home about us reviews videos travel tips travel services eco shop ezine blog contact us

Cape Town to Victoria Falls overland tour

country:Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
departures:2008: 19 Oct
2009: 15 Feb, 18 Apr
price:From £845 (21 days) excluding flights. Price includes all highlights, ground transport, road tolls & vehicle taxes, camping & cooking equipment & crew. Local payment US $570 which covers all food & camping fees/accommodation
 
the amazing things you'll be doing
Travel from Cape Town north to Victoria Falls in Zambia with a maximum of 16 person in our custom build full size expedition truck giving you over a meter of legroom in your seat and experience the wonders the Namib Desert, the wildlife of Etosha, Okavango Delta and Chobe River and finally the spectacular Victoria Falls.

We are unique in providing the services of an expert photographer and digital download facility on all our overland tours! One of our crew (normally the Tour Leader) is a full-qualified, semi-professional, photographer who will be available to give advice on photographic (and video) techniques; and will organize “workshops/tutorials” on photographic subjects and techniques (e.g. landscape, wildlife and bird photography, night shots, close-ups and portraits) to assist our guests to improve their photographic experience and technique.

We also provide a laptop computer with multi-card reader for those clients with digital cameras to enable you to download your memory cards and burn those special memories to CD or DVD while on tour.

Included Highlights:
  • Orange River canoeing
  • Fish River Canyon Park Entry
  • Sossusvlei dunefield - 3 hour guided desert walk
  • Namib Desert Park Entry
  • Cape Cross Seal Colony
  • Brandberg and White Lady walk
  • Cheetah Conservation Project
  • Etosha National Park entry and game drives
  • 3 night/ 4 day Okavango Delta trip
  • Chobe National Park Entry and morning game drive and afternoon river cruise
  • Zambezi Sunset cruise
  • Victoria Falls National Park entry

    Not Included:
  • Flight over Delta (~US $80)
  • Sand-boarding (~US $30-40)
  • Quad-biking (~US $90)
  • Various activities at Victoria Falls

