Zimbabwe and Botswana Wildlife Safari

Our tour starts today in Victoria Falls. Often referred to as the adventure capital of Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls offers a thrilling combination of land, air and water-based activities. For those arriving in time, our tour leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 6pm for a welcome meeting and for those that wish, there is the chance to go out for dinner. There are no other activities planned today, so you're free to arrive in Victoria Falls at any time. If you'd like an airport transfer, you'll need to arrive into Victoria Falls Airport (VFA), which is around a 30-minute drive from the hotel. If you miss the welcome meeting, your tour leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up. This evening, we'll either be staying at the Batonka Guest Lodge or Pioneer Lodge. The two are sister properties located just over 1 kilometre/0.6 miles from each other and are almost identical. Both are set in beautiful, landscaped gardens and feature a swimming pool, spacious rooms, an expansive terrace where breakfast is served, a bar and a stylish lounge and dining room which are both extremely comfortable. If your flight arrives earlier in the day, you might like to choose from a host of adventurous activities including white-water rafting, canoeing and cruises on the Zambezi River. Full details are listed in the 'Budgeting and packing' section of the trip notes.

Leaving our lodge after breakfast, we'll head southeast to Hwange National Park (a three-hour journey) to kickstart our wildlife safari experience. Hwange is Zimbabwe's largest national park at just under 15,000km2. The reserve is famous for its massive elephant population, as well as over 100 other mammals and over 400 species of birds, including the African golden oriole, Bradfield's hornbill and the Crimson-breasted Shrike. If you're hoping to spot the Big Five, Hwange is one of the best parks to do so, however, its diverse wildlife population offers plenty more sightings from the rare wild dogs to giraffes and zebras. During our safaris, we'll travel in customised, open-sided land cruisers. The land cruisers are ideal for game viewing but can be a bit brisk and windy at times, so we recommend bringing layers for longer travel days. The roads through both Botswana and Zimbabwe vary in quality, so travel days can be slow and bumpy, but the scenery and wildlife more than make up for this. Our base for the next two nights is the Miombo Safari Lodge. Located just outside the national park gates the lodge is the perfect spot to immerse yourself in Zimbabwe's wild and untamed nature. Accommodation comprises of 12 spacious, en-suite chalets and the lodge offers a swimming pool, bar and a large terrace with views over the surrounding bushland.

We have a very early start this morning to make the most of our time in Hwange National Park. Departing with our packed breakfast boxes, we'll set out in our game-viewers, with our expert safari guide, on the lookout for large herds of elephants. During the season it's not unusual to see huge herds numbering in their hundreds as they seek out the water holes in the early hours of the morning. The landscape of Hwange is exceptionally diverse, ranging from vast dry savannah to lush green forests, making it a haven for most sub-Saharan species of wildlife including southern giraffes, pangolins, aardvarks and a whole range of birdlife. We'll break for a picnic lunch within the park before we head back to our lodge in the early to mid-afternoon. There'll be time for a siesta, a dip in the pool, or a spot of birdwatching before dinner. Dinner at the lodge will usually be a buffet with a selection of fresh, seasonal Zimbabwean dishes and some international dishes.

This morning, we bid farewell to Hwange and make our way to Matobo Hills (a five-hour journey). Our route takes us through open bushland interspersed with rural villages and farming communities but the major settlement along the way is the colonial market town of Bulawayo, where we'll stop for lunch. Over the next two days, we'll explore Zimbabwe's oldest national park. It was established in 1926 when it was called the Cecil Rhodes National Park (named after the British colonialist and politician) and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Today, it's known for its unique \ kopjes', stacked boulder formations, as well as for having the densest population of leopards in the world - if you want to tick the cat off your list, you have a good chance in Matobo. The park is also home to the Southern White Rhino, the second-largest land mammal on the planet. Our base for the next two nights is the Farmhouse Lodge, located on the boundary of the national park. Accommodation comprises a converted farmhouse with 12 bungalow cottages. The lodge offers a rock swimming pool, large gardens and a newly renovated bar and restaurant where we'll gather for dinner this evening.

After an early breakfast this morning, we'll travel the short distance into the national park, accompanied by an experienced ranger and tracker. We'll then embark on a walking safari in the hope of spotting both black and white rhinoceroses. A walking safari is an intimate way to get closer to wildlife in areas that can't be accessed by vehicles or boats. While our focus is spotting the rhinos, it's a great opportunity for us to see other wildlife species such as antelopes, zebras and wildebeests. Matobo National Park doesn't have elephants or lions, so a walking safari is perfectly safe and we'll be joined by specially trained experts. Our safari fee goes towards helping the conservation of these majestic creatures and to protecting them from poaching. This afternoon, we'll see some of the cave paintings that can be found in the park - there are more than 3,000 in total. We'll also pay a visit to World's View - the grave of Cecil Rhodes, the founding father of Zimbabwe - perched at the very top of Motopo Hills. The spot has been given its name thanks to the endless views across the plains below. In the late afternoon, we'll return to our lodge with enough time to freshen up before dinner.

Most of today will be spent driving as we set off early towards Botswana. We'll arrive at the border between Zimbabwe and Botswana around two hours into our journey. Once border formalities are complete, we'll continue towards the Ntwetwe Pan and our accommodation for the night. Our journey today covers just over 420 kilometres/260 miles and will take around eight hours, depending on how long the border crossing takes. Our base for the next two nights is Planet Baobab, located close to Makgadikgadi Pans. Accommodation comprises of several large Bakalanga mud huts, inspired by the traditional homes of the Setswana people. The huts are spacious with full en-suite facilities and the property also has a pool and a large social area to relax before our boma dinner.

