Packages
& Suggested Itineraries / The Great Wilderness Journey - Northbound
11 night /12 day - Tour direction: San Camp to Zambia (also operates in the reverse direction) Combination Wilderness lodges and fully serviced camping in private concession areas.
Experience a nostalgic, turn-of-the-century camping / lodge safari that recreates the sense of a game-viewing adventure reminiscent of the times of the great African explorers.
At the turn of the century, explorers and adventurers made their way leisurely along the dusty paths of Africa, allowing the great continent to seep into their souls. Wilderness' guided mobile safaris takes time to experience and explore Botswana's contrasts and extremes: from the waterless and strange landscape of the Kalahari Desert to the lushly vegetated wetlands of the Okavango Delta. Wilderness Safaris' newly designed, spacious walk-in meru tents create a sense of connectedness to the Earth and nature, enhancing the view and the feeling of the wild and untamed.
The style of accommodation in the private Discoverer campsites takes you back to the era of Africa's exploration. Pure linens of heavy cottons, brass bucket showers and basins, separate flushing toilets and shower areas all add to the atmosphere, while luxury comforts and amenities are elegantly provided. Discoverer camping aims to bring the guest closer to nature, by means of a lively camp fire, hurricane lanterns, wide-ranging activities and a warm atmosphere complimenting the comfort and added luxury of the lodges visited. Discoverer camps are specifically outfitted to ensure that old-style camping feel with a clear emphasis on necessary and stylish comfortable interiors, creating a peerless wilderness experience.
Guides: The entire safari is guided and hosted by professional trained guides, who share their in-depth knowledge to present a seamless safari experience.
Exclusive experience: Many areas in which we travel are private concessions. All Discoverer camps are private and for the use of Exploration travellers only, while our lodges are open to all Wilderness Safaris guests.
Routes: To maximise guests' travel time, a variety of travel modes that bring out the best of each area is used: flying in private charters and overland transfers which provide both a bird's-eye view and an in-depth visual experience of the contrasting landscapes of Botswana. Seasonality: We take advantage of the changing seasons so as to provide the best in wildlife viewing on an annual basis. Therefore, we enjoy three night stays at both Ketumetse Trails Camp and Linyanti Discoverer Camp, to fully appreciate the diversity of area and activity.
ITINERARY
Day 1 & 2: San Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans After arrival in Maun, you will be met by your guide or our representative and fly by light aircraft to San Camp, situated in a private concession on the edge of the great Makgadikgadi Pans in the Kalahari Desert. The saltpans are among the largest in the world, part of a fossilised super-lake that thrived aeons ago. Surprisingly for such a harsh, lunar-like environment, life abounds, and brown hyaena, oryx and springbok are just a few of the desert-adapted species that can be seen. Activities include up-close encounters with suricates (meerkats), one of the most fascinating and endearing animals in the world. Experience phenomenal geology, quad biking, and authentic San (bushman) cultural walks, or simply enjoy the wide-open spaces of this ancient lakebed.
Day 3 & 4: Jacana Camp, Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta represents survival at the other extreme: abundant water, sunlight and soil combine to form a paradise bursting with life. The contrast becomes amazingly clear as we move from desert to delta, from dry sand to water world, on a light aircraft charter from San to Jacana Camp. Lush Jacana Camp is situated in a permanently flooded region of the private Jao concession of the Okavango Delta. A true water camp, it represents the essence of the Delta, with year-round mokoro safaris as well as island bush walks and, water level permitting, motorboat cruises. In fact, when the flood levels are at their peak we are able to motorboat from the airstrip to the lodge, a truly surreal camp arrival!
Jacana Camp is set in one of the wetland areas most densely populated with sitatunga and red lechwe. Wildlife concentrations depend on the water flow and volume, thus changing from season to season, but all the large animals can be found in the area including elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo. Pel's Fishing Owl is a favourite amongst birders as well as Greater and Lesser Jacanas. Jacana Camp has 5 meru-style tents. Each tent is on a wooden deck overlooking the floodplains and has an en-suite bathroom with flush toilet and shower. The bathroom is enclosed but roofless, allowing for showers by starlight. The camp has a plunge pool for cooling off from the midday sun. The main dining area is on an elevated wooden deck between two magnificent sycamore fig trees and surrounded by dense wild date palms. Downstairs, there is a cosy pub and lounge with an area perfect for an open fire under the stars.
