Untouched Beauty: Ultimate 19-Day Safari to South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe

After your international flight arrives at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, and you will catch a connecting domestic flight to Nelspruit, a gateway to the gorgeous grasslands of the Greater Kruger National Park. Your chaperone will drive you across South Africa’s spectacular landscapes via the winding roads leading towards Sabi Sands Game Reserve. Here, you will check into a charming bush lodged tucked away beneath the shady acacias and enjoy your first African safari drive this afternoon to introduce you to the continent’s epic wilderness.

You will wake up early in the morning, before dawn, to the melodies of nocturnal nature enveloping your lodge. Your game ranger for the day will be waiting for you in a 4x4 vehicle tough enough to handle the most difficult unspoiled terrain. From camp, you will head across tarred roads weaving through Sabi Sands to dirt paths veering off the beaten path. During your safari, you will spot signs of last night’s activities and may find a few of the Big Five, including lions and leopards, still hunting under the night sky.

From sunup to sundown, you will relish extensive game viewing safaris across the lush landscapes veiling Sabi Sands. Each journey will showcase the beauty of the indigenous wildlife, from the biggest mammals, like elephants plodding across open plains, to the smallest creatures, like rhino beetles scuttling across the sandy trails. Before and after your guided drives, you may cool off in your private pool, enjoy a vitalizing massage on a spa bed in the middle of the wild, or gaze upon the stars in one of the country’s premier stargazing destinations.

You will adore your final morning in South Africa before you transfer to Nelspruit Airport to catch your flight to Livingstone. From here, you will head to a stunning lodge positioned as close as they come to the Natural World Wonder of Victoria Falls. With sunset approaching, you will travel to the banks of the Zambezi River and board a royal cruise boat setting sail across the glassy waterway. Seated comfortably at dining tables or lounging around the bar, you will revel in the serenity of this slow cruise and admire the captivating sunset shining across upper Zambezi’s breathtaking scenery.

Victoria Falls is the world’s largest waterfall, an enormous sheet of falling water that plummets over a massive rocky precipice into the Zambezi Gorge. Aptly nicknamed ‘The Smoke that Thunders,’ its pounding streams spray the gorge with water and create a cloudy mist. You will swoon over the spellbinding scenes of the falls as rainbows reach across its chasm and the water drenches your raincoat. You may also witness the falls from the sky during a private helicopter tour, where you will capture once-in-a-lifetime photography of this natural world wonder. Afterward, you will transfer to Mana Pools National Park.

Remote, rugged, and ravishing, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mana Pools is an immaculate Zimbabwe safari destination boasting sprawling untouched wilderness straddling the Zambian border. Mana Pools is the crown jewel of the Zambezi Valley, and you will discover the revered region from a kitted-out luxury tent stationed in the thick of the bushveld. With an entire day to explore Mana Pools, you will join your knowledgeable ranger early for a full-day game-viewing journey across the park, guaranteed to show off the reserve’s riches of wildlife.

Your camp is stationed a stone’s throw away from the Zambezi River, offering easy access to the glistening waters of the world-famous waterway. Today, you will be thrilled to immerse yourself in riverside experiences sharing the beauty of the Zambezi. As you paddle across the river in canoes, you may catch glimpses of hippo pods circling the shallow waters in the distance or kudu wandering the plains unrolling from the river banks. You may hop off at islands growing from the river floor and cast your fishing rods into the water for some of Zimbabwe’s best catch and release fishing.

Set in the heart of Hwange National Park, dubbed the Land of Giants for its mammoth collection of elephant herds, your gorgeous campsite for the following few nights is a dreamy Zimbabwean escape. Your tent lies on the edge of the park’s ancient seasonal floodplain. It offers views of the sweeping savannas of the iconic Kennedy Vlei line, an enchanting backdrop you will cherish while you enjoy your accommodation’s delightful amenities, including a large pool overlooking a waterhole where the elephants come to escape the hot African sun.

Hwange’s boundless natural beauty is yours to explore on guided game drives across the bushveld. These game viewing opportunities will satisfy your safari cravings through lion, giraffe, elephant, and rhino sightings, to name a few. You will return to camp in the afternoon for sundowners under the fiery orange sky before you partake in a nighttime tour of the nocturnal wilderness. Your ranger will scan the bush with a powerful spotlight, revealing creatures and predators who search for sleeping prey or tuck into fresh fruits while the rest of the wilderness is in slumber.

