Wetlands & Deserts – Code WD
Highlights: Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, Makgadikgadi Pans, Okavango Delta,
Kalahari Desert , Windhoek
Day 1 VICTORIA FALLS
After your arrival in Victoria Falls and a transfer to your hotel, you have a wide variety of optional activities at our disposal. In the late afternoon, enjoy an optional sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, where you stand the chance to see some of the animals and birds that live in the Victoria Falls National Park while enjoying a sundowner drink.
Day 2 VICTORIA FALLS
After breakfast discover why the Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders on Earth as you explore it on foot. This dramatically beautiful event is accompanied by a deafening roar and fine spray that arcs up into the sky, giving the falls its local name: Mosi-oa-Tunya – the “Smoke that Thunders”. Afterwards, visit a craft market, where you can purchase or look at handmade crafts of the local inhabitants (optional). Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure or participate in other optional activities.
Day 3 / 100 km CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
Your adventure continues with a drive to the Chobe National Park, the second largest National Park in Botswana. Your lodge is located directly on the banks of the Chobe River. The Chobe National Park is home to the highest elephant concentration on Earth and counts undoubtedly to one of the most spectacular national parks in Africa. The riverine forests and floodplains support a multitude of game species, which in turn attract predators such as lion, leopard and hyena.
Day 4 CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
The activities in and around the Chobe National Park are mainly revolved around the spectacular wildlife. Besides being Botswana’s second largest park, the Chobe National Park boasts the largest elephant concentration on Earth, and is the habitat of all African large predators as well as a vast variety of antelope species. With over 500 different bird species, the park is a haven for birders. Use the day to view the wildlife on a game drive in the early morning and with a boat cruise in the late afternoon (excluded on the Classic Tour).
Day 5 / 410 km MAKGADIKGADI PANS
After breakfast you depart Kasane and travel south to the stunning Makgadikgadi pans. This natural phenomenon represents the largest clay pans on earth and changes the landscape into a wonderland of surrealistic beauty. Their remoteness and inaccessibility all add to the mystique, and one has not enjoyed the full charm of Botswana without having had a taste of their magical impact. Relax along the pool or enjoy a guided nature drive to the pans.
Day 6 / 220 km OKAVANGO DELTA
Traveling further west, you reach Maun and the southern edge of the magnificent Okavango Delta, the largest in land delta on Earth. Situated along the banks of the Thamalakane River, it provides easy access into the delta either by helicopter, plane or open game drive vehicle. (Guests traveling on the Gold option meet their pilot at Maun airport and fly into the delta)
Day 7 OKAVANGO DELTA
Today you may wish to take a guided excursion into the Moremi Game Reserve, situated within the Okavango Delta. It covers about one third of the entire delta and counts Undoubtedly to the top wildlife reserves in Africa. The giant mopane forests contrast beautifully with the wide open spaces of the Khwai floodplain, while the seasonal pans, salt pans and rivers attract game and bird species of immense proportions. In the late afternoon you return to the lodge.
Day 8 / 280 km KALAHARI DESERT
Your journey takes you further west into the Kalahari Desert, the largest sand mass on Earth that stretches north over no less than 9 different African countries. Your lodge is situated close to Ghanzi on a private nature reserve overlooking a water filled pan, promising you an excellent game viewing experience. In the afternoon you can experience a game drive or enjoy a bush walk, after which you enjoy dinner on the raised platform overlooking the waterhole.
Day 9 / 250 km KALAHARI DESERT
This morning you travel to the Botswana border post and travel into Namibia, your lodge being situated in the Namibian part of the Kalahari Desert. Enjoy an optional game drive or relax in the Namibian bush to recollect your memories of the fantastic adventure that has passed.
Day 10 / 270 km – DEPARTURE
After breakfast you travel back to Windhoek or the international airport, where your tour ends, or continue your tour into southern Namibia with the Magical South tour.
Guests may also elect to extend this tour with a 2-night Chobe experience on a house boat that travels along and stays on the Chobe River