20-days - Tracks & Treasures: Namibia & Botswana by Road

• You will be met by the car rental company representative on arrival and transferred to their offices in Windhoek to complete all rental procedures
• You will then meet with our representative to hand over your travel documents
• The remainder of the day can be spent relaxing at your own leisure
• For dinner tonight, you can head into town for a bite to eat at one of Windhoek's well known restaurants

Windhoek to Etosha - 530km - about 6 hours
• Today you head to your first location and game park. Etosha National park. Once you arrive, set up camp and enjoy a sundowner at the waterhole.
• you can still do a PM drive this afternoon if time permits.
• Take a slow drive in the morning and then enjoy a picnic overlooking one of the waterholes inside the park.
• 2 full days are set aside for game viewing, either all day or alternate with morning and afternoon self-drives

Onguma’s Luxury Tamboti Campsite will impress and delight all campers. The 25 campsites are all nestled in the trees of the Onguma Reserve, and each camper is ensured privacy and space to enjoy the bush.
There is a stunning main area with a restaurant where you can enjoy a hearty meal overlooking the waterhole. The shop stocks essentials and the deep verandas provide shade to relax in.

The Onguma Reserve covers 34,000 ha of Namibian wilderness and is home to a variety of plains game, more than 300 bird species and even 4 of the Big 5. After a morning game drive in Etosha National Park you have a choice of activities on your return to camp, including an interpretive bush walk, game viewing at Onkolo Hide and Onguma game drives.

Each campsite has a private ablution facility with spacious shower room, separate toilet, and covered washing-up areas with lots of space to unpack and organize. Each unit also has ample plugs to ensure cooler boxes keep cool and cameras get charged.

Rundu is the capital city of the Kavango Province of Namibia. It is located in the Northern parts of the country and has atotal population of approximately 90 000 residents. This city is situated on the Okavango River on the Angolan border andis considered to be a multilingual city.
The city of Rundu has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild winters. The city is also known for the biggest open market in the area which attracts many tourists.

Etosha to Hakusembe- 450km - about 5 hours
• Today you make your way to the Caprivi area.
• An overnight stop near Rundu at Hakusembe River lodge for tonight.
• En route you can stop and view the hobas meteorite.
• This afternoon relax at the lodge and enjoy a sundowner overlooking the riverbank.

Depart Rundu and head east to Bagani, close to the Popa Falls
• A full day is set aside for a drive to the beautiful Mahango and Buffalo Game Parks, not very big but beautiful as you drive along the Okavango River
• Visit to Popa Falls
• Optional extra would be a sunset boat cruise or a Kavango Village visit in the area

Opened in 1989, Ndhovu Safari Lodge is the oldest establishment of its kind on the Okavango River. The area is home to large game such as elephant and hippo and to more than 400 different bird species such as the black-crowned night heron, purple gallinule and carmine bee-eater – heaven for any ornithologist. During the rainy season the area around the lodge is very often flooded; then Ndhovu is transformed into an island on the Okavango.
Enjoy a delicious meal and family atmosphere in the restaurant, which serves typical Namibian fare. From the beautiful deck, guests can look out over the view the river and Buffalo Park.

Caprivi in Namibia is a lush, sub-tropical wetland. Large expanses of open water are fringed with palm trees, reeds and papyrus. Flood plains are dotted with broad-leafed woodlands, the wildlife is mostly riverine and birdlife is abundant.
After the world's oldest desert in the south, the Caprivi wetlands come as a bit of surprise. The finger of land that slices between Botswana and Zambia to touch Zimbabwe is a sub-tropical paradise of perennial rivers, sodden marshes and verdant woodlands making game viewing, bird watching and river cruises the highlight of this lush strip of land.
Wildlife and birdlife is prolific, more reminiscent of the
Okavango Delta
that begins at
Popa Falls
: a scenic cascade of water that marks the fault line that diverted the Kavango River into the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
.
Wildlife
is mostly riverine with large herds of elephant, buffalo, sable, hippo, impala, red lechwe and tsessebe with occasional sightings of sitatunga, reedbuck, waterbuck and puku. Wild dog roam the area and lion, leopard and hyena stalk the drier flood plains and savannah woodlands away from the wetlands.
• Make you way to East Caprivi for one night at Namushasha River Lodge.
• The drive today is not too long, you should arrive at lunch time.
• Enjoy an optional extra activity with the lodge (river cruise or game drive)

