Southern Africa safari
| country: | Botswana, Namibia, Zambia |
| location: | Kalahari Desert |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | 2010: 5 Aug, 1 Oct, 25 Nov 2011: 20 Jan, 17 Mar, 7 Jul, 11 Aug, 15 Sep, 10 Nov, 29 Dec |
| price: | From £1919 (10 days) excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Southern Africa safari
Commencing in Namibia, a truly unique and fascinating country, exploring nature-rich Botswana, and ending in the adventure capital Livingstone, this tour offers some of the best of what Africa has to offer. Explore the flooded plains and wildlife of the Delta, search out elephants in Chobe National Park, visit powerful Victoria Falls, and stay in comfortable hotels and lodges. This tour is the trip of a lifetime!
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive Windhoek. Arrive in Windhoek and attend a pre-departure group meeting with your tour leader scheduled for the evening. With a population of 230,000, and an altitude of 1654m, Windhoek is a pleasant city to spend your first night in. Windhoek was originally the centre of a Nama leader, Jan Jonker Afrikaner, who defeated the Herero inhabitants of the region in the mid 19th century. Windhoek became the seat of colonial rule in 1892, as the capital of the colony of South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika).They built a fort that eventually spanned a town that grew under its protection. During World War I, Windhoek was captured by South African troops and became a British dominion. Until the independence of Namibia was inaugurated in 1990, Windhoek was recognized as the capital of South West Africa as administered by the South African government. |
| Day 2: | Greater Kalahari (Gobabis) (B,D). Approximate Distance: 230 km Estimate Travel Time: 3 Hours After a morning tour of Windhoek and a visit to the local craft market, we are travelling to the edge of the Kalahari desert. Visit a San Bushmen village to learn about the local desert peoples (optional), take a nature walk to explore the fascinating landscape or embark on an included game drive in the Kalahari Forest area in search of kudu, wildebeest, and many antelope. Gobabis is situated south east from Windhoek, towards the Buitepos border post with Botswana, and serves as an important link to South Africa on the paved Trans-Kalahari Highway. Gobabis is in the heart of the cattle farming area, and is considered to be the capital of the east and also known as the "Little Texas" of Namibia. In fact Gobabis is so proud of its cattle farming that a statue of a large bull with the inscription "Welcome to Cattle Country" greets visitors to the town. |
| Day 3: | Maun (B). Approximate Distance: 605 km Estimate Travel Time: 9 Hours (depending on border crossing). Today we cross the border into Botswana, travelling along the northern portions of the Kalahari throughout the day - this is a severely arid, barren, though awesome landscape. After arrival in Maun, the biggest town in the Okavango Delta area, you can pick up any supplies and prepare for your 2 night/2 day mobile safari into the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. Maun is the gateway to the Okavango Delta and has for a long time enjoying the reputation of being Botswana’s own frontier town. Today it is one of the fastest growing towns in Africa. It was originally established in 1915 by the Batawana, a splinter group of the Bangwato. The name Maun means “place of reeds”. Maun, although officially still a village, is the fifth largest town in Botswana. It is an eclectic mix of modern buildings and native huts. Maun is the "tourism capital" of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland district. Maun has developed rapidly from a rural frontier town and has spread along the Thamalakane River. It now boasts good shopping centres, hotels and lodges as well as car and 4-wheel drive vehicle hire. It still retains a rural atmosphere and local tribesmen continue to bring their cattle to Maun to sell. This community is now distributed along the wide banks of the Thamalakane River where red lechwe can still be seen grazing next to local donkeys, goats and cattle. |
| Day 4-5: | Moremi Wildlife Reserve/Okavango Delta (2B,2L,2D). Estimate Travel Time: 2 hours to Moremi South gate After leaving some of our luggage in Maun, we begin our fantastic 2 day/2 night excursion into the delta with a morning drive to our mobile safari tented camp area in the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. For 2 full days, enjoy the birdlife and game viewing in the pristine wilderness area of the Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta, and the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. Early departure from Maun - 2 hour drive to Moremi South Gate entrance. Continue the journey through the Moremi Game Reserve, game spotting on the way, until reaching the designated camping ground. Enjoy lunch and relax until around 15h30 when you will depart on the afternoon game drive. Return to camp for pre-dinner refreshments, have dinner under the stars and relax around the camp fire. Early morning wake-up with tea, coffee & snacks before departing on the morning game drive. Arrive back at camp in the late morning to enjoy brunch to be followed by a siesta period. Depart again at around 15h30 for afternoon game drive and sunset river cruise. Dinner under the stars again. "Where all this water goes is a mystery", Aurel Schultz, 1897 The area of the delta was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that dried up some 10,000 years ago. Today, the Okavango River has no outlet to the sea. Instead, it empties onto the sands of the Kalahari Desert, irrigating 15,000 kms of the desert. Each year some 11 cubic kilometers of water reach the delta. Some of this water reaches further south to create Lake Ngami. The water entering the delta is unusually pure, due to the lack of agriculture and industry along the Okavango River. It passes through the sand aquifers of the numerous delta islands and evaporates/transpirates by leaving enormous quantities of salt behind. This precipitation process is so strong that the vegetation disappears in the center of the islands and thick salt crusts are formed. The waters of the Okavango Delta are subject to seasonal flooding, which begins about mid-summer in the north and six months later in the south (May/June). The water from the delta is evaporated relatively rapidly by the high temperatures, resulting in a cycle of cresting and dropping water in the south. Islands can disappear completely during the peak flood, then reappear at the end of the season. |
