ITINERARY Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Day 5: Day 6: Day 7: Day 8: Day 9: Day 10: Day 11: Day 12: Day 13: Day 14: THURSDAY Gauteng to Andover Nature reserve near Kruger National Park (SA) FRIDAY Andover Nature reserve into Kruger National Park (SA) SATURDAY Andover Nature reserve into Kruger National Park (SA) SUNDAY Andover Nature reserve to Gauteng via Blyde River Canyon (SA) MONDAY Gauteng to Kwa Nokeng Lodge near border (Botswana) TUESDAY Kwa Nokeng Lodge to Elephant Sands Camp near Nata (Botswana) WEDNESDAY Elephant Sands to Victoria Falls Rest Camp in Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) THURSDAY Full day at Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) FRIDAY Victoria Falls to Thebe River Camp at Chobe National Park (Botswana) SATURDAY Full day at Thebe River Camp (Botswana) SUNDAY Thebe River Camp to Baobab Planet near Gweta (Botswana) MONDAY Baobab Planet Camp to Camp Itumela at Palapye (Botswana) TUESDAY Camp Itumela, via Goo-Moremi Gorge, to Oppikoppi near Lepelale (SA) WEDNESDAY Oppikoppi Farm to Johannesburg & Pretoria (SA) DURATION: DEPART EVERY: DEPART FROM: END IN: 14 days - 13 nights Thursdays before the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month your backpacker hostel in Johannesburg or Pretoria (Gauteng) your backpacker hostel in Johannesburg or Pretoria (Gauteng) INCLUDED: All transport All camping accommodation & other equipment Qualified and registered guide Meals as specified in this detailed itinerary Entrance fee to Rain Forest at Victoria Falls Entrance & Conservation fees to Chobe National Park & Kruger National Park Chobe National Park Game Drive (open vehicle) Boat Trip on Chobe River Entrance & Conservation fees for Goo-Moremi Gorge Hike Sundowner and Night Drive at Oppikoppi Farm (open vehicle) Entrance fee to Maholoholo Animal Rehab Game drives in Kruger National Park (open vehicles) Sunset Game Drive in Andover Nature Reserve (open vehicle) Blyde River Canyon (Three Rondavels view point) EXCLUDED: All drinks (except coffee & tea with meals) Meals not specified in this detailed itinerary Visas, if required clients should determine if it would be required Optional bedded accommodation from Day 5 to Day 12 to be arranged (if available) on arrival by client ACCOMMODATION: Day 1-3: Tented Camping with bed, mattress, sleeping bag, pillow and blanket Day 4: In a pre-determined backpacker cost included in the price Day 5-12: Tented Camping with ground-mattress Sleeping bags available for hire at a set fee of R100 for the entire tour Option: Upgraded rooms (if available) to be booked on arrival at client s cost Day 13: Room accommodation And optional upgraded room at client s cost (if available) 2
DAY 1 You will be collected by one of our friendly guides, meeting and setting off with your fellow travellers towards our Campsite, Andover Nature reserve, which is nestled in the Greater Kruger National park area. Along the journey, regular refreshment stops will be made, heading towards Hoedspruit where we will do all our shopping. We then visit the Maholoholo Animal Rehabilitation Centre where you can interact with a variety of animal species. One of the highlights is allowing a vulture to land on your protected arm and feeding it meat from your hand! From there we continue to our campsite where you will have the opportunity to clean up, have a swim and relax while sitting around the campfire taking in the atmosphere and surroundings of the African Bush. DEPART AFTER ALL PiCKUPS: 07:00 ARRIVAL AT HOEDSPRUIT: 14:00 Driving, including stoppages: 7h00m ACCOMMODATION: Tented Camping with bed, mattress, sleeping bag, pillow and blanket Included meals: Dinner DAY 2 The day begins as the sun rises. After a quick cup of tea or coffee, we head towards the Kruger National Park, entering at Orpen Gate, where we pick up any last minute snacks/refreshments for the exploratory road ahead. The day will be spent leisurely driving, and eagerly seeking out whatever game comes our way. Guides will stop as often as desired for prime photo opportunities and to answer any questions. Our route will take us to our first picnic spot where your Guide will provide you with breakfast, while preparing you for the remainder of the day s game viewing, looking forward to get a glimpse of the infamous Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo). Lunch offers a welcome opportunity to stretch your legs and enjoy a little shopping at one of the rest camps. The rest of the afternoon is spent trying to find those animals that have eluded us during the morning drive. We then make our way back to camp. While your evening meal is being prepared, you can get ready to journey back into the bush, this time in search of the nocturnal animals on the evenings Sunset Game Drive within the beautiful, 7000 H.A. Andover Nature Reserve. It is here, where our long day ends. DEPART: 05:45 ARRIVAL BACK AT THE CAMP: 18:30 Driving: All day until late afternoon ACCOMMODATION: Tented Camping with bed, mattress, sleeping bag, pillow and blanket Included meals: Light Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner 3
