Highlights
Thorntree Lodge, Livingstone
Garden Lodge, Chobe National Park
Okuti, Moremi Game Reserve
Camp Kalahari, Makgadikgadi Pans

TOUR PRICE: From US$5332 PER PERSON based on 2 persons traveling in low season

Day 1

Arrive at Johannesburg International Airport, and, after clearing customs and immigration and collecting your luggage, you will be met by our Johannesburg representative in the Arrivals Hall. He will hand you your Zambian Airline and Air Botswana tickets, and then show you to the correct check-in counter for your flight to Livingstone Airport.

After clearing customs and immigration at Livingstone Airport, you will be met by a representative of Wild Horizons Transfer Company, who will transfer you to Thorntree Lodge.

Thorntree Lodge is situated on the Zambian bank of the Zambezi River, within the renowned Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park and just 15 kilometres upstream from the spectacular Victoria Falls. The entire complex has been constructed using natural materials with indigenous woods and thatching providing cooling shade and the unmistakable feel of a true safari camp. The Lodge blends naturally into the riverine vegetation and commands superb river views from its main deck and private verandas.

Thorntree River Lodge’s riverside location and its unique position with the National Park allows for a wide choice of activities, including sunset cruises, game-drives, cultural tours, fishing and of course visits to the Falls themselves. The Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park is a sanctuary for white rhino as well as a haven for many other species including giraffe, sable, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and a wide variety of birds.

With just 8 chalets, Thorntree River Lodge offers its guests a unique and personal African experience all year round. Each accommodation unit has its own en-suite facilities and all are beautifully appointed. Welcoming drinks and excellent cuisine are enjoyed from the centrally situated lounge and dining area. There is also a swimming pool with a water level bar and a thatched lapa in which to simply relax during the heat of the day. An assortment of pre-dinner snacks are prepared on the deck at sun downer time, when guests can enjoy the Zambezi’s famous sunsets and perhaps watch the regular procession of elephant as they follow an age old migration route that runs directly in front of the Lodge.

During your stay at Thorntree, all meals, all local beverages and a choice of 1 activity per day is included in the price. You may choose from a Tour of Victoria Falls (Zambian side), a Zambezi Sunset Cruise or a Game Drive. Park fees should be settled directly at the lodge – US$10 per person.

Day 2

After breakfast at Thorntree Lodge, the rest of the day will be at your leisure to partake of some of the many activities on offer on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.

These include, amongst others:

• White water rafting
• Elephant Back Safari
• Helicopter or ultra light flight over the Falls
• Sun downer cruises
• Canoe trails
• Village and curio market visits
• Livingstone Island picnic

All activities may be booked upon arrival, or pre booked and settled for before you arrive.

Day 3
After breakfast at Thorntree, you will be transferred, by a representative of Falcon-safaris.net
to the Kazangula border crossing, boated across the Chobe River, and then driven on to Chobe Garden Lodge, situated on the banks of the Chobe River. This transfer will take around one hour and forty-five minutes.

The Garden Lodge is located in the small town of Kasane in northern Botswana, overlooking the Chobe River. Bordering the Chobe National Park and a two-hour drive from Victoria Falls, this boutique Lodge is perfectly positioned. The combination of unlimited water and constant sunshine allows hibiscus, frangipani, bougainvillea, banana and paw paw to grow in profusion. Guests love the garden and the prolific birds attracted to the flowers and fruits.

The lodge has eight bedrooms (4 doubles and 4 family size), each with its own bathroom and private veranda overlooking the Chobe River.

The lounge and dining room are furnished in teak and wicker. Guests have the choice of sitting inside under the thatched roof or outside by the swimming pool. The bar is upstairs and overlooks the Chobe River. It is informally known as the Map Room due to the large number of maps hung on the walls.

Two activities of your choice per day will be included during your stay.

