This exclusive 37 day itinerary visits no less than seven countries – Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa - in search of southern Africa’s iconic wildlife.
Starting in the Masai Mara National Reserve, enjoy a series of game drives in Kenya’s premier wildlife sanctuary to see its famed prides of lion, before heading to Rwanda for an unforgettable encounter with Africa’s gentle giants, the mountain gorillas. Here you have an option to spend a second day gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, or trek to see golden monkey in the dense equatorial forest. Continuing south to Malawi, visit wildlife-rich Liwonde National Park for a range of game activities in the park and on the picturesque Shire River.
Next stop is Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park, renowned for its classic walking safaris and abundance of leopard. Five nights in a luxury tented camp gives plenty of wildlife opportunities before you head south to Livingstone to marvel at the spectacular Victoria Falls. From here, it is only a short distance into Botswana to visit Chobe National Park, Savuti Linyanti and the Okavango Delta for their abundance of birds and mammals.
You then fly to Damaraland in Namibia, a remote mountainous area known for its interesting birdlife and cultural heritage, before taking in Etosha National Park to encounter its large herds of plains game. Fly via Windhoek, to the final stop - Cape Town - to enjoy a relaxing grand finale to your African adventure.
Suggested Itinerary
Day1: Fly to Nairobi, Kenya
Fly from London to Nairobi on a daytime flight. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your accommodation in the outskirts of Nairobi.
Accommodation: Hotel in Nairobi, 1-night
Days2-4: Masai Mara
After breakfast, transfer to Wilson Airport in the south of Nairobi to board a scheduled flight to Ol Seki Airstrip. On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your camp. A full day is spent in the Masai Mara National Reserve to enjoy the abundant wildlife, with the second full day either in the Ol Kinyei Conservancy or in the Masai Mara Reserve.
After breakfast, fly from Ol Seki airstrip back to Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
Accommodation: Hotel in Nairobi, 1-night
Day6: Fly to Kigali, Rwanda
This morning, transfer to Nairobi’s International Airport for a flight to Kigali. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your lodge in the Parc Nacional des Volcans.
You have the opportunity to trek the volcanoes to the forest above in search of gorillas. Trekking through forest, and tackling steep climbs, should reward you with fantastic views of the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. You will have the opportunity to observe these magnificent creatures within a few metres, before making your way back to the lodge to relax for the afternoon.
On your second day, there is an optional opportunity to visit the mountain gorillas again, a visit to see Dian Fossey’s grave, or a forest walk in search of golden monkeys. All activities in the park take place in the morning, but please note that pre-booking is essential.
Day9: Fly to Nairobi & overnight
This morning, transfer to Kigali airport for a flight back to Nairobi. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your accommodation, to relax before the next chapter of your safari.
Days10-12: Fly to Lilongwe, Malawi, safaris in Liwonde National Park
After breakfast you will be transferred back to Nairobi’s International Airport for a morning flight to Lilongwe and transfer to Liwonde National Park – Malawi’s premier wildlife destination.
During your stay, take day and night game drives offering the best chance of spotting leopard, lion, elephant and sable. However, the highlight here are the superb river cruises in specially-constructed boats which take you out in the heat of the day, when the animals emerge to drink, and allow you to get close to hippos, crocodiles and the wonderful birdlife.
Days13-17: Fly to South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
This morning, you will be driven back to Lilongwe airport for a flight to Mfuwe in South Luangwa National Park, home to the world’s highest naturally occurring population of leopard. You will be met on arrival and transferred to Flatdogs Camp, situated on the banks of the Luangwa River.
During your five night stay, enjoy a programme of walking safaris, and day and night game drives in open vehicles to see a diversity of wildlife including elephant, Cape buffalo, hippo, lion, Nile crocodile, warthog, puku, impala, spotted hyena, greater kudu and eland. Unique to the Luangwa are the Thornicroft's giraffe, Cookson's wildebeest and Crawshay's zebra, which are found nowhere else.
Days18-19: Fly to Livingstone, visit Victoria Falls
After breakfast, transfer back to Mfuwe airstrip for your flight to Livingstone (via Lusaka), before transferring to Waterberry Lodge on the Zambian bank of the Zambezi River. During your two night stay, visit the spectacular Victoria Falls, and choose from a variety of activities including sunset, daytime or dawn cruises, fishing, island picnics, guided birding, guided village walks, or a guided tour of the town and local markets.
Days20-21: Transfer to Chobe National Park, Botswana
After breakfast, transfer to Kasane Airport, where you will be met by another transfer taking you to into Chobe National Park. During your stay in Chobe, you can enjoy the largest concentrations of game found on the African continent. On a combination of game drives, boat cruises and night drives, look for huge herds of elephant and buffalo and a colourful collection of birdlife.
This morning, transfer back to Kasane Airport for a light aircraft flight to Savuti Linyanti. Savuti is famous for its predators, particularly its resident lion and spotted hyena populations while Linyanti - a 900 square kilometre strip of swampy river frontage - is a superb game area known for its diverse and abundant birdlife, as well as high concentrations of elephant, buffalo and zebra along the river.