DAY 3 Today is another early morning start. After a hot cup of coffee or tea, we head back to the Kruger National Park. This time we visit a different part of the park to see if we can find those animals we missed the previous day. We stop again at one of the picnic spots for a warm breakfast and again later for lunch. Slowly as the day goes by our game drive in the Kruger National Park comes to an end, with the sun setting behind the Drakensberg Mountains. Arriving late afternoon at camp, your Guide will prepare one of South Africa's favourite dishes, a Braai!!! The evening is spent sitting around the campfire sharing your experiences of the last few days. DEPART: 05:45 ARRIVAL BACK AT THE CAMP: 15:30 Driving: All day until late afternoon ACCOMMODATION: Tented Camping with bed, mattress, sleeping bag, pillow and blanket Included meals: Light Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Dinner DAY 4 A slightly later wakeup call, which means our journey is nearly at an end. After a quick, light breakfast we head towards our well-known touring spots "The Three Rondavels", part of the Blyde River Canyon, which is the third largest canyon in the world. We then travel back to Gauteng, stopping en- route for refreshments and depending on the traffic, should arrive early afternoon at a pre-determined backpacker s accommodation in Pretoria or Johannesburg. You will be picked up there the following morning to continue the next leg of your tour (Botswana and Victoria Falls). Accommodation for this night is included in the tour price up to a set amount. DEPART: 07:30 ARRIVAL: 16:00 Driving, including stoppages: 8h30m ACCOMMODATION: In a pre-determined backpackers Included meals: Light Breakfast 4
DAY 5 Pickups start from approx. 08:00am (an exact pick-up time will be confirmed the evening before) around Johannesburg and Pretoria, and we should leave this area around 10:00am. Your guide will stop at Lepelale for refreshments and/or take-aways (own cost), foreign exchange (normally cheapest at Francistown in Botswana - your guide will assist) and last minute shopping, while still on the South African side of the border. From there we head north, entering Botswana at Martins Drift Border Post. A mere one Km further we arrive at Kwa Nokeng Lodge for the night. Pool, bar and restaurant facilities are available to relax while dinner is prepared by your guide. DEPART: 10:00 ARRIVAL: 17:15 Driving: 5h15m Driving, including stoppages: 7h15m Included meals: Dinner DAY 6 After a light breakfast, we head further north, stopping at Francistown for foreign exchange and refreshments and/or take-aways (own cost), to Elephant Sands, which is a lovely lodge a short distance past Nata, where we stay the night. Here you can relax at the swimming pool and bar, overlooking a close-by waterhole, while watching animals 30 meters away, such as large herds of elephants and others (including lion and leopard), drinking and enjoying the waterhole. A lovely buffet-dinner is prepared in the restaurant at the venue. DEPART: 08:00 ARRIVAL: 16:15 Driving: 7h00m Driving, including stoppages: 8h15m Included meals: Light Breakfast, Dinner 5
DAY 7 To Optimise time spent in Victoria Falls, we depart early morning to Kazungula Border Post into Zimbabwe. Coffee, tea & rusks available. We drive even further north, across the border to the vibrant town of Victoria Falls in the Zambezi National Park, where we will be staying for the next two nights at Victoria Falls Rest Camp. This route takes us through the Sibuyu, Kazuma and Kasane Forest Reserves, where we always see herds of elephants and often a variety of antelope and sometimes lion, hyena and wild dog. The campsite is situated in the middle of town, within 10 minutes walking distance of just about everything, and has a pool, bar and restaurant facilities. Your guide will assist you with exchanging currencies and bookings for optional activities that you would like to do. Having enjoyed a very welcome lunch on arrival, we enter the Rain Forest during the afternoon, strolling (in normally very wet conditions due to spray from the waterfalls) along the pathways, enjoying sightseeing and the magnificent Victoria Waterfalls, which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is 1700 meters (1.1 mile) wide, making it the largest sheet of falling water in the world. The Zimbabwean side is the best side to view the waterfall from, as 1400 meters of the waterfall is on that side, as well as the main falls, and flowing throughout the year. The Zambian side consists of only 300 meters and has no water flow during the winter months. A delightful evening meal will be prepared and served, by your guide. DEPART: 06:30 ARRIVAL: 12:30 Driving: 4h15m Driving, including stoppages: 6h00m Included meals: Coffee, tea & rusks, Lunch, Dinner DAY 8 Victoria Falls and the surrounding areas offer a great variety of things to see and do. You will have the whole day to explore the town, meet the locals, visit the African markets with its wide variety of very affordable arts and crafts made from wood, stone and beads, or to relax by the pool at the campsite in the heat of the day. The Victoria Falls region is nicknamed the adventure capital of Africa for a reason. It is well known for the large variety of fantastic activities (optional excursions) such as: the best one day white water rafting in the world, the 111 meters bungi jump off the bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia, which is the second highest from a bridge in the world, elephant back and/or horse safaris, helicopter flights over the waterfall, canoe safaris, day trips to Hwange National Park, fishing safaris, game walks, superfast jet boat trips, ferry trips, abseiling, gorge swings, train trip on the bridge to halfway between Zimbabwe and Zambia and much more. This evening we enjoy dinner at one of the local restaurants of your own choice, at your own cost. This is normally the group s festive outing. DEPART: n/a ARRIVAL: n/a Driving: n/a Driving, including stoppages: n/a Included meals: Light Breakfast 6
