one night before proceeding to the Okavango Delta the next day. Nata is the gateway to Makgadikgadi pans and we highly recommend taking advantage of this stop-over to visit this impressive natural wonder. You will do an afternoon drive to the pan.
The Elephant Sands Bush Lodge (in Nata) is only 250 km from Chobe National Park and is within the Elephant Sands game reserve. You will also get to enjoy wildlife viewing from the lodge`s natural waterhole a few meters from the main building.

Main Destination: Elephant Sands National Park  (Botswana)

Accommodation:  Elephant Sands

• Mid-range tented camp located inside Elephant Sands 

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

This day you will enjoy a tour of the Makgadikgadi Salt pans. Lunch and refreshments are provided

The Makgadikgadi Pan a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, but dried up tens of thousands of years ago.

Departs at 07h30 and returns at 14H30

Dinner and overnight at the Elephant Sands Lodge

You will be transferred from Elephant Sands Bush Camp to Maun - the launchpad for the Okavango Delta activities. This day we recommend an afternoon forty-five-minute scenic flight over the Okavango Delta (optional) – just to get the bird`s eye view of this unique wetland system of rivers, crystal clear channels, islands, and lagoons that creates a safe haven for flora and fauna. Lunch and dinner at the Sedia hotel.

Main Destination: Okavango Delta (Botswana)

Accommodation: Cresta Maun Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located outside Okavango Delta

Meals & Drinks: Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)

• Non-alcoholic drinks

FULL DAY OKAVANGO DELTA SAFARI

You will have an early start (05h00) so that you have more time in the park. This is a full day experience where you will explore the Okavango by Mokoro (a traditional dug-out canoe), by boat or wilderness walks on nearby islands. Navigate the labyrinth of lily-filled lagoons and streams, where hippos fight for bathing rights and crocodiles wait for antelope to linger too long over a drink. Commonly spotted animals include: lion, rhino, leopard, giraffe, hippos, elephants, crocodiles and countless species of birds. You will be back at the hotel at around 18:00 for dinner and a well-deserved rest

Overnight at Cresta Maun Hotel on DBB

Full day of game viewing in the Moremi game reserve. We will have to depart early for the game  so that you have more time in the Game reserve

 Lunch and refreshments included

 Overnight at the  Maun Cresta Hotel with dinner and breakfast

TRANSFER TO MAUN AIRPORT

Sadly the last day of the tour, time to share contacts and take the last minute selfies! You may have some time for shopping in Maun before you get transferred to Maun Airport. Transfers to the airport will depend on your flight schedule and you are recommended to be at the airport at least two hours before your flight time.