Glide through the watery maze of the Okavango Delta and witness hundreds of elephants in Chobe National Park. This is an incredible glimpse of Botswana in just 8 days.
This is not a typical group trip. You will have the services of a local guide for activities in Victoria Falls, and different lodge-based guides while at Chobe and the Okavango Delta.
You may be travelling alone, or with a very small number of travellers, on this itinerary. However, included activities are on a shared basis with others from your lodge. These activities become a great opportunity to meet fellow travellers.
It can be chilly in the mornings when taking early game drives and activities, so please pack clothes/layers in preparation.
Botswana temperatures rise in the hot dry period of September and October before the rains hit and temperatures can get as high as 34-38°C and lodges in the Delta are not air-conditioned.
Single travellers will have there own room therefore there is a compulsory single supplement in conjunction with this trip.
An airport arrival transfer is included. Please provide your flight details at the time of booking, or at a minimum 15 days prior to travel. On arrival in Victoria Falls, you will be met by a Wild Horizons representative and transferred to your hotel. Located about 3 km from the town centre, Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is set high on a plateau and enjoys uninterrupted views of the African bush and an on-site waterhole. Lodge facilities include a complimentary shuttle service to the town centre, swimming pool and sundeck, complimentary Wi-Fi, gift shop, bar and restaurant. All rooms have an ensuite, safes, air-conditioning, fans, mosquito nets, tea and coffee making facilities, and a balcony overlooking National Park. Your representative will give you a short briefing explaining the arrangements for tomorrow's trip to the falls. The rest of the day is free for you to relax by the pool, check out the visitors to the local watering hole with a cold sundowner, or catch the complimentary shuttle into town where there is a great range of curio and craft shops.
This trip is operated by two different suppliers. Please contact our Peak Southern Africa office (+27 828229407) for any issues you may encounter on Days 1-2 of your trip or if you cannot locate your arrival transfer. This transfer is only valid if arriving on Day 1 or if you have booked pre-trip accommodation through Peregrine. Please provide your flight details at the time of booking, or at a minimum 15 days prior to travel, in order to organise this.
One of the world's true natural wonders, Victoria Falls are commonly referred to by their Kololo name, Mosi-oa-Tunya or 'the Smoke That Thunders', and you'll see and hear why on a morning tour, after you're collected from your hotel at 7:30am. Your guide will take you through the falls area, stopping at different vantage points along the way to explain the history of the falls and their surrounds: hundreds of miles away in northern Zambia a little spring wanders along the earth, eventually ending in over 1 million gallons of water torrenting down a 328-foot high drop a mile wide. Afterwards, you will return to your lodge, farewell your Wild Horizons representative, and meet your Sheerwater/Chobezi representative at 10am for your transfer into Botswana. Follow the Zambezi River to Botswana and make your way to Chobe National Park (approximately 2–3 hours, not including border formalities). You will arrive at your lodge, located on the bank of the Chobe River just outside of the National Park, around midday. On arrival, meet with a local representative to go over the rest of your itinerary. After lunch there'll be time to relax until a mid-afternoon game drive – you'll almost certainly see elephants drinking at the waters' edge, and keep your eyes open for the park's large herds of buffalo too. The sunsets viewed from the river can be breathtakingly spectacular too. Accommodation at Chobe Safari Lodge is usually in rondavels – comfortable individual circular thatched units with private facilities and balconies. The lodge bar is a great place to enjoy a drink at the end of the day, and the pool is also the perfect place to wash off the heat off the day or safari dust.
Notes: Please contact Under One Botswana Sky (+267 625 0336) if you are unable to locate your representative this morning.
Today is a full day of wildlife exploration. You'll begin with a morning game drive to see the animals at their most active, followed by some time back at the lodge for relaxation during the hottest part of the day. Then, in the late afternoon, you'll take a boat trip out on the Chobe River. Chobe National Park is archetypal big-game county, where huge herds of buffalo and elephants are matched by the size of the lion prides. An estimated 70,000 Kalahari elephants roam the park and are the largest known subspecies of elephant in the world by size. You may also see zebra, impala, wildebeest and giraffe. The bird life on the river can be truly spectacular with sightings of saddle-billed storks, malachite kingfishers, fish eagles, goliath herons and beautiful bee-eaters. Elephants will often congregate to drink and play in the river, and there are good hippopotamus numbers too. You might even spot a crocodile on the riverbanks – although they are surprisingly shy. Tonight, return to the lodge for your final evening and perhaps enjoy a drink as you look out over the waters of the Chobe River.
