Victoria Falls, Chobe NP & Botswana's Okavango Delta Luxury Safari

You arrive at  Victoria Falls this lunchtime where you'll be met by your driver who will drive you the short distance for your 2 nights at 528 Victoria Falls Boutique Guesthouse

Here you can relax after your international flight and maybe enjoy a sunset river cruise or dinner cruise before exploring The Falls in more detail the following day

Your driver will collect you after breakfast for the 2 hour private transfer to nearby Kasane in Botswana.

Here you have 2 nights at Muchenje Safari Lodge set inside Chobe National Park which sits high on a hill overlooking the Chobe River floodplains with its spectacular wildlife.

Your driver from Muchenje will transfer you to Kasane Airport today where you will be met by the pilot from Safari Air who will help you through airport formalities before you board your charter flight to Camp Okavango. ( you will be advised of the timings the previous day by the staff at Pangolin )

Botswana’s magnificent Okavango Delta situated within the heart of the newly declared World Heritage site, is the world’s largest inland delta, and is a maze of deep lagoons, large lakes and hidden, meandering channels.  Camp Okavango, a unique and exclusive African safari camp is situated on the remote Nxaragha Island.  This hidden treasure, in the heart of the permanent Okavango Delta, assures its guests of an unparalleled year-round water wilderness experience.

To ensure a peaceful and genuine safari experience, Camp Okavango accommodates just twenty-four guests.  There are eleven intimate Safari suites and one Family suite consisting of two bedrooms and each with an en-suite bathroom. Each of the guest suites have been built on individual raised wooden platforms and set beneath the thick Okavango Delta vegetation. The en-suite bathrooms have double vanities, double shower and a separate water closet (with a view). The stack away sliding doors open onto a private open-air viewing deck offering beautiful views over the Okavango Delta.

Camp Okavango’s main area comprises of a network of interconnected walkways linking up two lounge areas, a dining room, library, self-service bar and curio shop.  Sweeping ramps lead to the lower level deck with two open-air fire pits and comfortable seating areas to relax and take in the natural surroundings. There is a third deck with a rim flow swimming pool and thatched lounge deck for those warm summer days.

With its open air design and elevated position, the new Camp Okavango is an eco-sensitive lodge which captures the very essence of the Okavango Delta.

Water-based activities are conducted by experienced professional guides who will expertly navigate guests through the many meandering, reed-lined waterways. Roam the vast expanses of water from the comfort of a modern motorboat or explore the intricacies of the Okavango Delta the quiet old-fashioned way, in the traditional mokoro (dugout canoe).

For those wanting to get a little closer to nature, guided bush walks are conducted on a number of the nearby islands, offering an opportunity to track some of the larger land-based species that inhabit this water wilderness. Birding opportunities are outstanding and anglers may put their skill against bream and tiger fish.  Camp Okavango is a water-based camp and game-drive activities, using safari vehicles, are not possible.

You leave Camp Okavango today and fly to Camp Xakanaxa in Moremi Game Reserve

The prime location of Camp Xakanaxa (pronounced Ka-ka-na-ka) on the banks of the Khwai River on the Xakanaxa Lagoon, in the heart of the Moremi Game Reserve, makes it one of the very few safari camps that offers guests an authentic, year-round Okavango Delta land and water safari experience.

The camp accommodates twenty-four guests in eleven spacious all-canvas, classic Meru-style luxury safari tents and one two bedroom family tent, each with en suite showers, hand basins and toilet facilities. Situated around the fringe of the lagoon, every tent has a private viewing deck with comfortable loungers. Camp Xakanaxa is one of the few camps in Botswana which still offers the essence of a classic tented camp.

In camp, a relaxed and friendly atmosphere together with personalised and caring service evokes a feeling of coming home. The stylish main buildings extend over the Khwai River and are set on raised platforms to maximise the views over the surrounding lagoons and islands. The elegant lounge and dining rooms, built of local timber, reed and thatch, feature a small library, expansive sundeck, plunge pool and sala with day bed. The fire-deck extends over the Khwai River and creates an enchanting environment in which to relax after dinner. There is also a larger pool with elevated sun deck in the expansive grounds.

The ancient riverine forests, open savannah, serpentine channels and seasonal floodplains that surround the camp make for a varied habitat of exceptional fauna and flora. The camp is one of few offering a year-round land and water game-viewing experience, in open 4×4 safari vehicles or powerboats. The diverse habitat ensures prolific sightings of Elephant, Buffalo, Hyena, Giraffe, Hippo, Wildebeest, Kudu, Lechwe, Lion and Leopard, among many others. Birding is spectacular, especially in the spring and summer months when the migrants are breeding.

Safari activities are conducted by licensed guides eager to share their in-depth knowledge and impart the treasured secrets of this great wilderness.

Your last three nights will be spent at Savute Safari Lodge. 

Stretching from the Linyanti River all the way to Savute Marsh, the winding waterways of the Savute Channel have pumped life into the western section of Chobe National Park for many thousands of generations. However, this fickle and unpredictable channel, which has a fascinating history of flooding and drying up, independently of good rainy seasons and flood levels elsewhere, has mystified local inhabitants, geologists and others for many years.

To ensure a private and relaxing environment, Savute Safari Lodge accommodates just twenty four guests in eleven thatched chalets built of local timber and one family room which consists of two double bedrooms. The chalets, which have been elegantly furnished in calm neutral tones to blend with the natural environment, feature expansive private decks, a combined bedroom and lounge area and en suite facilities.

Sink into one of the numerous comfortable leather, wood or wicker sofas in the lounge – and library – or sip a cocktail in the stylish bar. All these facilities are situated in a beautiful two-storey thatch-and-timber main building. Savute Safari Lodge offers a shaded viewing deck, an al fresco dining area and swimming pool with spectacular pool loungers – ideal for watching the varied wildlife – including the resident Elephants – as they make their way to the Channel to drink, bathe and play.

ACTIVITIES

Activities are organised around game drives throughout the Savute area in open 4×4 safari vehicles. Many trips will incorporate a visit to the Savute Marsh to give you a chance to see the historic presence of the Savute Channel at the marsh against a backdrop of teeming wildlife. Guests can also enjoy a visit to the ancient San rock paintings at Gubatsa Hills – a small hilly outcrop which forms a prominent landmark in the otherwise flat landscape.

Savute boasts the second-largest summer Zebra migration in Africa; its timing is determined by the rains, but usually occurs between November and December and again between February and April, when the Zebras move from the rivers in the north in search of the rain-ripe grasslands and full waterholes in the southwest of the park. The migration is always followed by large numbers of predators – the Zebra migration is a must for visitors.

After your final game drive the lodge will  take you to a nearby airstrip for your Safari Air charter flight to Maun where you can catch your flight back to Johannesburg and on to the UK.