Classic Okavango Safari to Botswana

Journey to Botswana’s Okavango Delta – the earth’s largest inland water system, and experience the exhilaration of close-contact wildlife viewing during day and night game drives in open 4x4 vehicles, from mokoros (dug out canoes) and even on foot. As a leopard turns to watch your approach in an open Land Rover, your eyes meet and time seems to stand still. Stay in luxury tented camps pampered by all the modern amenities, yet still immersed in the magic of your natural surroundings and rinse off that safari dust in Zambia at majestic Victoria Falls.

Days 1/2 - Atlanta or New York/En Route

Board your South African Airways overnight flight to Johannesburg. Upon arrival, you are escorted to your elegant hotel. Relax poolside or enjoy high tea in the Edwardian library and a welcome dinner in the evening at the hotel’s trendy restaurant. GRACE HOTEL. (B Aloft, D)

Days 3/4/5 - Maun/Okavango Delta/Chitabe Camp

Fly to Maun, Botswana, and connect via light aircraft to the Okavango Delta. Your camp is situated on one of the most beautiful islands in the Okavango Delta. Its variety of habitats, dry acacia and mopane woodland, riverine areas, open grasslands and seasonally flooded plains make for wonderful wildlife viewing. Experience the exhilaration of the wind in your hair from an open 4x4 vehicle as you meet some of your neighbors for the next three days: elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, and cheetah and wild dog. Enjoy nature walks and night drives, and a lecture by Dr. Tico McNutt, head of the Botswana Wild Dog Project – the longest running such project on these highly-endangered creatures, or one of his researchers, who will share their latest insights. CHITABE CAMP. (All Meals Daily)

Days 6/7 - Okavango Delta/Vumbura Camp

A short flight takes you to Vumbura Camp, an eight-roomed luxury tented camp situated in a private concession bordering the Moremi Game Reserve in the extreme north of the Delta. Vumbura offers both water and land activities. Mokoros traverse the flood plains under the guidance of polers from the BaYei tribe. Boats take guests onto the larger and deeper areas of water (levels permitting). Open 4x4 Land Rovers allow close proximity to animals in the savannah areas. This is possibly the only area in the Okavango where one can see red lechwe from a mokoro in the morning, then a Sable antelope from a game vehicle in the afternoon. Dereck and Beverly Joubert have immortalized this region in the films Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas and Reflections of Elephants. As reclusive as they are, you may see these nomads of the bush sitting in the hot sun waiting for the lions to spring into action, or come across them digging their vehicle out after a difficult water crossing to get to a leopard! VUMBURA CAMP. (All Meals Daily)

Days 8/9 - Linyanti Reserve/DumaTau Camp

Wing your way to DumaTau, located in a private reserve in the Linyanti/Savuti Channel area in northern Botswana, on the western boundary of Chobe National Park. The source of the Savuti Channel is within this private reserve. Inland there are enormous acacia and mopane forests which sustain large numbers of elephants in the winter months. You may also see red lechwe, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, baboon, monkey, warthog, crocodile and buffalo as well as all the major predators. Your tented camp is built under a shady grove of mangosteen trees, overlooking a large hippo-filled lagoon within the Linyanti waterway system. Cool off in the heat of the day in the camp’s plunge pool. DUMATAU CAMP. (All Meals Daily)

Days 10/11 - Kasane/Victoria Falls, Zambia

Bid Botswana farewell as you fly to Kasane, cross by ferry to Zambia and continue to the banks of the upper Zambezi River to the genteel elegance of The River Club. Each thatch-roofed chalet is furnished in turn-of-the-century British décor and completely open along the length with river views. The property is protected from animals by an electric fence, and your canopy bed by mosquito netting. Otherwise, it’s al fresco to the chorus of hippo you hear below who often wander through the gardens. Tea and pre-dinner cocktails are served on the back verandah of the main building overlooking the swimming pool and the Zambezi, and dinner in the elegant dining room. At more than twice the size of Niagara Falls, it’s no surprise that Victoria Falls are among the Seven Wonders of the World. Five separate falls make up this incredible spectacle that plunges more than 328 feet into a sheer-sided chasm which separates Zimbabwe from Zambia. Tour the falls on the Zambian side, visit Simonga, a native village to see how the local people live, and enjoy a sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River where you can toast this awe-inspiring land. RIVER CLUB. (All Meals Daily)

Days 12/13 - Johannesburg/Atlanta or New York

Enjoy a morning at leisure before flying back to Johannesburg and boarding your South African Airways overnight flight to Atlanta or New York. (B, Meals Aloft)

Optional Post-Extension to Cape Town, South Africa

Extend your African adventure with five days in Cape Town, one of the loveliest cities in the world. Your elegant hotel has the prime location on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront with its neighboring yachts, restaurants and trendy shops. Ascend Table Mountain by cable car for a panoramic view before strolling through the beautiful terraced lawns, landscaped gardens and scenic walks in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Take a coastal drive to the Cape of Good Hope, surrounded by spectacular mountains, rugged shorelines, and the blue sea. See African penguins on Boulders Beach and visit the informal settlement of New Rest where your township guide will show you how life has improved since apartheid. Enjoy the classic Cape Dutch architecture of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek, as well as wine-tasting in the internationally-acclaimed vineyards. Take a ferry to Robben Island, where former President Nelson Mandela spent more than a quarter of a century in prison for his beliefs.

Your Safari Includes:

Roundtrip air transportation from Atlanta or New York via South African Airways.
All local flights as specified.
Superior accommodations as specified.
All meals as specified.
All wildlife viewing by private 4X4 open vehicles, driven by professional driver/guides.
Lecture by Tico McNutt or one of his researchers while in Chitabe.
Complimentary bottled water and soft drinks in vehicles while touring in the cities.
All beverages while on safari, except for imported spirits.
Gratuities for baggage handling, hotel tips and taxes.
All game park entry fees.
Complimentary backpack, baggage tags and passport wallet.