Hwange National Parks rich landscapes are connected by flowing rivers responsible for nourishing the lush environments carpeting the reserve. Along these rivers, wildlife flourishes and birdlife can be seen in abundance. Today, you will hop in a traditional dugout canoe, known as a mokoro, and make your way across the channels. You will come closer to the wildlife than ever before and capture stunning images of the sightings you find while the peaceful echoes of cascading streams soundtrack your riverside adventure.

Spanning an enormous 10,960 square kilometers, Chobe National Park is Botswana’s third largest conservation area. The park is dissected into several significant regions and concessions, and you will bask in its brilliant wilderness from a dreamy safari lodge within the Chobe Forest Reserve. Your river-facing suite offers luxury amenities, including a secluded outdoor shower and private plunge pool, for you to relax and unwind in from the minute you arrive. As the sun dips beyond the horizon, you may toast your arrival in Botswana and tuck into an exquisite dinner spread.

A resident guide will greet you after breakfast and invite you to enjoy a great Chobe safari escape. You will whizz across rugged pathways to viewpoints overlooking the Caprivi floodplains, a luxuriant slice of paradise where animals come to graze the overgrown grassland and swim in the refreshing river backwaters. You will continue to sparse pastures where animals of all sorts, including zebra, buffalo, warthog, and rhino, come together to protect themselves from lurking predators. If you are lucky, you may watch a lion hunt in action this afternoon or catch them munching on the fruits of their labor.

You will wave goodbye to your accommodation in Chobe this morning and make your way to a divine tented campsite stationed in the Khwai Concession of the Okavango Delta. The delta is a proclaimed region regarded as one of the most beautiful wildlife sanctuaries in the world, and you will immediately notice why as you tour from camp along its idyllic network of rivers and floodplains. As you survey the scenery, you will be blown away by the vastness of the grassy pastures intersected by rivers that weave remarkable azure patterns into the landscape.

A quarter of the massive Okavango Delta stretches across Moremi Game Reserve, providing you with abundant safari experiences in remarkable environments. Joining knowledgeable rangers with a knack for tracking Okavango’s wildlife, you will traverse rough terrain and cruise across sprawling plains to points where you will spot the fascinating local creatures. From barking hyenas to tall-necked giraffes, the sounds and sights will guide you across the park during these enrapturing day and night safaris in Botswana’s famous natural sanctuary.

There is no better way to explore the Okavango Delta than by the very rivers for which it is famous. Today, you will head to the banks of the delta’s waterways and board a boat setting sail across their glittering surfaces. Onboard, you will marvel at the riverside spectacles and capture delightful wildlife photography, including images of hippos splashing about in the water and elephants trudging along the shallow banks. You will treasure every moment spent discovering the boundless beauty spreading across the Okavango Delta.

You will depart the Okavango Delta this morning and venture to the final destination of your ultimate African safari adventure, the Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari is a desolate, sparse, and remote region boasting seclusion like no other at a stunning hideaway camp you will have the pleasure of staying at for the following few nights. The one-of-a-kind luxury tent is pinned in the pristine rolling landscape stretching as far as the eye can see, and you will relish moments of solitude far away from civilization in this wilderness paradise.

Your camp offers unbounded access to the untouched Kalahari Desert, with safari experiences boasting extraordinary encounters with the indigenous wildlife. You may drive across the open savannas to viewpoints sharing panoramas of the far-reaching plains and find refuge at hideaway game viewing spots where unassuming animals live uninterrupted. Every moment spent exploring the Kalahari is one few are fortunate to experience, travels you will treasure for being off the beaten path. You will return to camp this evening for an exceptionally well-prepared private dinner surrounded by the wilderness.

On your final full day in the Kalahari Desert, you may join your knowledgeable guide and ranger for a few more spectacular safari experiences. Typical images of meerkats swinging their heads back and forth on the vast desert sands and cheetahs pacing across the enormous wastelands will await your discovery during these thrilling sandy safari excursions. The Kalahari boasts impeccable stargazing as no blaring lights affect the African night sky. With the help of telescopes, you will see far into the cosmos this evening to bring your enthralling vacation to a close.

You will be treated to sunrise scenes over the stark Kalahari bushveld this morning without another soul in sight. Only the views of animals grazing the grassland and the sounds of birds chirping around your tent will be staged at your gorgeous glamping suite. A private chef will prepare breakfast while you wake up, and you will tuck into an assortment of delectable dishes before packing your bags. Afterward, you will join your private transfer and travel to the airport, where you will begin your journey back home.