Today, fly to the Okavango Delta by light aircraft and transfer to tented accommodation in the Khwai area. Activities include game drives in Moremi Game Reserve, where elephant, leopard and lion are regular sightings, as well as excursions by mokoro in the maze of waterways forming part of the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta.
Early this morning, fly by light aircraft to Maun Airport in time for your onward flight to Windhoek. On arrival, transfer to a small guest house in a quiet, yet central area of the city.
After breakfast, transfer to Windhoek airport for an early morning flight to Damaraland. During your two night stay, take a trip to the San bushman engravings at Twyfelfontein, Namibia's first World Heritage Site, or visit the Damara Living Museum where you can learn about the traditional culture of the Damara people - this combination of Africa past and present creates a uniquely memorable experience.
Guided activities include safaris into the Huab riverbed and hikes across the spectacular upland scenery. Wildlife is found in the riverbed and along the valleys that fill with floodwaters during particularly good rainy seasons. Birdlife is excellent with several endemic species, such as Damara hornbill, Carp's tit and Rüpell's korhaan.
Today, you fly to Etosha National Park – one of Africa’s largest protected areas. The wildlife here is superb, particularly in the dry winter months. Among the mammals you are likely to see here are black-faced impala, gemsbok (oryx), Damara dik-dik, eland, greater kudu, hartebeest and springbok, together with large numbers of elephant, lion, leopard, black rhino, giraffe, Burchell's zebra and wildebeest.
After breakfast, transfer to the airstrip for a scenic flight to Eros airport. From here you return to your guesthouse in the city centre.
Accommodation: Olive Grove Guesthouse, 1-night
Days33-35: Fly to Cape Town
This morning, transfer to Windhoek International Airport for a flight to Cape Town and make your own way to your accommodation on the waterfront. The next three days are at your leisure allowing you to explore the sights, and relax after your safari. During your stay you may wish to visit Table Mountain – home to porcupines, mongoose, snakes and tortoises, Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve to see white bontebok, ostrich and southern right whales or even Boulders Beach known for its colony of African penguins.
Kenya’s finest wildlife sanctuary, the Masai Mara is a paradise of gently rolling grasslands studded with acacia trees. Remaining as the ancestral homelands of the Masai, a curious harmony between man and wildlife exists that allows a route for the large migrations and a home for predators and plains wildlife.
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Where: Rift Valley Province
Ideal for viewing: cheetah, Grant’s gazelle, leopard, lion, Thompson’s gazelle
Kenya’s bustling capital is more than just a starting point for your wildlife safari. Places to visit in the city include the Karen Blixen Museum, Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Centre. For those staying longer, nearby Nairobi National Park has a wide diversity of wildlife.
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Where: Nairobi Province
Excellent for: City stopover
Parc National des Volcans is part of the Virunga Conservation Area that straddles the borders of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It contains 76 mammal species and over half the world’s estimated 880 mountain gorillas; trekking here in search of these wonderful creatures is an exhilarating experience.
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Where: South west Rwanda
Ideal for viewing: black-fronted duiker, Cape buffalo, golden monkey, mountain gorilla, spotted hyena
Excellent for: Gorilla trekking
Set at the southern end of Lake Malombe, Liwonde National Park has quiet lagoons, open savannah and wooded hills. There is an astonishing diversity of birdlife to be found here, however the park's major attractions are boat safaris on the Shire River and the successful reintroduction of black rhino.
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Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris, River safaris, Birdwatching
Comprising some 9,050 square kilometres of unspoilt African wilderness, South Luangwa is undoubtedly the jewel of Zambia’s national parks and a magnet to outstanding wildlife, particularly leopard. Its eastern boundary is the meandering Luangwa River whose regular changes in course leave scenic oxbow lagoons.
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Combining perfectly with a safari in Botswana, Zimbabwe or Namibia as well as Zambia, the Zambian side of the falls was once considered to be the ‘poor cousin’, by comparison with the views of the river and the falls from Zimbabwe. The two countries are linked by a spectacular iron bridge above the raging waters.
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Chobe sits on the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers. The mosaic of bush, waterway, floodplain and woodland is home to a vast array of wildlife, most notably Africa’s largest concentration of elephant, but also huge herds of buffalo that congregate along its fertile floodplain during the dry season.
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Where: Northern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: Cape buffalo, African elephant, lion, puku, wild dog
Excellent for: Vehicle safaris, River safaris
Moremi is an unspoilt and stunningly beautiful reserve, considered to be one of Africa’s finest sanctuaries. Its 3,000 sqkm of woodland, floodplain and reedbed includes the waters of the Okavango Delta, attracting high concentrations of plains game and predators which can be viewed by river or on land.
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Where: Northern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: Pel’s fishing owl, red lechwe, sitatunga, fire-crowned bishop, scops owl
Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris, River safaris
This rich complex of grasslands, papyrus marshlands, lagoons and forests are often described as one of Africa’s best game-viewing areas. With a dense concentration of wildlife, the perennial waters attract great herds of plains wildlife and predators, but wild dog are undoubtedly the area’s speciality.
