Oxley OSSO Botswana Sept-Oct 2019

Day notes

The start of an exciting tour!

This afternoon you will leave Oxley by bus and you will be transferred by bus to the Sydney Domestic Airport where you will catch a Virgin Australia flight to Perth.

On arrival in Perth, you will go through Australian Customs & Immigration prior to your departure on a South African Airways flight to Johannesburg's O.R .Tambo International Airport

Overnight in flight

Day notes

After an early morning arrival you will have time to unwind and have a snack in an airport cafe.

Mid-morning you will depart on a South African Airways flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Visa required for Zimbabwe USD 30.00 cash per person (bought on entry)

Upon arrival at Victoria Falls Airport, you will meet the safari crew and the safari truck and you will be transferred to Shearwater Explorers Village where you will set up camp for one night .

After that you will walk, via the majestic  Victoria Falls Hotel, to the Lookout Cafe for a late drink and snack.

That evening you will be transferred to the Boma Restaurant for an evening of good food (local and international), music and dance.

Overnight Victoria Falls

Day notes

After breakfast you will assist in taking down tents and packing the vehicles,

You will then depart with a local guide for a walking Tour of the Falls (2 hours)

The group will then travel to the border, go through Customs and enter Botswana.  A short drive will take you to Kasane and the  Thebe River Safari Camp for 3 nights including all meals,

Thebe River Safaris Camp offers spacious camping areas with shaded cooking/braai (BBQ) areas. Ablutions are shared and there are 2 large communal ablution blocks with showers with loads of piping hot water, basins, mirrors and toilets.  There is also a swimming pool which can be used after returning from a morning game drive

Afternoon game drive in game-viewing jeeps in the Chobe National Park, via the Sedudu Gate.

Overnight Kasane

Day notes

Today is spent working with "Elephants without Borders" (EWB), in nearby Kasangula.   You will be transferred there and back by the safari truck.

Breakfast and dinner in the campsite, with packed lunch taken with you to EWB.

The day's programme will be organised by 2006 Old Oxleyan, Dr Tempe Adams, who is based there.  Previously it has involved an introductory talk and video, a visit to the elephant orphanage and then hands-on assistance making simple rattles to scare elephants away from farmers' fields.

Dinner in the campsite

Overnight Kasane

Day notes

After an early morning breakfast, depart for Nata and Nata Lodge. After setting up camp and lunch there will be time for a swim in the Lodge pool.

Mid-afternoon you will be taken by local guides to the nearby salt pans and Nata Bird Sanctuary where it is possible to see herds of wildebeest and zebra and flocks of flamingos and pelicans.

You will spend one night at Nata including all meals

Overnight Nata

Day notes

After breakfast, you will pack up camp and head to nearby Gweta.

Situated close to the village of Gweta, 290 km from Francistown and 200 km from Maun,  Planet Baobab combines style with comfort while remaining true to its African inspiration.

After setting up camp, there will be an opportunity for a swim in the campsite swimming pool surrounded by baobab trees.

In the afternoon you will be taken on a tour of the village of Gweta as well as a local cattle post (where a few families look after all the village's cattle).

Dinner at the Planet Baobab campsite

Overnight Planet Baobab

Day notes

An early start this morning and you will be in a jeep by 6.00 am heading for the Ntwetwe Pan & the Meerkat experience (06.00-12.30)

Back to Planet Baobab for lunch before heading to Maun (where you will stop to purchase fresh provisions) and then it is on to Sitatunga Camp, Maun.

Dinner in Sitatunga campsite

Overnight Sitatunga

Day notes

Today, we leave most of our bags behind and take our day packs on board the truck that will take us the 1.5 hour drive, through Maun, to the Okavango Delta village of Boro.

Once there, we load up all our camping gear on mokoros and head off down channels through the reeds to our island base for the next two nights. On arrival, we set up camp and have lunch, and in the late afternoon we go for a short walking safari to a hippo pool.

There is the possibility of seeing elephant, zebra, wildebeest, warthog, impala and giraffe

Dinner at the campsite.

Overnight in the Okavango Delta

Day notes

We breakfast early, pack all our equipment back into the mokoros, and return to Boro village port from where we will be transported back in the truck to Sitatunga Camp.

This is the end of the 'safari' part of your trip.  It is time to say goodbye to the drivers and cook who have been such an important part of your tour so far.

After lunch there is an opportunity to wash some clothes and relax beside the pool after two days of free camping in the delta.

Dinner in the camp restaurant.

Overnight at Sitatunga Camp

Day notes

After breakfast, we are driven in the camp vehicles into Maun (13 kms) to Sedie Junior Secondary School

You will be greeted by the School Head, (Mrs Senatla Mokobela), staff and students of Sedie School.

The day will be spent at either Sedie School or nearby (walking distance) Mathiba Memorial Primary School

At the end of the day, you will return to Sitatunga Camp to relax and have dinner in the restaurant.

Overnight at Sitatunga Camp

Day notes

After breakfast, taken in groups by boat on the nearby Thamalakane River to a horseback game-viewing ride in a private game reserve.  Our providers are Rides on the Wildside

Remainder of group relax at Sitatunga Camp (swimming, volleyball, etc)

Dinner at the Camp

Overnight at Sitatunga Camp

Day notes

Our last day in Botswana.  

After breakfast we will be taken into Maun for some last minute curio shopping.

10.30 am we will meet at African Art & Images (opposite the International airport building).  There we will watch a video of the extraordinary life of Dr Tim Liversedge (and his wife, June).  Tim Liversedge is an internationally famous wild-lifer, animal conservationist and cinematographer who has had a tremendous influence on the tourist industry in Botswana.

12.00  We start our return to Australia by going through Botswana's Customs & Immigration in the airport and catching an afternoon flight to Johannesburg.

After a lengthy stopover  in Johannesburg (last minute shopping?), we continue on to Perth.

Overnight in flight

Day notes

We land in Perth about midday, local time, and after collecting our bags go through Australian Customs & Immigration.

Later we embark on the final leg of our journey with a Virgin Australia flight through to Sydney Domestic Airport.