    14 June 2008 (tour will run in reverse from Victoria Falls to Cape Town)
  • day-by-day itinerary
    Day 1:View Table Mountain across Table Bay from Blaawberg. After a leisurely departure from Cape Town we head round Table Bay and stop off to buy fresh produce and view Table Mountain from Blaawberg (weather permitting) before heading North and spending our first night at a hot springs resort. Camping 
    Day 2-3:Canoe trip on Orange River Fish River Canyon. After a quick swim we head for Namibia crossing the border and camping the night on the Orange River. A canoe trip the following morning whets your appetite for the days to come. We then head for the Fish River Canyon and have a sundowner on the canyon's rim. Camping 
    Day 4-5:Arrive at Sesriem Sun rise from Dune 45, Guided Desert walk through Sossusvlei. The next morning we travel to the dramatic red sand dunes of Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert. Overnight Sesriem campsite. The two nights we spend here give you the opportunity to see the sun rise over the dunes, to walk up one of the many magnificent dunes and absorb the awe-inspiring landscape. Overnight Sesriem campsite. Camping 
    Day 6-7:Arrive in Swakopmund. After the tranquillity of the desertscape, we increase the pace, heading for the old German town of Swakopmund where sand-boarding, quad-biking and tandem sky-diving feature among numerous activities on offer (additional cost). Alternatively take a relaxing stroll around the shops and buildings, enjoying the colonial architecture of this seaside holiday town. Chalets 
    Day 8:Cape Cross Seal Colony Brandberg – Namibia’s highest peak “White lady” bushman paintings. Leaving Swakopmund, we travel up the coast and visit the Cape Cross seal colony before heading inland. We spend the night at Brandberg (burning mountain), Namibia's highest peak, and take a short walk in the mountain foothills to see the well-known "White Lady" bushman rock painting. Camping 
    Day 9:Cheetah conservation farm. Leaving the Brandberg behind us we next travel to a cheetah conservation project where you have the opportunity to interact with these very special mammals. Camping 
    Day 10-12:Game driving in Etosha National Park. Next day we leave for Etosha, where we spend the next 3 nights. Here we game drive through the park, relax at the campsite pools and watch the "nightlife" at the floodlit waterholes. Camping 
    Day 13:Camp along the Kavango River in the Caprivi Strip. Heading east from Etosha we make our way to the Caprivi Strip where we camp on the Kavango River. Camping 
    Day 14-16:Okavango Delta. We then cross the border into Botswana, making our way to the panhandle of the Okavango region. Transfer with 4x4 truck and motorboats. The Delta trip is a true wilderness where you are limited to taking only what will fit into your mokoro (dugout canoe) - an exceptional African adventure. Camping 
    Day 17:Maun. Leaving the Delta we head to Maun where you have the afternoon to relax or take an optional scenic flight over the Delta, affording you a different perspective on this unique inland waterway. Camping 
    Day 18-19:Arrive in Kasane – Just outside Chobe National Park Game drive and Boat Cruise in Chobe National Park. Leaving Maun we head north to the Chobe National Park and spend 2 nights camping on the banks of the Chobe River. Early the following morning we game drive into the park in search of the big five. In the evening we explore the river on a motorboat, where the sunset frames the wide variety of game and bird life. Camping 
    Day 20:Arrive in Victoria Falls Zambezi Sunset cruise. Leaving Botswana behind we enter Zimbabwe*/Zambia and a short drive brings us to the Victoria Falls. Camping 
    Day 21:Victoria Falls National Park. Next morning we visit the Victoria Falls on the Zambian side Depending on your departure plans you have the opportunity to participate in any activities at your leisure. Your tour will end with us at around lunchtime after returning from the Victoria Falls. (Additional nights accommodation to extend your stay available at extra cost.)
    how this holiday makes a difference
    As part of our commitment to responsible travel we are always looking for innovative ways to make that extra difference. After extensive research we have found a bio-diesel manufacture on the outskirts of Cape Town, in light of this we are looking into the feasibility of using this alternative fuel in our expedition vehicle. If it is viable then we will fill up with 800 litres of bio-fuel on departure from Cape Town. This amount will take us approx 2500km’s into our trip from Cape Town to Victoria Falls.

    On our Cape Town to Victoria Falls tour we make use of local guides to explore the wonders on the Namib Desert and surrounding area. On our visit to the Namib dune-fields a knowledgeable guide will introduce you to the local ecosystems and bushman culture.

    In Damaraland, at the Brandberg Mountains clients walk to the well known White Lady rock art accompanied by locals that are now certified guides and are part of The Tsiseb Conservancy providing employment to the local population, this after a local mine closed down in the early 1990’s.

    Local guides are used in Botswana where the Okavango Delta bush trip is an experience in living in the bush as many people in Africa do, and an opportunity to get to know the local culture more in depth. While the traditional cultures of Botswana have used wooden dug-out canoes (mokoro’s) in past decades made from slow growing hardwood trees the local co-operative of polers we use have invested in fibreglass mokoros thereby reducing the number of hardwood tress to be cut down.

    We also endeavor to create awareness of endangered wildlife within Namibia by visiting a local cheetah conservation project that homes injured or orphaned cheetahs. We encourage our passengers to purchase goods made locally, and to be aware that craft market income is the only income for many families. Food is purchased at local markets where possible.

    Finally, as part of our commitment to responsible tourism, we support the Freeplay Foundation. This charity supplies wind-up radios (needing no electrical or battery power) to children in Africa who have been orphaned by Aids or genocide and who are trying to bring up their younger siblings alone and unaided.

    Each radio costs only £35. It provides these children with health care information and how to obtain free testing and drugs, as well as general education and help on growing their own food crops and advice on issues such as safe pesticides. We aim to donate at least one radio per overland trip to help these children. If you would like to make a contribution towards this and would find it easier to do so before departure (rather than into the collection box on the truck) please send us a cheque to our UK address made out to “Freeplay Foundation” and we will forward it on.

    Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people.

    We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel.

    'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

    We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays.

    We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism.

    This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards.

    Convert currencies