After breakfast this morning, we'll head out to explore the lunar landscape of the Makgadikgadi Pan, the largest salt pan in Africa covering around 12,000km2 - here, the blinding white and gold salt flats stretch far into the horizon. Contrasting with our safari experiences so far, the landscape in this region contrasts dramatically with anything else we'll see during our tour. There's not much wildlife to be seen on the pan, but a few desert-adapted species such as brown hyenas, elephants, zebras and wildebeests inhabit the fringes, as well as the Kalahari meerkat. We'll join a local expert guide on a short walk to see these curious little mongooses and learn about the conservation work currently taking place. It's worth noting that these semi-habituated animals are wild. Although they're curious by nature and it's not unusual for them to get very close to visitors, you must resist the temptation to touch or hold them. In the early to mid-afternoon, we'll return to our accommodation for lunch and the rest of the afternoon is free to explore the surroundings or study the local birdlife. There are a number of non-guided shorter nature trails available including the Baobab Village Walk. Tonight, there is the optional activity to camp out on the salt pans, enjoying a sundowner overlooking the never-ending flats. If you're interested, this can be booked directly with our tour leader

This morning, we head north-west to Moremi Game Reserve, departing after breakfast and arriving at the park gates just before 2pm. We'll break in Maun en route for lunch. Located in the Okavango Delta, Moremi is famous for its diverse landscapes that include floodplains, forests and lagoons, drawing all manner of wildlife and birdlife. We'll spend two nights camping within the park, where the waters feed an abundance of flora and fauna, including endangered African wild dogs - hippos are often heard at night, too. On the way to our campsite, we should have a good opportunity to spot some of Moremi's creatures, then, in the late afternoon, we'll set out on a game drive. Our campsite uses dome tents with private en-suite facilities. They're big enough for you to stand inside and are made from durable rip-stop canvas with sewn-in groundsheets. Each tent is equipped with sturdy camp beds, mattresses, fitted sheets, pillows, and duvets. Other equipment includes camping basins, washstands, hot water bucket showers and camping toilets. Safari-style fold-up chairs and large tables are provided.t Our backup staff will set up and break camp as well as cook and clean for us during our two-night stay.

We have two game drives ahead of us today. Setting off at first light (often around 5am), we'll get the chance to experience one of Africa's unspoiled wonderlands, with the possibility to spot hippos, crocodiles, lions and a great variety of birds, as well as the elusive sitatunga antelope. Moremi is also an ornithologist's paradise with fish eagles, kingfishers, herons, storks, egrets, weavers and bee-eaters all seen regularly. We'll return to camp for brunch and spend the hottest part of the day relaxing. Take the chance for a siesta, to relax reading a book or to do a bit of birdwatching. At around 4pm, we'll set out for our second game drive of the day, returning in the early evening.

This morning, after breakfast, we'll journey north towards Chobe and Victoria Falls. En route, you can watch as the ever-changing scenery introduces us to new flora and fauna. Savuti and Chobe are famous for their high density of buffalos and lions. During the most recent aerial game census, it was estimated a population of over 130,000 elephants was living in Botswana - around 90% of those were found to be near the lush forests and plains of the Savuti Channel and the Chobe River. Our drive today covers around 150 kilometres/93 miles. Due to the poor road conditions, we expect this to take between five and seven hours. We'll keep a leisurely pace to maximise our chances of spotting wildlife. We aim to arrive at our camp in the afternoon and the rest of the day is free to relax or do a bit of bird spotting.

Today, we'll drive the final 150 kilometres/93 miles from Savuti up to Kasane via the sandy roads of Chobe National Park. For most of the day, we'll stay within the borders of the game reserves, giving us a good opportunity to spot wildlife along the way. After approximately 80 kilometres/50 miles we'll pick up the proper tarmac road and driving will become slightly more comfortable. Upon arrival at our camp, we'll have a few hours to freshen up before dinner. Our newly built camp is the perfect base for exploring Chobe National Park. Situated at the point where Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana meet, it's located right on the water's edge. We'll be staying in comfortable safari tents, built on fixed platforms and each tent has a proper bed with all bedding provided. Tents also have en-suite bathrooms with a sink, shower and flushing WC, and there is a separate dining area and an area to relax.

On our game drive this morning, we'll take a slow drive along the southern bank of the Chobe River, where we can find Chobe Bushbuck and Puku Antelope. The sheer variety of animals in abundance makes this region a must-see for any wildlife enthusiast. We hope to watch huge herds in and around the great Chobe River, which also teems with hippos and crocodiles. This afternoon, our mode of transport switches to a boat as we take to the water and view the wildlife from a different perspective on a sundowner cruise. The Chobe River is one of the Zambezi's main tributaries and is home to an abundance of wildlife, as well as a variety of fish including the tiger fish (freshwater barracuda). The area is also famed for its beautiful scenery and magnificent red and gold sunsets. We'll return to our accommodation around 8pm in time for dinner.

This morning, we'll leave our camp in Botswana and cross the border back into Zimbabwe, heading back to the town of Victoria Falls. This afternoon, we'll visit the falls from the Zimbabwean side of the river where the Zambezi River plummets over a sheer cliff wall spanning more than 1,676 meters and dropping approximately 100 metres into the abyss below. The natives named the waterfall, Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning 'the smoke that thunders' because of the plumes of water vapour that rise like smoke into the sky above the falls, accompanied by the deafening roar. After checking in to our hotel, a rest and maybe even a dip in the pool we'll head out for our last evening meal together.

Our tour ends this morning after breakfast. Depending on the schedule of your departing flight, you might like to spend a few hours exploring the town. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart from Victoria Falls at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our lodge. There's so much to see and do in and around Victoria Falls and our itinerary allows for limited time in the area. If you'd like to add additional nights to the start or end of your trip, contact us to book accommodation.