Distance: approx. 10 km; driving time approx. 15 minutes
Dumela (hello) and welcome to Botswana. On arrival at Maun airport, you are met and transferred to your accommodation. Settle into your comfortable room at Maun Waterfront Guesthouse and take some time to relax after your journey. The beautiful deck and swimming pool invite you to unwind before the adventure begins. Before enjoying your evening meal (at your own account), your guide will brief you about the upcoming safari.
Distance: approx. 120 km; driving time approx. 3-4 hours
After breakfast, your safari begins toward the northern entrance to the Moremi Game Reserve and the vicinity of the Khwai Concession. Keep your eyes open, as you may encounter wildlife along the way. You arrive at Khwai River View, your base for the next three nights, and enjoy lunch at camp. This afternoon, you will go on your first game drive in one of southern Africa's best wildlife spotting destinations. As there are no fences between the reserves, the animals roam freely. Consequently, you can observe elephants, lions, buffalo, various antelope species, and, if you're lucky, leopards near the rivers and cheetahs in the open savannah. After the game drive, you will return to camp for dinner, sitting around the campfire and experiencing the nocturnal sounds of the bush.
Game drive in the Khwai area
Distance: game drives
Game drives occur during the cool mornings and late afternoons. This is when most of the wildlife activity happens, providing excellent opportunities for wildlife spotting. However, you can sleep a little longer today since you are on vacation. After breakfast, you'll head to the nearby Poler station, leaving the vehicle and switching to mokoros, traditional dugout canoes used to explore the Mbudi Channel and its tributaries. While mokoros are now mostly made of fibreglass or plastic instead of wood, the method of transport remains the same as it was centuries ago in the Okavango Delta. Lean back in your seat and glide across the water while your poler, a member of the nearby village community, shares his knowledge of the flora and fauna with you. You return to camp for lunch after a relaxing and extraordinary experience. After a short siesta, another exciting game drive awaits. Thanks to your guide’s years of accumulated knowledge, he can reveal nature's secrets that you might otherwise have missed. Having returned to Khwai River View, you can look forward to another delicious dinner and a restful night's sleep.
Mokoro tour on the Mbudi channel
Game drive in the Khwai area
Distance: game drives
Today, you rise in the twilight to make the most of another exciting day on safari. Your destination is the Moremi Game Reserve. With the roof hatch and windows open, you will explore the reserve. With luck, you will spot elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo as well as many other species. Moremi Reserve and bordering private concessions form a vast ecosystem home to a population of Africa's most successful hunters: the African wild dog. These remarkable animals hunt in packs, adapting their hunting methods to their prey. This results in a much higher success rate than lions, leopards, or cheetahs when hunting impala, waterbuck, warthog, and even full-grown wildebeest. After a picnic lunch inside the reserve, you continue your explorations of Moremi until the late afternoon. In time for sunset, you return to Khwai River View, where you will again enjoy a delicious dinner before falling asleep to the sounds of the African bush.
Game drives in the Moremi Game Reserve
Distance approx. 160 km; driving time approx. 6-7 hours + game drives
Today, you have a long and exciting day ahead of you, so you are up before the first light of morning. Although the drive takes several hours, you will encounter wildlife sightings every step of the way before eventually reaching the Savuti region. The area is an excellent destination for those hoping to see lions or leopards on their safari. Savuti gained recent fame through wildlife documentaries that focused on the area’s elephant-hunting lions, so on today’s game drive, you may spot one of these famous prides. After a fulfilling day with multiple wildlife sightings, you arrive at Thobolo’s Bush Lodge, approximately two hours north of the Savuti. Here, you can reward yourself by putting your feet up and enjoying an ice-cold beverage before having a tasty dinner and a relaxed evening.
Game drive in the Savuti area
Distance approx. 110 km; driving time approx. 2-3 hours
After two early morning starts, you can sleep longer and start the day with a leisurely breakfast. Today’s short drive takes you to Kubu Lodge, situated on the banks of the Chobe River near Kasane. Check-in and relax by the pool before you are served a hearty lunch. In the afternoon, an unforgettable experience awaits on the Chobe River. You board a riverboat and cruise along the river into the Chobe National Park, where you can spot herds of elephants, buffalo, and many fascinating birds. The park is a birdwatcher's dream destination as it is home to 450 bird species, like the African skimmer, the crested eagle, the fork-billed roller, the grey kingfisher and the cobalt and malachite kingfisher. As the setting sun sparkles on the water, you take in the beauty of nature. Later, you return to the lodge with a camera full of incredible photos and the opportunity to end the day with a delicious dinner.
Boat cruise on the Chobe river
Distance approx. 90 km; driving time approx. 2 hours + game drive
Get ready for an exciting early morning game drive in Chobe National Park. You may spot animals today that you haven't seen before. Chobe National Park is not only home to elephants, lions, leopards, African wild dogs, hyenas, giraffes, wildebeest, and zebras but also unique antelope species such as the water-loving puku antelope and the red lechwe.
After an exciting morning of spotting wildlife in the park, you will return to Kasane, where you meet your guide for the Zimbabwean leg of your safari. From here, you transfer to a different vehicle and cross the border into Zimbabwe together with your guide and fellow travellers. Once you have crossed the border, you will reach Insika Lodge in Victoria Falls after a short drive. Check-in, spend the afternoon at your leisure, and enjoy a delicious dinner in the evening.
Game drive in the Chobe National Park
We start our tour of Victoria Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, early for the best light and to avoid the crowds. With a width of 1.7 km and a height of 108 metres, they are considered one of the largest waterfalls in the world. After the tour, you can stroll through the town of Victoria Falls or visit the large souvenir market. If you are interested in a scenic flight over the waterfalls or a bungee jump, you can also book this on-site. In the late afternoon, you will meet up with the group again and go on a final boat trip on the Zambezi. Here, you will enjoy the gentle movement of the boat as you take in the sunset and the unique setting. You return to land with a beaming face and spend the last evening of your trip with your guide and the other participants in a local restaurant (at your own expense). This will be your second night at Insika Lodge.
Guided tour of the Victoria Falls
Boat cruise on the Zambezi river
Distance approx. 20 km; driving time approx. 25 min
Today marks the end of your journey across Botswana and your visit to Victoria Falls. After a relaxing breakfast, your transfer driver will take you to the airport, where you will head back home or continue your adventure. We hope your safari leaves you with wonderful memories that will last a lifetime, and we look forward to welcoming you back to Africa one day!