| Day 6: | Makgadikgadi Area/Gweta (B). Approximate Distance: 300 km Estimate Travel Time: 4 Hours Wake up to the African sun rising over the beauty of the Delta. Today we travel back to Maun, and continue to one of the villages in the Makgadikgadi Area. The Pans are situated between the larger towns of Nata and Maun and are an immense area devoid of anything but salt and shimmering horizon. As the largest expanse of 'nothingness' on earth, the pans have an area the size of Switzerland, and are clearly visible from outer-space. What is known today as the Makgadikgadi Pans is only a relic of what used to be part of one of the biggest inland lakes Africa has ever seen-Lake Makgadikgadi. The Makgadikgadi pan consists of two main pans, namely Ntwetwe and Sowa pan, both of which are surrounded by smaller pans. Although it is totally devoid of any water, people used to live there before it was declared state land. Villagers were allowed to graze their livestock inside the boundaries during dry season. Upon arrival in the afternoon enjoy an optional sundowner tour to one of the smaller pans (Nxasini Pan) – leaves around 16h00/16h30 latest. |
| Day 7: | Kasane/Chobe National Park (B). Approximate Distance: 410 km Estimate Travel Time: 6.5 Hours Today we journey to Kasane, your base for a visit to Chobe National Park, home to one of the largest elephant populations in Southern Africa. The best way to appreciate Botswana's largest national park and its thousands of resident elephants, crocodiles, and hippos, is on an included afternoon sunset boat cruise on the Chobe River. Kasane is situated on the banks of the Chobe River, near its mouth. This is where the Chobe and Zambezi rivers meet, creating a border area of four countries – Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Chobe National Park is Botswana’s first national park, and is situated along the Chobe River. It has one of the largest concentrations of wildlife in Africa and one of the world's last remaining sizeable wilderness areas. By size, this is the third largest park (11,000 sq km) of the country, though it is definitely the most diverse and spectacular. The park is probably best known for its spectacular elephant population: with over 120,000 it has the highest elephant concentration of Africa. Moreover, most of them are probably part of the largest continuous surviving elephant population on Earth. The elephant population seems to have solidly built up since 1990, from the few initial thousands. By chance, they have not been affected by the massive illicit exploitation of the 1970's and 1980's. Elephants living here are Kalahari elephants, the largest in size of all known elephant species. Yet they are characterized by rather brittle ivory and short tusks. Damage caused by the high numbers of elephants is rife in some areas. In fact, concentration is so high throughout Chobe that culls have been considered, but are too controversial and have thus far been rejected. During the dry season, these elephants sojourn in Chobe River and the Linyanti River areas. During the rain season, they make a 200 km migration to the south-east region of the park. Their distribution zone however outreaches the park and spreads to north-western Zimbabwe. |
| Day 8-9: | Livingstone, Zambia (2B). Approximate Distance: 80 km Estimate Travel Time: 3-4 Hours (depending on border crossing). Today we are crossing the mighty Zambezi River by ferry to Zambia. Spend the day exploring the breathtaking Victoria Falls, or try some adventure activities - go white-water rafting or canoeing on Zambezi, take an elephant-back safari, or even fly over the falls for some fantastic views in a "micro-light", or helicopter. David Livingstone was born on March 19, 1813 in the village of Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. He first studied Greek, medicine, and theology at the University of Glasgow and while working in London, joined the London Missionary Society became a minister. He originally planned to gain access to China through his medical knowledge. The Opium Wars, which were raging at this stage with no signs of peace on the horizon, forced Livingstone to consider other options. From 1840 he worked in Bechuanaland (present-day Botswana), and in the period 1852–56, he explored the African interior, and was the first European to see the Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall, which he renamed Victoria Falls after his monarch, Queen Victoria. The name Zambezi comes from the Tonka tribe, also meaning Great River, but the Sotho-speaking Kololo people of the upper reaches of the river gave it the well-known name of Mosi o a Thunya (smoke that rises). The Lozi people call it by the same name but translated it into smoke that sounds. The Ndebele call it aManza Thunqayo (the water that rises like smoke). The Namibian people call it Chinotimba (a noise-making place like the distant sound of digging). |
| Day 10: | Depart Livingstone (B). Tour ends at approximately 08:00 am. |
traveller reviews for Southern Africa safari
Fantastic - really exceeded our expectations on all counts - we didn't want to come home and will certainly return to Africa!
(more)
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. how this holiday makes a difference
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In order to keep the environmental and negative social impact of travel to a minimum, we operate this tour with a maximum of 16 passengers. The majority of our hotels are small, locally owned and family operated establishments. This tour also includes two nights of participation camping. No area of the world is more suitable for camping and being in touch with your environment than Africa.
 By working with local guides and operators, we provide economic benefits directly to the local people and businesses. Our local guides are experts in flora, fauna, and history and culture, and provide our travellers with insight into local knowledge. Our tour leaders receive special training in low-impact travel and regional conservation issues and projects. They are also provided with a Sustainable Travel Manual. Tour leaders are selected based on their knowledge of, and commitment to sustainable travel. All our tour leaders speak English and have first aid and CPR certification. |
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. |
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