Botswana in Depth (Reverse) 13 days Tour

Itinerary

Day 1: Maun

Activities:

• Today is arrival day in Maun. You'll be met at the airport and taken to your accommodation, where you'll meet the rest of your group.
• The rest of the day is spent at your leisure.

Day 2-3: Nxai Pan

Travel time: 4 hours (approx)

Meals included: 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners

Activities:

• This morning we leave Maun to enter Nxai Pan National Park where we’ll spend two nights enjoying afternoon and morning safaris.
• Expect plenty of wildlife spotting with the park known for its large herds of springbok and giraffe. You might see blue wildebeest, eland, gemsbok, red hartebeest and greater kudu too as well as predators such as spotted hyena, jackal, cheetah, leopard, lion and the elusive brown hyena.
• One of the features of the park is the famous Baines baobab – a unique clump of five baobab trees captured on canvas in 1862 by renowned painter Sir Thomas Baines.

Day 4: Maun

Travel time: 4 hours (approx)

Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 dinner

Activities:

• This morning we head back to our campsite located just out of Maun township and enjoy a relaxing afternoon before we have dinner in the camp.
• Optional activity: Take an hour-long light aircraft flight from Maun over the Okavango Delta. See waterways, channels, islands covered with palm trees, hippo trails in the shallow water, elephants and the occasional giraffe and buffalo.

Additional note: You'll be flying in a small aircraft (usually a 5-seater) and conditions can be bumpy. If you're prone to motion sickness, we recommend taking a preventative tablet.

Day 5: Okavango Delta

Travel time: 3 hours (approx); excursion times variable

Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, 1 dinner

Activities:

• This morning we’ll begin to see several species of wildlife as we approach the life-sustaining waters of the Okavango Delta.
• We’ll take a 'mokoro' (traditional dugout canoe) excursion through the Okavango Delta, perhaps the greatest inland waterway in the world.
• Your mokoro guide will choose a suitable place to set up camp and you can relax under a tree overlooking the river while lunch is prepared and camp is being set up.
• Spend the afternoon relaxing and admiring the beautiful views of the Delta.
• During the evening your guides will share stories around the fire while you relax and take in the unique sounds of the African bush.

What to bring: You just need a small daypack today, and the remaining luggage will be locked securely at the main campsite.

Day 6-8: Moremi Game Reserve - Khwai River

Travel time: 3 hours (approx); excursion times variable

Meals included: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners

Activities:

• Over the next few days it's time for some big game spotting. We'll spend most of the day on safari, with plenty of time to reflect and relax in the evenings.
• The Okavango is a unique ecosystem, situated in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the world – the Kalahari Basin. This wetland lies like an oasis in an otherwise inhospitable landscape. The vegetation is lush, but very fragile and the wildlife is some of the very best in Africa.
• Explore the Okavango Delta by powerboat, searching for the elusive sitatunga antelope. You'll also get the chance to see elephant, buffalo, antelope and even wild dogs (Cape hunting dogs).
• Our game drives usually take place from sunrise until late morning and again from mid to late afternoon until sunset. These are the cooler times of the day when the animals tend to be the most active. There are no guarantees but there’s a great chance of coming across giraffe, kudu, impala, baboon, hippo and crocodile in the waterways, tsessebe, warthog, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, spotted hyena, jackal, zebra, elephant, Cape buffalo, and hopefully lion, cheetah and even the elusive leopard!
• In the hotter hours of the day we return to camp for a hearty brunch and a few hours of relaxation. Feel free to snooze, chat, write in your diaries, look over your photos and generally enjoy the peace of the African bush.
• After our afternoon game drive, we’ll enjoy dinner around the campfire, listening to the unique and intriguing soundtrack of the African wilderness after dark.

Day 9-10: Savuti

Travel time: 5 hours (approx); excursion times variable

Meals included: 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners

Activities:

• Rise and shine for an early start today, with a five-hour drive to the southern reaches of Chobe National Park - the Savuti Marsh. Located in the southwestern corner of the park, the well-known Savuti includes the shallow basin of the Mababe Depression, which is now the dry bed of an ancient lake.
• For the first time in 29 years, the Savuti Channel is flowing again, and the wildlife is thriving. Water is the fountain of life here, and there’ll be great photographic opportunities around the waterholes.
• Our activities over the next two days will be based around the water points with plenty to see as we drive between them too. We’ll start the day with early morning game drives followed by lunch, a siesta and then out for an afternoon drive in search of animal life before we retire to our base for some well-earned R&R!

Day 11-12: Chobe National Park

Travel time: 5 hours (approx); game drive times variable

Meals included: 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners

Activities:

• Another early start today, with a long scenic drive to our next Chobe National Park destination - the Serondella River Valley where we’ll be spending two nights.
• Animal lovers are in for a treat with elephants, buffaloes, zebras, kudus, rare pukus, hippos, lions and leopards coming out to play. As Botswana's third largest reserve, Chobe is as famous for its wildlife as it is for spectacular sunsets and scenery.
• This afternoon we kick back and relax on a river cruise, ideal for spotting bird life such as saddle-billed storks, malachite kingfishers, fish eagles and beautiful bee-eaters as well as hippos, crocodiles and families of elephants drinking at the river’s edge.

Day 13: Victoria Falls

Travel time: 2 hours (approx) not including time spent at border

Meals included: 1 breakfast

Activities:

• This morning we leave Botswana and enter Zimbabwe at the Kazungula border post. From Kazungula we make the short journey to the town of Victoria Falls.
• Our African adventure ends upon arrival in Victoria Falls town or at the airport in the mid-morning.

Additional notes: Please do not book a flight out of Victoria Falls that leaves before 1.00pm as we might not be back in time. Additional accommodation and transfers can be pre-booked (at additional cost) if you would like to extend your stay in Victoria Falls.