DAY 9 After a full breakfast, we head back to the Kazungula Border Post into Botswana. While en-route, we often see herds of elephants, sable antelope, buffalo and many other different animal species. We arrive late morning in Kasane, where we will be staying for the next two nights at Thebe River Safaris campsite, on the shores of the Chobe River, close to Chobe National Park gate. Here we often see hippo and large groups of animals. You will have the opportunity to exchange currencies and buy provisions in Kasane and thereafter relax at the bar & swimming pool or at the river shore. Later this afternoon we do a game drive with an open 4x4 vehicle in the Chobe National Park. Well known for its large variety of wildlife, we are always very successful with spotting large numbers of wildlife, including lion and leopard. Dinner will be prepared and served by your guide this evening. DEPART: 10:00 ARRIVAL: 12:45 Driving: 1h45m Driving, including stoppages: 2h45m DAY 10 A full breakfast is served in the morning. You will then have most of the day to relax at the swimming pool or river shore with refreshments available at the bar and restaurant. Late afternoon we board a river boat for an unforgettable sunset cruise on the Chobe River, around the Sedudu Island, which lies adjacent to the border of Namibia. Experience unique up-close and personal game viewing and bird watching herds of Elephant, Buffalo, Lechwe and 350 different bird species are to be found on the island and on the river banks. A short stop on the river, watching a glorious sunset dipping behind the water-horizon, is an exhilarating highlight of this cruise. Dinner will be prepared and served by your guide on return to camp. DEPART: n/a ARRIVAL: n/a Driving: n/a Driving, including stoppages: n/a DAY 11 After a full breakfast, we first stop in the town of Kasane for shopping - stocking up our supplies and refreshments. We head south to Nata and from there west to Baobab Planet, a delightful campsite with a beautiful swimming pool, bar and restaurant, where you ll be able to relax. Dinner will be at the Baobab Planet restaurant and we will overnight there. DEPART: 08:00 ARRIVAL: 13:30 Driving: 4h15m Driving, including stoppages: 5h30m 7
DAY 12 Today we will be lucky to enjoy a full breakfast at Planet Baobab restaurant before heading east back to Nata, and from there further south. We stop in Francistown for lunch (at your own cost) and a last bit of shopping. We arrive late afternoon at Itumela Camp in Palapye where we will be setting up camp for the night. Here you can enjoy the pool, bar and later a local cuisine dinner, served by the venue. DEPART: 09:00 ARRIVAL: 15:45 Driving: 5h30m Driving, including stoppages: 6h45m DAY 13 After a full breakfast we head for the small local village Moremi for a short hiking trail in the Goo-Moremi Gorge, which lies within the Tswapong Hills of Botswana, where endangered Cape Vultures breed on the outcrops above the ancestral waterfalls. Equipped with a walking stick, we criss-cross a mountain stream several times amongst the shaded, bushy and rocky canyon, passing few waterfalls to end up at an approximate 12 meters high waterfall, in a beautiful majestic setting. The brave can spend a little extra time in climbing the rocky outcrop to the top from where they will have a magnificent view of the gorge. After spending about two hours here, we head south-east towards South Africa, entering via Martins Drift Border Post. We depart to Lepelale where we stop for lunch (at your own cost) and then on to Oppikoppi Farm, where we will overnight. Accommodation will be upgraded rooms with shared bathrooms. The farm has a very beautiful setting on top of a hill, with a pool, bar and boma to relax in. Before sunset we are collected from our campsite, taken to a spot on the hill to watch the sunset and enjoy a Sundowner. Later we enjoy a short game drive searching for nocturnal species. We then return to the Boma where dinner is served by the venue. DEPART: 08:00 ARRIVAL: 17:45 Driving: 5h00m Driving, including stoppages: 9h45m ACCOMMODATION: Room accommodation, with further optional upgrade at own cost (if available) 8
DAY 14 After a full breakfast we depart driving south. We will stop en-route for refreshments and take-aways at your own cost, and should arrive late afternoon at your drop-off destinations in Pretoria and Johannesburg. DEPART: 10:00 ARRIVAL: 14:45 Driving: 4h15m Driving, including stoppages: 4h45m ACCOMMODATION: In a pre-determined backpackers Included meals: Full Breakfast We also offer the same tour with a Monday Departure, going to Botswana and Vic Falls first and then Kruger National Park. Check out our second itinerary! Mon - Fri: 8am - 9pm Sat & Sun: 8am - 8pm Tel: +27 21 422 5202 Fax: 021 422 4533 Email: info@bazbus.com Website: www.bazbus.com Follow us on: 9