Discover Botswana & Victoria Falls

Begin your adventure in Maun, a safari town on the Thamalakane River at the southern end of the Okavango Delta. Our base is Maun Waterfront, a boutique guesthouse around 10 minutes’ drive from Maun village, with views across the river, where you may spot a hippo or crocodile, and regular birdlife around the grounds. Around 6pm, say dumela – hello in the Setswana (Tswana) language – to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big Botswanan welcome by arranging an al fresco group dinner at a culinary hotspot in Maun, Marc’s Eatery, which has a delightful garden setting for our first meal together. Want more time in Maun? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Leave Maun by 4x4 after breakfast and drive (approximately three hours) to Mababe Private Reserve. The final hour becomes part of the safari as we enter the reserve and game drive towards our exclusive camp, with our guide beginning to read the tracks left by the resident wildlife. After a lunch cooked by our private chef, we head out on an afternoon game drive with our dedicated vehicle and guide. Mababe sits on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta, where the Khwai River and seasonal Mababe marsh draw large mammals – perhaps lions, elephants, giraffes and wild dogs – and rich birdlife into the area. We return just after sunset for dinner under the stars.

We spend the day on safari in Mababe Private Reserve, using a network of tracks that lead us towards the Khwai River, a ‘finger’ of the Okavango Delta. With our guide, we look for signs of hippos in the water, elephants moving between feeding grounds, giraffes browsing and plains game keeping a careful watch for predators. The area is known for elephants, lion prides and wild dogs, while the mix of river, woodland and open ground makes it rewarding for birdlife too. Return to camp for lunch and time to refresh, then head out again for an afternoon game drive, staying out until after sunset.

Take to the Okavango Delta this morning for a two-hour mokoro excursion on the Mbudi River, a tributary of the Khwai River. Local polers from Khwai village guide the canoes, giving us a slower, lower view of the waterways and supporting employment within the community. We have a packed picnic lunch, then transfer to our next accommodation. In the afternoon, we visit a sunken elephant hide, providing a perspective that’s both great for photography and for seeing the animals at a different angle. The rest of the day is at leisure, a good chance to relax by the pool, lounge, bar and dining area – all with spectacular views of the watering hole.

Start early, with breakfast around 6.30am, then leave Elephant Pools at approximately 7.30am. Rather than treating the journey as a simple transfer, we game drive towards Moremi Game Reserve and spend much of the day inside the reserve. With a very high wildlife density, Moremi is known for having some of the best wildlife viewing in Africa and our knowledgeable guide shapes the route around conditions on the day, making the most of fresh tracks, water levels and recent sightings. We have a picnic lunch inside the reserve, giving us more time in the field, then drive back to Maun in the afternoon (approximately two hours from the reserve). Arriving around 4pm, there is time to freshen up before dinner.

Transfer to Maun airport for our flight (one hour) to Kasane. On arrival, we transfer to our boutique tented lodge on the banks of the Chobe River. After lunch, we head into Chobe National Park for a three-hour afternoon game drive. Chobe is closely associated with elephants, with large numbers seen from both land and river, but the park also supports giraffes, buffalo, hippos, antelope, predators and prolific birdlife. We return to the lodge after sunset, with dinner at the lodge and the Chobe River close enough to remind us that the safari day does not end when we step out of the vehicle.

Head back into Chobe National Park for a three-hour morning game drive, when cooler temperatures can mean active wildlife and good tracking conditions. We return to the lodge for breakfast, then have time to relax. The infinity pool is a good place to enjoy the river setting before a late lunch. In the afternoon, we switch perspectives with a three-hour boat trip on the Chobe River. Elephants may come to drink, hippos patrol the shallows, crocodiles hold the banks, and birds work the river margins. We enjoy a sundowner on board before returning after sunset for dinner. Later, there is the option of a nightcap at the boma, listening for the less visible side of Chobe: frogs, insects, night birds and whatever else is moving in the dark.

We leave Botswana and cross the border into Zimbabwe, travelling to Victoria Falls. After arrival, we can have lunch at one of the area’s iconic dining spots: The Lookout Café, which sits on the edge of Batoka Gorge, looking towards the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls Bridge! In the afternoon, we take a guided tour of Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Our guide leads us between viewpoints, helping explain the geology, river system and seasonal differences in flow — useful context when the spray makes its own contribution.

Today is free for optional activities in and around Victoria Falls. You might return to the falls for another look in a different light, take to the Zambezi by boat, visit local markets, or choose one of the adventure activities for which the area is well known. Your tour leader can help explain the options, timings and practicalities, so you can choose a day that suits your pace − whether that means adrenaline, wildlife, culture or a slower final day before the journey home.

You’ve glided through the Khwai waterways by mokoro, watched wildlife across Mababe, Moremi and Chobe, and stood beside the spray of Victoria Falls, but now it’s time to begin your return journey home. Alternatively, if you’d like to extend your adventure, speak to your sales representative to discuss our large range of extension options.