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Where: Northern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: lion, wild dog, African elephant, red lechwe, spotted hyena
Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris, River safaris
This 1.6 million hectare wildlife paradise is a vast tapestry of crystal clear water channels, lagoons and small islands, and is known for its concentrations of large wildlife and birds. Outings by boat or on land, at day or night, yields fantastic sightings within the private concessions of exclusive accommodation.
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Where: Northern Botswana
Ideal for viewing: hippo, Nile crocodile, red lechwe, sitatunga, tsessebe
Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris, River safaris, Birdwatching
The pleasant, relatively modern city of Windhoek is Namibia’s capital, and is the starting point of most wildlife safaris. A small city of contrasts, it combines modern Europe with modern Africa, together with a sprinkling of attractive old buildings of German architecture.
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Where: Windhoek
Excellent for: City stopover
Damaraland is an ancient area of arid plains, deep chasms and dramatic red, rocky peaks, dominated by the huge Brandberg Mountain. With the Atlantic coast nearby, sea mists drift inland providing sustenance to various desert life forms and natural laws of food and water dictate the movement of the desert elephant.
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Where: Erongo Region
Ideal for viewing: black rhino, desert elephant, springbok, white-tailed shrike, augur buzzard
Excellent for: Walking safaris, Vehicle safaris
Etosha is considered to be one of the finest sanctuaries in southern Africa. It is famous for its vast, dazzling saltpan with permanent waterholes, which attract a multitude of wildlife particularly during the dry winter. The neighbouring Ongava Private Game Reserve offers the attraction of tracking rhino on foot.
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Where: Oshikoto & Oshana Region
Ideal for viewing: black rhino, black-faced impala, damara dik-dik, African elephant, lion
The vast Table Mountain National Park, a UNESCO Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site, stretches from north of Cape Town down the Cape Peninsula to Africa’s south-western extremity, the Cape of Good Hope. It is home to Silvermine Nature Reserve, Boulders beach penguin colony and Table Mountain.
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Where: Western Cape
Ideal for viewing: African penguin, southern right whale, Verreaux’s eagle, rock hyrax, Cape baboon
Suggested accommodation options are shown below.
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This delightful camp, located within Doro Nawas Conservancy in central Damaraland, lies close to Twyfelfontein, where ancient San bushmen rock art engravings are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Accommodation consists of 16 rooms with a mix of stone and canvas walls, shaded by a thatch roof.
Find Out More about Doro Nawas Camp
Situated on the banks of the Luangwa River, Flatdogs Camp offers a good range of accommodation from safari tents with en suite facilities to luxurious chalet rooms. It is the closest camp to the Mfuwe main gate, providing easy access to South Luangwa National Park and its abundant wildlife.
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With unparalleled 180 degree views across the savannah, Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge offers 11 spacious tented suites, each with its own private viewing deck. The suites, main area and swimming pool all look out over a natural waterhole which attracts wildlife all year round.
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On the eastern side of the Okavango Delta in the wildlife rich Khwai area, Machaba Camp offers classic accommodation in ten luxury tents. Camp activities include game drives in the Moremi Game Reserve, as well as excursions by mokoro in the maze of waterways forming part of the Delta.
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With spectacular views of the volcanoes and easy access to Volcanoes National Park, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge is very well-placed for gorilla trekking. The lodge itself accommodates guests in 30 individual stone cottages, each with en suite facilities and queen-size beds.
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This upmarket lodge is nestled in thick undergrowth on the banks of a lagoon just off the Shire River. It offers eight luxury tents with en suite bathroom and private viewing deck looking out on the lagoon. A short distance away, the somewhat simpler Mvuu Camp has 12 chalets with river views.
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With sweeping plains on one side and Nairobi on the other, this tented camp is situated deep within riverine forest, yet on the doorstep of the city. It is the first accommodation allowed inside Nairobi National Park, which is home to lion, leopard, rhino and a range of savannah wildlife.
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A chic guesthouse in a conveniently central, yet quiet, part of Windhoek, the Olive Grove Guesthouse offers an unexpectedly high standard of accommodation and personal service. There is everything you could possibly need here, so it makes an ideal start or end to a trip around Namibia.
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This camp is one of Namibia’s best kept secrets. Located in the much-lauded Ongava Game Reserve, south of Etosha National Park, it overlooks a nearby waterhole. Constructed from stone, canvas and thatch, the camp accommodates 16 guests in eight large, comfortable, Meru-style tents.
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Porini Mara is the only safari camp in the Ol Kinyei Conservancy, and offers traditional game drives, comfortable accommodation and a wonderful safari experience at an affordable price. It has some of the best safari guides in the Mara, and with just six spacious tents, the camp has an exclusive feel.
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Standing on the Zambian bank of the Zambezi, just 30 minutes from Livingstone, this secluded lodge has wonderful views to Zimbabwe on the opposite bank. Each thatched cottage has a private deck overlooking the river – a perfect spot for that African safari sundowner! This is one of our best value options.
Find Out More about Waterberry Lodge