#8 Days Best of Vic Falls, Chobe & Kruger Park#

Fly to spectacular Victoria Falls!

Today you board your flight to Victoria Falls. Flight departs Johannesburg at 11:00 and arrives in Vic Falls at 12:40.

As soon as you arrive at the Victoria Falls International Airport, you will be met & taken to your lodge which will be your home for the next 3 nights! A Visa fee of USD50 per person is payable at the border crossing.

(Please request for a double entry visa for Zimbabwe & Botswana)

Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is a luxurious lodge located in the heart of the African bush. Surrounded by the stunning natural beauty of the Zambezi National Park, this lodge offers breathtaking views of the Savannah plains and the famous Victoria Falls. With beautifully appointed rooms, excellent facilities, and friendly staff, guests can enjoy a relaxing and unforgettable stay in this wonderful lodge. From the moment you arrive, you will be enchanted by the lodge's warm hospitality and the stunning natural beauty of the surrounding area.

The rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy all this hotel has to offer!

Explore the Mighty Falls!

You have a full day to soak up the wonderful atmosphere of Victoria Falls, it is the adventure capital of Africa and there are activities on offer to cater to everyone’s needs. Enjoy a guided tour of the mighty Falls, partake in the many activities on offer, or wander around the streets to do a bit of curio shopping, then finish off at a cafe for refreshments and a bite to eat (own account).

This afternoon at around 15:45 you will be collected from the hotel for your sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, Africa’s fourth longest, where you will enjoy snacks and drinks, as well as the opportunity to spot wildlife such as elephants, hippos, crocodile and magnificent birds. This is a great way to soak up the serenity of your surroundings as the sun sets over the water and day turns to night.

Enjoy a full day safari in Chobe National Park! - Pick up at 07:00

A full day Safari package comprising a Cruise on the Chobe River and a Game Drive in the world famous Chobe National Park. Only an hour’s drive from Victoria Falls, the Chobe National Park in Botswana is home to one of the largest game concentrations in Africa. Bordered by the banks of the breath-taking Chobe River, it is famous for its rich elephant and lion population. The tour departs early morning at around 07:00 from Victoria Falls where you are transferred by road for 70km to the border where their Botswana guide will meet them after immigration procedures.

Your ultimate safari awaits you!

After breakfast and check out you will be transferred to the Vic Falls Airport to board your flight to Johannesburg and then Nelspruit. (Flight from Vic Falls departs at 10:30 and arrives in Nelspruit at 12:15). Upon arrival in Nelspruit you will be met and transferred to the Umbhaba Eco Lodge in Hazyview where you will be staying for the next 4 nights.

Umbhaba Eco Lodge is a beautiful and serene lodge located in Hazyview, South Africa. The lodge is surrounded by lush greenery and offers guests a tranquil and peaceful retreat. The lodge features comfortable and spacious rooms, each with its private balcony or veranda. 

Guests will have time to relax, unpack, and enjoy a light lunch and after they have settled in, there will be enough time to enjoy a swim or walk around the beautiful lodge. There are various walking trails that you can explore.

We depart from the lodge at around 15:45 pm for a Sunset/ Night Safari. In the afternoon, the safari is illuminated by the golden hour, a time of day when the light is just perfect.

In winter, one gets to experience longer night drives than in summer when the sun sets later, however, every safari is special and different. Later in the afternoon, when the temperatures drop, wildlife starts moving around and your guide will try their best to help you see the best possible sightings, before returning to the lodge around 20:00 pm for a hearty dinner and a good night’s rest, preparing you for the following day’s full day safari in the Kruger National Park.

Dinner will be enjoyed at the lodge.

Full-Day Open Vehicle Safari in the Kruger National Park

All safaris start before sunrise. This is the best time of the day to travel into the park as the heat of the day has not yet driven the wildlife to find shade. After a short drive, we enter the park gates and your guide will have an idea of the best areas to find the best wildlife, including the Big 5 and plains game. This is also the finest time of the day to see predators.

The lodge will arrange breakfast packs and your guide will stop after about 3 hours for a breakfast and bathroom break. This is also a chance to get a coffee. We will then continue with your safari. The Kruger Park offers a variety of eco zones and each one has a different diversity of wildlife. We visit rivers and watering holes as well as plains and Bushveld regions, all areas of the park known for some of the best wildlife viewing.