Day 5, 6 & 7: Ketumetse Trails Camp, North-eastern Okavango Delta We depart this morning by aircraft to Ketumetse Trails Camp, set in a private concession in the game-productive areas of the Okavango's seasonally flooded region. Our Discoverer campsite has been erected prior to our arrival in the wildlife-rich seasonal plains region under camel thorn shade trees, affording some views of the floodplain in cool comfort. Activities concentrate on the open herbivore-inhabited plains flanked by palm trees and forest surrounding the camp, where seasonal congregations of wildlife (especially in the late afternoons) make the perfect setting for game drives, night drives and bush walks on the concession.
Day 8, 9 & 10: Linyanti Discoverer Camp, Linyanti Concession After a light breakfast, we drive to the private Linyanti Concession; upon arrival driving to our private Discoverer campsite, which is elegantly set up under African ebony and knobthorn acacia trees overlooking panoramic vistas of the Linyanti Swamps. The landscape varies from the floodplains of the Linyanti to savannah habitat with sweeping views, creating a paradise for a high diversity of wildlife and bird species.
Activities include game drives in the private northern sector of the concession, exploring a range of habitats, from riverbanks to scrub and forest, which reveal a myriad of wildlife en route to slake their thirst from the river. The seldom-seen sitatunga can also be spotted in the waterways, as well as rare plains game, such as roan and sable antelope and of course their predators, the lion and leopard - with the endangered wild dog as an incredible bonus. There's also a game drive to a private area for lunch, then a siesta in hammocks and the possibility of an afternoon canoe trip, before returning to camp at dusk. (This activity is not always possible, as it is dependent on whether there are hippo pods moving in and out of the areas in which we canoe.) To complete the experience, in the rain season and on the third day we can possibly enjoy a full-day activity to the Savute Channel, with lunch at a scenic setting under a shade tree.
The spectacular but seasonal (rain dependant) zebra migration moves between Linyanti and the Savute Marsh between end November and March, the area also boasting an impressive diversity of mammals, including large elephant herds. When undertaken and during the correct season, this day is specifically tailored to enjoy the seasonal and migratory movements of wildlife, although sighting the zebra migration is not guaranteed.
Day 11: Chobe River boat cruise, Chobe National Park and Sussi Lodge, Zambia After a short morning drive and breakfast, we depart by light aircraft to the northern Chobe region of Chobe National Park. This area is famous for its vast herds of elephants in the dry season and other unique species such as the elusive puku and Chobe bushbuck that move to the river in the hottest hours of the day. Enjoy a lunch on the boat cruise in a catamaran-style shaded boat. We leave Botswana and enter Zambia by way of the Kazangula border, a point where the four countries of Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia meet, arriving in the late afternoon at Sussi Lodge, in Livingstone.
Guest accommodation at Sussi Lodge consists of 10 luxury tree-houses built into the living canopy of giant ebony trees lining the riverbank. Each unit has a mini bar, en-suite bathroom, mosquito nets, overhead fan and a private view of the Zambezi from its own deck among the branches. The main lodge building features a raised bar/lounge deck, open-air dining area, swimming pool and lawns down to the water's edge.
Day 12: Victoria Falls, Transfer to Livingstone Airport The grand finale is a guided tour of the Victoria Falls, one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. At 1708 metres wide, it is the largest curtain of water in the world and drops more than 100 metres into the sheer Zambezi Gorge. Transfer to Livingstone Airport immediately after the tour of the Victoria Falls and bid farewell to the adventure.
NOTE: THIS ITINERARY IS AVAILABLE ON FLEXIBLE DATES AND ITINERARIES, FOR TAILOR-MADE SAFARIS FOR SMALL GROUPS UP TO EIGHT GUESTS.
Notes · All bookings
are subject to availability by the suppliers as at the time of booking. ·
All prices quoted for packages and services are subject to change due to currency
fluctuations, fuel price increases and other government levies and taxes.
· E. & O.E
Read more about Victoria Falls As the Zambezi River crashes 100 m into a chasm stretching 1,7 km in length, one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls is created, the Victoria Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mosi-oa-Tunya or "The Smoke that Thunders"...
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Read more about Okavango Delta Botswana's Okavango Delta is rightly considered one of the most incredible wildlife and wilderness sanctuaries in Africa. It is the largest inland Delta system in the world, an area of 15 000km2 filled with water channels,...
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Many thanks and credit to the following
photographers whose images have been used in this site: Michael Poliza, Colin
Bell, Dana Allen, David Ross, Nick Melidonas and Wilderness Safaris.
