Tip Top Bush & Beach: Botswana & Mozambique Brief Itinerary Day 1 Day 2 Day 4 Day 7 Day 9 Day 12 Day 13 Day 17 Fly Livingstone, Zambia Stanley Safari Lodge, 2 nights, fully-inclusive Fly Kwando, Kwando Lebala, 3 nights, fully-inclusive Fly Okavango Delta, Xigera Camp, 2 nights, fully-inclusive Chitabe Camp, 3 nights, fully-inclusive Fly Johannesburg, The Peech Hotel, 1 night, B&B Fly Vilanculos, Benguerra Island, 4 nights, fully-inclusive Fly home
Day 1 Today you will take the international flight to Livingstone, Zambia. Day 2 On arrival in Livingstone you will be met and transferred to stay at Stanley Safari Lodge for the next 2 nights. Livingstone is not only home to one of the incredible natural wonders of the world, the Victoria Falls, but also to a whole range of exciting adrenalin-pumping activities from bungee jumping to white water rafting and micro-lighting across the Falls. The famous Flight of the Angels in a small plane is a firm favourite, and for romantics you can have a champagne breakfast on Livingstone Island which is literally in the middle of the Falls. It is also a fun place to explore on foot, horseback or on game drives through the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. Stanley Safari Lodge has a real feel of the Africa of the 1920s, with an open-fronted main house, colonial-style dining and decadent bedrooms. The lodge is surrounded by open bush and has wonderful views of the spray over the falls in the distance and of the huge Zambezi River, over which the sun sets dramatically in the evenings. Most of the 10 cottages and suites are open-sided so you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the African bush. There are four suites with their own private plunge pools as well as a deck or terrace, a sitting area, a bedroom and a bathroom with bath and separate shower. The six cottages are built from local natural materials, and have a deck or terrace and an en-suite bathroom with bath and shower. You will spend 2 nights at the Stanley Safari Lodge on a full-inclusive basis. Day 4 This morning you will be transferred across the border to Botswana to Kasane where you will catch a small seat in charter plane to the Kwando Reserve to stay at Kwando Lebala Camp for the next 3 nights. Kwando is a private concession area situated in Northern Botswana in the heart of big game country. The wetlands and flood plains around Lebala offer a wonderful variety of wildlife including elephant, hippo, lechwe, zebra, giraffe and wildebeest, and the predators as well as the wild dog, lion, cheetah and hyena which pursue them. Lebala Camp is one of only two camps in this part of the concession offering a safari experience off the beaten track.
The camp is a small tented camp looking onto the Linyanti wetlands and across wide-open grasslands dotted with Illala palms. There are nine huge luxury tents built on raised teak decks, including one family unit. Each tent is secluded among the trees and has its own sun deck, and they all have en-suite bathrooms with Victorian claw foot baths, open air showers and flush loos. You will spend 3 nights at Kwando Lebala Camp on a fully-inclusive basis. Day 7 Today you will fly to the Okavango Delta to stay at Xigera Camp for the next 2 nights. The Okavango Delta is one of the world's unique natural wonders: 15,000 square kilometres of lush wetland sourced by Southern Africa's third largest river, the Okavango, and the largest inland delta in the world. Famous for its mokoro (dug-out canoe) safaris and amazing birdlife, it has a flourishing eco-system and is one of Africa's best safari destinations. There are 'wet' and 'dry' areas in the delta, offering slightly different experiences. Xigera Camp is set on an island overlooking permanent water in a private area within the Moremi Game Reserve. This is primarily a water camp with the emphasis on mekoro and boating trips, though you can also go on game drives and walks year-round. Surrounded by lush, tropical vegetation, the camp has 10 tented chalets spread around the edge of the island with lovely views and all with ensuite bathrooms with shower and flush loo as well as an outdoor shower. They are extremely comfortable, and lovely and romantic. The tents are linked by raised walkways to the main sitting area and bar.
You will spend 2 nights at Xigera Camp on a fully-inclusive basis. Day 9 Today you will be transferred to stay at Chitabe Camp for the next 3 nights. Chitabe is set in a 28,000-hectare private conservancy next to the Moremi game reserve. The area is made up of a superb variety of habitats, which include waterways and marshlands, dry acacia and mopane woodland, riverine areas, open grasslands and seasonally flooded plains. The lodge is set on decks with raised walkways a joining all the buildings. There are 8 tents all with views across the grasslands, extremely comfortable and well appointed, there is an in- door bathroom or you can shower outside under the stars. The staff here are excellent, extremely friendly and welcoming, with excellent food and professional guiding. It is a real gem of a camp with a focus on game drives and as it is outside the park or you can go walking and on night drives. You will spend 3 nights at Chitabe Camp on a fully-inclusive basis. Day 12 This morning you will fly to Maun and connect with your flight to Johannesburg to stay at the Peech Hotel for the night. The Peech Hotel is a boutique hotel in one of Johannesburg's prestigious northern suburbs, the residential suburb of Sandton. It has a very luxurious feel and is surrounded by beautiful gardens. The hotel has just 16 rooms spread over 4 annexes off the main house within the gardens. Each room is Air-Conditioned and has flat screen TVs, WiFi and en-suites with 'Raindance' showers and separate baths.
You will spend 1 night at The Peech Hotel on a B&B basis. Day 13 Today you will fly to Vilanculos in Mozambique where you will be transferred by helicopter to the idyllic Benguerra Island. The Bazaruto Archipelago is in southern Mozambique and has idyllic white beaches and warm turquoise seas. It is made up of five sparsely inhabited islands ideal for total relaxation. Once the playground of the Queen of Sheba and the trading route of old Arabia, most of the area is now part of a national marine park and it is well known for its pristine reefs and the diversity of marine life offering world-class diving and fishing. Benguerra Lodge is an exclusive lodge on the protected north-west shore of Benguerra Island. The island is only 11 kilometres long and has a mix of forest, savannah and wetlands as well as pristine beaches which sustain a diverse population of fauna and flora. Set in mature gardens on its own beautiful palm-fringed private sandy bay, Benguerra Lodge is a beautiful lodge away from the world yet with plenty of activities on offer. There are three main types of accommodation, which merge naturally into the surrounding forest. There are 10 luxurious stone-andthatch casitas, spacious and open-plan, which overlook the beach with plunge pools and indoor and outdoor bathrooms. There are two slightly smaller cabanas and each with its own private deck and dip pool (but lacking the view from your bed and a bathtub). All the rooms are only a moment s walk from the gorgeous white half-moon beach of Benguerra Bay, and are variously decorated with comfortable loungers around the lodge s rim flow swimming pool overlooking the sea. You will spend 4 nights at Benguerra Island on a fully-inclusive basis. Day 17 Today you will be transferred by helicopter to Vilanculos where you will check in for the flight back to Johannesburg and then home.