Known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya—“The Smoke That Thunders”—Victoria Falls is one of the world’s great natural landmarks. Straddling the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe, it forms a vast curtain of water that fills the air with mist and sound. The Zimbabwean side grants the most dramatic views, where mist rises like ghostly curtains and rainbows arc through the spray. Measuring about 1,708 metres across, it is regarded as the largest single continuous sheet of falling water on Earth. The adjacent town of Victoria Falls provides a convenient base for exploring the region, with a wide range of activities from scenic flights and microlight trips to white-water rafting, bungee jumping, kayaking, and safaris into Chobe National Park.
Chobe National Park is situated in the far northeast of Botswana, bordered to the north by the mighty Chobe River. It is the second-largest national park in Botswana and features four distinct ecosystems: the Savuti Channel in the west; the Linyanti Swamps in the northwest; the arid hinterland in between and Serondela in the extreme northeast with fertile plains and thick forests. This diversity of habitats provides a sanctuary to an astonishing array of African wildlife, most notably the impressive, shifting migratory population of more than 50 000 elephants. Visitors are also likely to spot lions, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, impala, waterbuck, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, giraffes, and warthog. The park is also famous for its wonderful riverboat safaris, making Chobe an essential destination for any avid safari enthusiast.
Situated in the east of the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve ranks as one of the most beautiful reserves in Africa.
It covers more than 4871 square kilometres of pristine wilderness, and this varied terrain includes savannah, winding waterways, and dense forest. The diverse ecosystem supports an incredibly wide spectrum of wildlife, ranging from large herds of buffalo, wildebeest and zebra, to the rare sitatunga and lechwe antelope, lion, cheetah and packs of wild dog in the open grasslands. The birdlife is prolific and includes most of the 550 bird species recorded on Botswana’s national bird list. A range of luxury lodges in the reserve offers visitors the perfect base to experience this corner of paradise.
