16-Day Zimbabwe Botswana Game Trail

>> You will depart from Johannesburg at 6:30 am (from Rivonia Road Lodge) and head northeast into the world-famous Kruger National Park. You'll visit the remote and seldom-visited northern part of the park from Letaba to Pafuri. You will enjoy morning and afternoon game drives in our safari vehicle and hope to spot lions, elephants, rhinos and other animals in this icon of wildlife conservation.

An essential part of your safari is participation. From putting up your tent to packing the truck in the morning—it’s all part of your adventure. Your tour leaders will do all the meal preparation but we do ask the clients to help (on rotation) with the washing up. Please note that although Sunway has all the correct paperwork, the Beitbridge border crossing into Zimbabwe can take a long time, which can make for a particularly long day.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping Inside Kruger NP (South Africa)

>> You will be entering Zimbabwe at the Beit Bridge border post and travelling to the town of Masvingo and the Great Zimbabwe Monuments. The well-preserved ruins are some of the oldest and largest stone structures in Southern Africa and were built during the 11th to 14th Centuries. You will explore on foot the mysteries of these ancient stone structures and the civilization that built them.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping

>> Moving on to Bulawayo, you will arrive late in the afternoon and set up your camp on the outskirts of the park, before enjoying a sundowner and an evening around the campfire.

The following morning, you will head to the Matobo National Park with a local guide to visit the core of the Matopos Hills, an area of granite koppies and wooded valleys. On our open-vehicle game drive, you will get a clear view of the historical site of Cecil John Rhodes' grave and discover the unusual rock formations characteristic of this area. As part of your visit, you will take a guided walk to track and hopefully find endangered white rhinos, as well as other wildlife, and view bushman rock paintings.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping Just outside Matobo NP (Zimbabwe)

>> Named after a local Nhanzwa chief, Hwange National Park is the largest Park in Zimbabwe occupying roughly 14,650 square kilometers, and is located in the north-west corner of the country. It is famed for its large elephant population. Your camp is in the game management area that borders the park. You will explore the park with our local guide, on a full-day game drive in an open 4WD game-viewing vehicle.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping Bordering Hwange NP (Zimbabwe) without fences

>> You will camp for two nights in the town of Victoria Falls. There, you will enjoy a spectacular walk through tropical vegetation to the very edge of the “Mosi oa Tunya” or “the smoke that thunders”—Victoria Falls. There are opportunities to white water raft on the mighty Zambezi River, bungee jump, or take a “flight of angels” (own expense).

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included) Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping

>> After entering Botswana, your camp is located in the town of Kasane on the banks of the Chobe River. The river flows lazily along the northern boundary of the Chobe National Park attracting some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa. The highlight of any trip to Chobe is the afternoon game viewing “sundowner” cruise where you can see a large number of elephants and other wildlife as they quench their thirst at the end of the day.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping Just outside Chobe NP (Botswana)

>> This morning there is time for an optional (own expense) game drive in the Chobe National Park. Heading south through the Kasane Forest Reserve you will make your way to Gweta for an overnight stop. Here, you will sleep with your tents nestled at the base of ancient baobab trees.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included) Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping

>> After an early start, you will depart for Maun where you will then transfer into the delta by an open 4WD game-viewing vehicle. Our local guides will take you deep into the heart of the Okavango Delta on a mokoro (dug-out canoe). Being gently pulled through the network of channels is an experience not to be missed. The delta which forms as rainwater from the Angolan highlands flows out over the Kalahari Desert sands, forming a delicate, green oasis for birds and wildlife. You will camp wild on remote islands in this amazingly dynamic environment and enjoy bush walks, bird watching and swimming in the clear waters. You will be camping with the local guides and learn more about their lifestyle and culture. You will return to Maun in the late afternoon of day 14 and have time for an optional (own expense) game flight over the Okavango, which will reveal a different aspect of the delta.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping Inside Okavango Delta (Botswana)

>> Heading south from Maun, you will drive through the wide open spaces of the Kalahari Desert on your way to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. This is a community-based wildlife project established in 1992 to assist in saving the extinct rhinos, restore an area formerly teeming with wildlife to its previous natural state and provide economic benefits to the local Batswana community through tourism and the sustainable use of natural resources. You can expect to spot some of the elusive rhinos on an afternoon game drive.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: All meals included Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: Budget camping

>> Crossing back into South Africa, you will make your way to Johannesburg where the tour ends in the late afternoon.

• Time: 8-10Hrs
• Meals: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included) Drinks not included

•  Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)