• Today you drive east to the Ngoma Border Post. Pass through customs and enter Botswana, Kasane, where you spend the next three nights close to the Chobe National Park
• 2 full days are set aside to enjoy some optional extra activities such as game drives, boat cruises and a day trip to Victoria Falls

Chobe National Park is one of Africa’s iconic wildlife destinations famous for its elephants, buffaloes, predators, plains game and birdlife in a vast area of unspoilt wilderness.
Of the estimated 350,000 elephants in Africa, a third of them live in this riverine realm of northern Botswana. Buffalo, crocodile and hippo are never far from sight along the river as are any number of the 450 bird species.
Away from the great river it’s big game country with elephant-hunting lions, lion-hunting hyenas and all of Africa’s large herbivores and their natural predators including wild dog, leopard and cheetah.
With four distinct ecosystems including a wetlands of its own, vast savannah and woodland plains and of course the eponymous river, Chobe National Park features healthy populations and incredible concentrations of Africa’s famed wildlife.

Today you will be transferred across the border into Zimbabwe for a day visit to the magnificent Victoria Falls.

Follow the road pointed out by the giant anteater and you’ll discover the intriguingly named Planet Baobab. This is the Baobab Capital of the World, where the average age of each tree is more than 4000 years, and the boundless lunar landscape of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans are the size of Switzerland. How’s that for awe-inspiring?
This is a quirky place in a quirky part of the world, living cheek to tusk with old elephants; sleep in basic but oh so Afro-chic Bakalanga Huts; swim in the largest, coolest pool in the Kalahari; eat the finest pan-African cuisine, and of course, drink something cold with hunters and vagabonds, travellers and locals in the funkiest bar in Africa. It’s the coolest desert oasis around – and a part of Africa that few will experience, but all will remember.
An enormous bar area, adorned with wine-bottle chandeliers and cow-hide chairs, is at the heart of the camp. There’s an a la carte menu to tickle your taste buds, and an even larger drinks menu to satisfy your parched throat after a day in the desert – and plenty of interesting characters to share them with. Outside, the largest, coolest swimming pool in the Kalahari glitters tantalisingly, as do the shady sun-loungers and braai areas.

Makgadikgadi Pans - Maun 210km - approximately 2 to 3 hours

• This morning after check-out you will depart west to Moremi .

Spend the next 3 nights camping in the middle of Moremi. Xakanaxa is one of the most scenic and wildlife-rich areas in Moremi Game Reserve, situated on the banks of the Khwai River. It is a year-round safari destination, offering both land and water-based game viewing.

• Drive back to Maun and you will spend a night here in Maun town.

Traveling can be an exhausting experience. Enter The Maun Studios, where style, comfort, and hospitality meet. Their commitment to service is incomparable and rates are competitive.
Situated 7 km from the village center and 6 km from Maun International Airport, the 3 unique studio suites and one luxury Meru Tent are nestled in one of the oldest gardens in Maun and afford guests both privacy and security.
Shared facilities include a thatched boma for sundowners, a plunge pool, and a large shady garden with views of the Thamalakane River and its abundant birdlife.

Maun -Ghanzi 265km - approximately 3 to 4 hours

• Drive south via Sehitwa to your accommodation for the evening, which is close to Ghanzi

• Enjoy your last night evening in Botswana.

Kalahari Bushveld - Windhoek 570km - approximately 7 to 8 hours

• The drive to Windhoek will go via the Mamuno Border Post, through Gobabis to Windhoek … about 6 hours … where this holiday will end
• An overnight stop in Windhoek on for your last evening.

• Today marks the end of you journey.

• We will transfer you from the 4x4 depot to the airport in time for your flight home.