13 Day Southern Magic (BS-USC)

Sawubona! Welcome to South Africa.

You can arrive at any time on day 1 as there are no activities planned until the important welcome meeting tonight at 6pm. Your leader will leave a note at reception telling you where this important meeting will take place. Please ask a member of reception for this information. Your leader will collect your local payment at this meeting. After the group meeting there is the option of joining the group for dinner.

Please note this is a combination trip. The composition of your group, your group leader and your overland vehicle may change in Livingstone.

If you arrive early head out to see the sights of Jo'burg, such as the chilling Apartheid Museum, landscapes-filled Art Gallery or fun-filled Gold Reef City, an amusement park.

Our accommodation is in large, bedded permanent tents at our lodge in Johanneburg.

Leaving Johannesburg behind this morning, we enter the magnificent Mpumalanga Region and travel the Panorama Route to take in many breathtaking sights. The beautiful Blyde River Canyon is the third largest in the world and from our vantage point it's possible to see the lowveld of the Greater Kruger region unfold before us.

We continue our travels to the world-renowned Kruger National Park (approx. 9-10 hours drive total today). Here we will hopefully see some of the Big Five: elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and buffaloes. Enjoy time spent game driving in the mornings and late afternoons. Tonight we will head out on a night drive for a chance to see nocturnal animals at their finest.

On these nights we stay in simple chalets.

Please note that the trip departing on the 29th of june 2009 will camp in a bordering game reserve rather than in the National Park.

Enjoy a final game drive while travelling out of the Kruger National Park. Our next destination is Polokwane (approx. 5-6 hours). This afternoon we drive into Polokwane Game Reserve where there is a good chance of spotting a variety of animals. We overnight here before continuing our journey north to Botswana.

Tonight we stay in simple chalets.

Today we have a long driving day ahead of us as we head to the northern parts of Botswana. We depart Polokwane early, crossing the border into Botswana at Martin's Drift. Continuing north via the towns of Francistown and Nata, we arrive at our camp north of Nata in the late afternoon.

Distance and time travelled: We travel 260km, crossing the Limpopo River to the Botswana border which will take us around 3.5-4.5 hours. After making the crossing we head to the Nata region approx. another 6-7 hours, (540kms) making today;s total travel time around 10-12 hours including lunch and a border crossing.

Tonight we use simple accommodation with shared facilities.

We leave the Nata region early and drive to Livingstone via Kasane where we cross into Zambia (approx. 6-7 hours total travel including the ferry).

Notes: We cross the Zambezi river by ferry today. In normal circumstances the crossing is quite smooth and very quick if both ferries are running. Sometimes only one ferry is operational and there might be some delays.

This afternoon we will visit the magnificent Victoria Falls. The falls are an enormous curtain of water, about a mile wide, falling 108 m into a narrow chasm below. In the wet season, the spray created can rise up an incredible 400 m and the falls are an impressive raging torrent. In the dry season, the view of the falls is unobstructed by spray and it's possible to see little islets in the river below.

This is a place of awesome beauty and there's time to try the many adrenalin-packed activities on offer, such as bungee jumping, white water rafting or gorge swinging. If you're looking for something more sedate, you can take a 'flight of angels' in a small plane or helicopter for a bird's eye view of the falls or drift lazily on the upper Zambezi by canoe.

Please note, as this is a combiniation trip, the composition of your group and your group leader may change on day 6. There will be a short group meeting at 1pm this afternoon to give you the opportunity to meet your new travel companions and to hear more about the second week of your adventure. Please note your leader will collect the second part of your local payment at this meeting.

Our accommodation in Livingstone is in simple cabins.

This morning we are up early, and we skirt around Livingstone and head towards the Botswanan border, naturally created by the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers. We cross into Botswana on the Kazangula Ferry and enter a land that is both rich in diversity and culture. It's only a short distance to Kasane where we'll stay tonight. We travel a total of about 2-3 hours today including the ferry ride.

This afternoon we head out on an afternoon fish-eagle cruise on the Chobe River, where you may spot elephants and crocodiles as well as the chance of hippo encounters. Watching the sun slide down over the tranquil riverside setting of tangled trees and grassy plains is another Chobe treat.

Our accommodation in Kasane near Chobe N.P. is in simple chalets.

This morning there is time for an optional dawn game drive (please refer to optional activities section of these trip notes for approximate prices) for those who would like to further explore this beautiful park before heading to Maun, gateway to one of the world's most renowned and complex ecosystems, the Okavango Delta. Ths distance travelled today is about 600kms, which takes us about 8-9 hours.

Springing from the Okavango River which begins life in Angola, this is a natural wetland system formed by the river dividing into an intricate floodplain of thousands of channels, spreading 1,600,000 ha over northern Botswana. This fan-like network of waterways forms an inland delta, the only one of its kind in the world.

We camp on a remote island in the heart of the wilderness and explore the maze of lagoons, lakes and streams, led by experienced and knowledgeable guides. Traverse the waterways by mokoro, a traditional dugout canoe navigated by friendly local 'polers', as well as on foot. With luck, we may spot some of the delta's unusual wildlife and prolific birdlife while on these safaris. At night, the sounds of the African bush are the only things you will hear - a true wilderness experience.

For those wanting more adventure there is an opportunity to fly over the delta in a small plane for a bird's eye view, a great way to appreciate the immensity of this watery world.

We return to Maun for night 11 where we stay in twin cabins.

Today we head to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary situated near the South African border, on the edge of the vast Kalahari Desert (approx. 7-8 hours, 520km). This reserve is the result of local communities' efforts in 1989 to convert the Serwe Pan, previously a hunting area, into a conservation area. Now, the area is prime habitat for white rhinos, zebras, wildebeest and giraffes, and game may be observed around its many natural waterholes. A visit to this locally-based wildlife project benefits local communities and you'll also be contributing to the protection of the highly endangered white rhinoceros.

We head out tonight on an exciting dusk drive where we hope to have a close encounter of the rhino kind!

Please note that the dusk game drive will be replaced with a dawn game drive if the tour arrive at the sanctuary late for any reason.

Our accommodation is in simple cabins.

On our last day we travel to Johannesburg, South Africa where our journey comes to an end. This sprawling city is one of remarkable contrasts: in the townships, mansions stand alongside tin shacks and there are as many green parks on the outskirts of the city as there are conglomerations of concrete in the city centre. This is a good place to spend a couple of days to get an insight into South Africa's history and it's a great base for exploring the rest of the country.

On arrival in Jo'Burg you can be dropped at the airport or at Amadwala Lodge. Please note that we return to Johannesburg between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. Please take this late arrival into account when booking flights.

Please note no accommodation is provided for this night. Additional accommodation at Amadwala Lodge is available - please enquire at time of booking.