Days 4 and 5
Activities revolve around game viewing by vehicle and boat into The Chobe National Park. The Chobe River is a tributary of the mighty Zambezi River, home to the famed tiger fish. The lodge supplies all the tackle needed to catch these monsters, but respectfully request guests to practice catch and release. Guests seeking an insight to tribal life will appreciate a mokoro (a traditional dugout canoe) trip to villages in Namibia. Your guide will take you from Botswana to Namibia by mokoro and on foot through the villages.

Day 6
After breakfast at the Garden Lodge, and a morning activity of your choice, a representative of the lodge will transfer you to Kasane Airport (20 minutes), where you will be met by the pilot who will be flying you to Okuti Camp. This flight will take around 80 minutes, and provides spectacular views of the Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta, so have your cameras ready!

Okuti Camp is situated in the remote north eastern part of the Okavango Delta, within the Moremi Game Reserve, positioned under large trees at the edge of the Xakanaxa lagoon and within close range of shallow flood plains, papyrus swamp and dense riverine forest. It is a small and private camp catering for a maximum of 20 guests, accommodated in insect-proofed thatched chalets with en-suite bathrooms. Each of the chalets is positioned to overlook one of the delta’s famous lagoons, so that guests may enjoy the splendour of the African sunset.

Days 7 and 8
The Moremi Game Reserve is known for its abundant wildlife which roams free across the diverse landscape. This includes a huge number of mammals and all the large predators. The exciting trip to the upper delta in a motorboat will give you the opportunity to view the abundant bird life, Hippos, Crocodiles and various small water animals.

In the evening you may relax by the camp fire and wait for your dinner to be served in the candlelit dining room, followed by liqueurs enjoyed in the sunken lounge.

Activities include safari game viewing in open 4×4 vehicles into the Moremi Game Reserve, and boat trips through the myriad twisting channels of the famous Okavango Delta. There are over 450 species of birds and 75 species of mammal, including elephant, lion and leopard.

Day 9
After an early morning activity of your choice, and brunch, you will return to the airstrip, for your forty minute flight to Camp Kalahari (formerly Makgadikgadi Camp) airstrip, where you will be met by a representative of the lodge, for your short drive to camp.

The largest expanse of ‘nothingness’ on earth, an area the size of Switzerland, clearly visible from outer-space, Makgadikgadi is devoid of anything but salt and shimmering horizon. Makgadikgadi is a vast relic of Africa’s largest body of water and a hitherto unknown cradle of earliest man’s genesis. Infernal mirages warp reality into twisted parodies during the heat of the dry season and with the coming of the rains, life-giving water seeps into the pans, stimulating an annual pulse of life. The baking soda void is transformed into one of Africa’s most remarkable ecosystems

Accommodation is in 8 comfortable en-suite cottage tents secluded among palms and acacias. A splash pool gives refuge from the midday sun and the traditionally built mess, with its thatch roof and open fireplace, is ideal for relaxation.

The main activity is exploring the pans on Quad Bikes.

In the wet season (November to March), this vast area of saltpans interspersed with low-lying grass islands, is the destination of herds of migrating zebra.

Whilst at Camp all your meals and all your drinks are included in your Tour as is a daily laundry service, so you will have no extras to pay for other than gratuities.

Your Host will briefly introduce you to the Camp and its environment and plan daily Itineraries to suit your interests. The environment is really amazing, and will be unlike anywhere else that you have ever visited. Large salt pans in the midst of nowhere!

After cocktails Dinner will served in the Mess.

Day 10
Your excursions into the desert will be by both 4×4 Game viewing vehicle and on 4×4, 4 wheeled quad motor cycles – a truly amazing way to explore this fascinating area, considered to be the ‘cradle of mankind’.

Day 11
An early morning activity, breakfast, a rest and then back to the airstrip for your flight into Maun Airport where you will connect with Air Botswana, flight BP211, departing Maun at 15h00 and arriving back in Johannesburg at 16h40.

Included:
Scheduled flights and charters as per itinerary

Transfer as per itinerary

Accommodation and meals as per itinerary

Laundry

Not included:
Gratuities and items of a personal nature
Visa costs