20 Day Cape Town to Victoria Falls Safari (Premier)

Day 1 has a pre-departure meeting at 18h00 at the hotel in Cape Town. Situated against the iconic Table Mountain which was chosen as one of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the World.

Departing on Day 2 from the Breakwater Lodge at around 08h00 we take a winding route of the gleaming peninsula. Your tour of the peninsula takes you along the Atlantic coastline via Hout Bay and Chapman’s Peak to the Table Mountain National Park (Cape Point) – a National World Heritage Site. Here, you will have the chance to explore Cape Point before we return along the Indian Ocean coastline to the Waterfront Hotel. Then you can look forward to a morning or afternoon cable car ride up Table Mountain (weather dependent).

Dinner this evening will be at your own expense at one of the wonderful V&A Waterfront restaurants.

Leaving Cape Town, we make our way through the Namaqualand region where we will take in the beautiful surrounds of Van Ryns Pass. If you travel during the months of August to October you will witness an explosion of colour from the wildflowers of this region. We overnight at the foot of the Van Ryns Pass.
There is an optional activity of wine tasting at the Guesthouse (own expense).

Departing from the Little Karoo we make our way north into the Augrabies National Park passing through an area that is abundant with wine farms. The mighty Orange River flows 56 metres to the deep gorge below and the locals call it ‘Aukoerebis’ or ‘place of great noise’. The afternoon is spent at your leisure enjoying these great falls.

We make our way north into the Kalahari and the incredible Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Spreading over 3.6 million hectares, this is one of the biggest reserves in Africa. Because of the minimal plant life in the region, spectacular predator sightings are frequent here, including that of the renowned black mane lion. We embark on a game drive to our lodge.

Our nights are spent admiring the star-studded African sky by means of a telescope available on the viewing deck of our lodge.

Departing the Kalahari area we make our way west, across the border into Namibia to our beautifully located lodge. In the afternoon or early next morning we visit the glorious Fish River Canyon.

The Fish River is the longest interior river in Namibia and runs sporadically, typically flooding in the late summer.

Our travels carry us northward through changing surroundings to our lodging situated on the Namib Desert edge, thought by plenty of geologists to be one of the oldest deserts in the world. The next morning is an early start that takes us 55 kilometres through the dune belt whilst the sun rises above us. The spectacular transforming colours make for incredible photographic opportunities. We embark on a 5 kilometre trek to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. The name Sossusvlei is of mixed origins and basically means ‘dead end marsh’. Sossusvlei gained this name due to the fact that it is a drainage basin without outflows for the ephemeral Tsauchab River. The pan holds rainwater to create a lake and because of the mass amounts of clay in the ground, water is retained for ages at a time.

In the afternoon we embark on a brief trek through the Sesriem Canyon, which is a natural canyon formed by the Tsauchab River in the local sedimentary rock, around a kilometre long and up to 30 metres in depth. A section of the canyon always holds water, which various animals make use of.

Today we journey to Walvis Bay to see the incredible gathering of flamingos. The wetlands of Walvis Bay include lagoons, mudflats, shoreline and salt works, which make up the single most significant coastal wetland in southern Africa for travelling birds. The wetland acts as a dry-season haven for migrating animals such as the Greater and Lesser flamingos, Plover, Grebe and African Black Oystercatcher.

We then reach Swakopmund in the afternoon, a charming coastal town with dominant German influence and with majority of its population German-speaking. Established in 1892 as the primary harbour for German South-West Africa, Swakopmund is German for ‘mout of the swakop’ as it is located at the Swakop River mouth. Our afternoon, as well as the next day, is spent exploring this beautiful town or participating in the myriad of Optional Activities available here, such as dolphin cruises or scenic flights over the enormous Namib Desert.

We depart from the coast today and make our way inland, through the Damaraland area. The name ‘Damaraland’ was given to the north-central portion of Namibia and inhabited by the Damara people, an ethnic group that forms 8.5% of the population in Namibia. The area is an enormous and jagged landscape with mountain ranges interrupted by broad gravel plains which transform into sandy, vegetated riverbeds and hot, arid valleys.

Our lodge is located on a mountain summit that gives incredible vistas of the encircling regions. Spend your afternoon basking in the glory of our surroundings, or just unwind next to the pool.

We travel to Etosha National Park today, where we take the vehicle on our first game drive. Thousands of wild species, including giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, lions, elephants, springboks, zebras, kudus, giraffes, blue wildebeest, and zebras, call this park home, making it one of Africa’s most significant reserves and game sanctuaries. Day 13: From our lodge, which is situated just outside the park entry, we take part in a full day of wildlife drives in open 4×4 vehicles.

Departing from Etosha we make our way into the Caprivi where we overnight amongst the trees and foliage of this region. The Caprivi Strip is a thin protrusion of Namibia in the east that is around 450 kilometres long, between Botswana in the south, Angola and Zambia in the north, and the Okavango area to the west.

In the afternoon you can partake in an optional boat cruise along the sparkling Okavango River. It is the fourth longest river network in southern Africa, flowing south-eastward for about 1,600 kilometres. It starts in Angola, where it is called the Cubango River. Further south it creates part of the border that divides Angola and Namibia, and then runs into Botswana, emptying into the Moremi Game Reserve.

We continue to the Caprivi and cross over into Botswana in our safari vehicle to the edge of the Okavango Delta. On Day 17, we take a 30 minute boat ride into the delta. During our time here, we glide along the waters on mokoros and take a few game walks.

Today we cross over the Caprivi Stripin Namibia and cross back into Botswana via Chobe National Park and spend the night on the banks of the river. Spend time admiring the stunning landscape and wildlife of this region. Day 18 we relax on a morning game drive & a sunset game-viewing cruise on the Chobe River.

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, more famously known as Victoria Falls, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Park spreads over 66 kilometres from the Songwe Gorge beneath the Falls in a northwest arc along approximately 20 kilometres of the banks of the Zambian River. We will cross the Zimbabwean border to the Falls.

There are plenty of optional activities available including elephant-back safaris, picturesque microlight/helicopter flights, white water rafting or bungee jumping from a spectacular height of 111 metres. A visit to the Falls will be at your own expense, as well as dinner this evening.

The tour winds to an end after breakfast.