We then stopped for lunch at a Rest Camp. This meal will be for your account. There will also be time to do some curio shopping or to enjoy a cold beer! The guide will then continue with the safari heading towards the lodge. We will arrive between 15:30 and 16:00 pm, with enough time to relax, swim, and have a great dinner.

Full-Day Panorama Tour

Today we visit Gods Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon (the world’s 3rd largest canyon), Lisbon Waterfall, the 3 Rondavels and the town of Graskop.

We start with a delicious hot breakfast at the lodge, served at 7:30 am, and your guide will then meet you at 8 am in a closed, air-conditioned vehicle. The Panorama Route starts after a 45 min drive from Hazyview, and we climb almost 1000 meters up into the Northern Drakensburg Mountain range. Temperatures will vary a lot from Hazyview, so bring a jacket and comfortable walking shoes, as we will spend a lot of the day on foot.

We visit God’s Window, with its spectacular lookout point that appears as a window from the escarpment. Below is a 1 000 m drop and one you can see as far as the Kruger and beyond on a clear day. Your comfortable walking shoes will be needed at this point, as the various lookout points have paths and trails that you will need to walk to get to the viewing sights. To get to the top it takes the average person around 15 to 20 minutes, but it is worth the walk through a natural rainforest environment.

Bourke’s Luck Potholes is a stunning natural rock formation, created by water erosion over hundreds of years. The Bourke’s Luck Potholes have round carvings and holes of different sizes, formed in the Treur River and Blyde River confluence, in the red sandstone. Your guide will brief you on the history of the region and guests can use the small footbridges and walk over the chasms, looking down at the water flowing through the cracks and holes below. Several small but beautiful waterfalls litter the area. We spend about 1 hour here and in total, you can expect to walk a refreshing 1km.

The Blyde River Canyon is the 3rd largest canyon in the world. It is over 40km long and is as deep as 1 200m at certain points. The canyon contains a vast amount of plant life, with rivers and dams making up the floor of the canyon. At a certain lookout point above the canyon, guests get to see another beauty of the Panorama Tour, the 3 Rondavels. The Rondavels get their name from their appearance, which is similar to a traditional hut commonly built in Africa called a Rondavel. These 3 outcrops stand prominently from the landscape.

The tour will also visit the Lisbon Waterfalls, a beautiful waterfall that has a strong flow of water throughout the year. We will stop in the town of Graskop, famous for its great Pancakes, where will have lunch and explore the small shops. Guests will have time to enjoy a stroll through the town.

We arrive back at the lodge between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm after a great day out. Here guests can enjoy a drink, a swim and have dinner, before getting ready for an early start to an exciting morning safari in Kruger.

Morning Safari and Afternoon of Leisure.

We always depart for our morning safaris before sunrise as this is the best time of day for viewing wildlife such as predators, who are mostly active during the early hours of the day. Your guide will focus on finding animals and exploring regions not yet seen or covered. Since the Kruger National Park has 148 mammal species and over 500 bird species so there is always something new to see. No safari is ever the same.

The Kruger has a huge network of roads to choose from and our guides will safari in different areas of the park in the different seasons, giving clients the maximum opportunity to see more sightings and enjoy the beautiful wilderness and vegetation.

We will return to the lodge at around 11 am and today we have an afternoon of leisure. You can swim, enjoy a walk around the lodges, try our local beers or just enjoy our great African weather. A light lunch and tasty dinner will be served at the lodge.

Say your last goodbyes!

Today we have the last safari of your trip and we will spend it slowly, just enjoying the bush and keeping a lookout for that elusive leopard. Our guides have years of knowledge and experience and they will go out of their way to ensure your safari is memorable, especially on this last day, as we try to see as much as we can before you leave.

After a quick breakfast and coffee stop, we will continue with the safari, returning to the lodge at around 12 pm. Here you can say goodbye to your guide and freshen up before the journey to the Nelspruit Airport to board your flight to Johannesburg and then home.

We wish you a safe trip back home with lovely memories!