11 days
Day 1: One of us will be picking you up at Johannesburg International for your check out flight and your first night's stay in South Africa at Dakota Lodge. During dinner this evening we will have plenty of time to discuss the routing of your upcoming tour and anything worth knowing for your Botswana adventure.
Day 2: You will be leaving the bubbling world of Johannesburg civilization towards the North. Settlements and roads become less and less as navigation landmarks turn into airfields, small roads or potentially dry river beds. After about 2 hours flight your first landing will be at the international airport of Polokwane to fuel up and go through the border control, good-bye South Africa, let’s fly to Botswana.
It is only a short hop of approximately 1 hour to fly over the Limpopo River, the natural boundary between South Africa and Botswana and arrive at your destination, the Northern Tuli Game Reserve. You will be staying in one of the lodges and can spot the first elephants, giraffes and antelopes already on the drive to your accommodation.
Day 3: Enjoy the tranquility of your lodge and discover the wild African bush during a morning gamedrive and the afternoon sunset tour.
Day 4: You are heading North West, stopping at Francistown to stretch your legs and fill up with fuel, continuing flying over Chobe National Park for today’s destination Kasane International. Not only do Chobe River coming all the way from Angola and Zambezi River meet here to continue their flows into Victoria Falls, you are now also at the triangle between Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
You will be staying in one of the numerous lodges along the river. Discover your surroundings already in the afternoon with a sunset cruise in this magnificent area, watching elephants, buffaloes and last not least crocodiles and hippo’s. Wide banks and lush grassland provide food and hiding grounds for antelopes and an extraordinary bird life.
Day 5: Being close to the Zimbabwean border also offers the possibility for a day trip to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe single entry visa will be obtained at the border and must be paid in cash USD): take a shower in “The Mist that Thunders” as 1.088 m³/s of water cascading down more than 100 m over a length of nearly 1,7km. Enjoy some souvenir shopping in town and relax in the impressive surrounding of Victoria Fall Hotel, bringing back the glamour and atmosphere of colonial times in Africa. If you fancy staying put, you can go for a morning game drive and another evening cruise.
Day 6: Against the flow of Chobe River you will now be heading West into the biggest inland river delta of the world, the Okavango. Depending on your time of travelling, you might fly over lush green islands and blue rivers dotted with water lilies, or you will find vast areas of dry grounds with small rivulets of water in between but heard of donkeys walking around to find some grass to feed on. Both periods have their own attraction as during dry season hippos ad crocodiles are much easier to spot than in dense vegetation of African summer. Your stay in this area will include boat trips, fishing and birdwatching.
Day 7: Enjoy a day at the lodge with some game viewing in the morning and the afternoon.
Day 8: From Okavango delta you will slowly start heading back South for your first stop at Maun for refueling. After the peace and quiet in the Okavango the buzz but also efficiency and organization of this field from which most guests head into the delta is truly stunning, but you will certainly be happy to take off once more towards the Kalahari. You will overfly long stretches of semi dessert lands – once again depending on your travelling times looking brown and dry or covered in dense low bush.
Day 9: Enjoy the unique Kalahari landscape during a couple of gamedrives, capturing your memories of this trip once more while relaxing in your lodge and get ready for the last leg sitting around the bonfire watching the stars on Botswana’s night sky.
Day 10: A long flying day lies ahead with customs and refueling at Gaborone and then immigration at Pilanesberg. We await you at one of our partner lodges, curious to hear all your stories during our braai dinner.
Day 11: After your morning gamedrive you are taking off once more. Your last leg brings you over the city of Johannesburg - the perfect sightseeing opportunity before heading back to Europe in the evening.
We generally recommend to plan this trip for 11 days which will give you 2 nights at each location to enjoy the surroundings and special features. However, 1 night stays or prolongation in specific areas are also possible.
Currently no visa is required to travel to Botswana. Further information and travelling advies can be found here.
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