Notes: A visit to Chobe National Park itself is not a complete wilderness experience – you're sure to see other people, boats and vehicles inside the park. But the beauty of Chobe is that you're also bound to see wildlife that's equal to anything anywhere in Africa.
After breakfast you'll fly into the Delta where you'll be met and transferred to your beautiful accommodation – spacious permanent tents with ensuites, all set on raised decks, with individual verandas. In the Angola Highlands the rain water accumulates and forms a river. This river flows into Botswana as the Okavango River, where it splits into a myriad of rivers and waterways creating the Okavango Delta, which eventually reach the Kalahari Sands in the South. The Okavango Delta, perhaps the greatest inland waterway in the world, is remarkably different to the countryside of the previous few days. The Delta offers an amazing contrast of shallow waters, deeper channels, interspersed by islands spread across some hundreds of square kilometres. There are few who fail to be moved by the tranquil beauty of the Delta and its magnificent surrounds. Here you'll spend our time searching for aquatic antelope, relaxing, and soaking up the unique ambiance of this remarkable environment. You'll also go ashore on some of the larger islands to stretch your legs and explore. Once you've settled into your accommodation, enjoy a spot of high tea, then head off for an afternoon gliding quietly through the wetlands and papyrus-clad waterways in traditional dugout canoes (mokoros) or on a sunset boat cruise. Propelled from the stern by skilled 'poler' guides, this trip allow you to sit back and absorb the scenery.
Please note that flight times are based on the number of people travelling in and out of the Delta between a range of camps and lodges. Therefore flight times are not usually confirmed until the day before departure. Your local Under One Botswana Safari representative will pass this information on to you as soon as possible.
The Motorboat Cruise will depend on water levels and may not occur towards the end of the dry season.
Your days will generally take the form of a morning and afternoon activity in the wilderness. These are the cooler times of the day when the animals tend to be most active. While there are no guarantees, there is a good chance of spotting giraffe, kudu, impala, baboon, elephant, buffalo, tsessebe, warthog, wildebeest, waterbuck, zebra, hippo and crocodile in the waterways. During the hotter central part of the day you are free to relax on the camp's open decks or siesta by the pool. The bird life in the area is prolific and a true birders' paradise. If you're lucky you might even see the very rare and shy Pel's Fishing Owl.
After breakfast and a morning activity, you will leave Gunn's Camp by small aircraft and fly to Pom Pom Camp, your next base from which to explore the abundant wildlife and life-sustaining waters of the Okavango Delta. Your unique accommodation is located on Pom Pom Island in the private Matsebe concession area, set in the treeline overlooking the lagoon. It's situated in the heart of the Okavango Delta on the headwaters of the Xiri and Xudum River systems, surrounded by permanent and seasonal swampland. The area lies on the far westerly boundary of the Moremi Game Reserve and offers a true Okavango wilderness experience. This afternoon you'll have the opportunity for another game activity before dinner. Your activities at Pom Pom camp include game drives and walks, time out on the water in a mokoro, and also fishing trips – guides will be happy to take you to their secret spots to try for African Pike and a variety of Bream species.
Today the morning and afternoon are spent taking in the unspoiled and diverse wilderness of this stunning area, of open plains, riverine forests, dry woodlands and mopane forests, as well as inland waterways. These varied habitats offer refuge to a wide range of animal and bird species. There is a large amount of animal movement through the area and the chances of seeing all of the animals mentioned above, and more, are likely. Pom Pom Camp is fortunate to have several resident leopards and a number of territorial lions that roam freely in the Pom Pom area. With a little luck you may see the 'Big Five' (minus the rhino), and enjoy a different type of classic safari in this very special part of the Delta.
Enjoy breakfast with the group on your final morning before flying to Maun Airport, where our adventure comes to an end.
Notes: Please ensure your onward flight is not booked to depart before 12 pm.
There are currently no scheduled departures on our Classic Botswana trip. If you are interested in other trips in the region visit one of the links below.
A compulsory single supplement is applicable to single travellers on this trip. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.