8 night / 9 day - The Summer itinerary (01 December to 31 May) has a one night switch from Linyanti Trails Camp to Savute Marsh, Chobe National Park.
Experience a nostalgic camping safari that recreates a sense of wildlife viewing adventure reminiscent of the times of the early African explorers. The style and essence of Wilderness Safaris' Adventurer Safaris takes you back to the bygone days of Africa's exploration. Our 3m x3m dome tents, complete with mini-verandas, allow you to feel more connected to nature, accentuating the feeling of the wild and untamed. Pure cotton linen bedrolls (with duvets) on GI stretchers, bedside table with silver lantern and mini luggage benches add to the atmosphere. Shared separate toilet and shower 'bathrooms' with old-style tin bucket showers and basins create simple serviced comfort. Adventurer camping aims to bring the guest closer to nature, by means of lively campfires, hurricane lanterns, diverse activities and a warm atmosphere permeating the camp (and its simple comforts).
Adventurer camps are specifically outfitted to create that camping feel with a clear emphasis on essential comforts and pristine wilderness experience.
Guides: The entire safari is guided and hosted by professional guides, who share their in-depth knowledge to present a seamless safari experience.
Exclusive experience: To ensure as much privacy and exclusivity as possible, most areas in which we travel are private concessions in prime locations. All Explorations camps are private and for the use of Adventurer Exploration guests only, while Natural Mystic Lodge is shared with other guests.
Routes: The route takes the time to explore the contrasts, extremes and continually moving wildlife of northern Botswana: from the waterless Savute Marsh to the broad vistas of the Linyanti with its wooded deciduous forests, the crystal-clear waterways and fertile green islands of the Okavango Delta to the roaring cascades of the Victoria Falls.
Transfers: To maximise guests' travel time, a variety of transport modes that bring out the best of each area is used: flying in private charters and overland transfers provide both a bird's-eye view and an in-depth experience of the contrasting landscapes of Botswana.
Seasonality: We adapt with the changing seasons so as to provide the best possibilities of wildlife viewing on an annual basis. Therefore, between 1 December and 31 May, to maximise the possibility of viewing the zebra migration and other game that moves between Linyanti and Savute at this time, the safari switches a night from Linyanti Trails Camp to Savute, Chobe National Park. Please note that the zebra are usually all back in the Linyanti region by the end of May, which heralds the end of the migration. If rains are poor, this migration usually does not occur.
ITINERARY
Day 1: Natural Mystic Lodge, Zambia After arrival in Livingstone you will be met by a representative and transferred to Natural Mystic Lodge, which is situated on the banks of the Zambezi River. It is located 20km from Livingstone - the "Adventure Capital" of Zambia - and 30km from the spectacular Victoria Falls. Enjoy an afternoon 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. All 10 en-suite thatched chalets have a view of the Zambezi River.
The chalets are built into a natural setting, and have a traditional African feel to them, while providing the necessary comfort, privacy and safety guests require. The area surrounding the lodge is covered in a dense Mopane forest combined with deciduous savannah grassland. Nature's sounds of birdlife, frogs, baboons, monkeys and hippo create a mystical mood, while free-roaming elephants are frequent visitors to the grounds.
Day 2 & 3: Chobe River boat cruise & Linyanti Trails Camp, Linyanti Concession Leave Zambia and enter the Chobe National Park in Botswana by way of the Kazungula border, a point where the four countries of Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe meet. The Chobe National Park is famous for its vast herds of elephants and unique species such as the elusive puku and Chobe bushbuck that move to the river in the hottest hours of the day - even more so in the dry season. Enjoy a light lunch served during the boat cruise on the catamaran-style shaded boat, after which we depart by aircraft in the late afternoon for the Linyanti region, from the airstrip game driving to our pre-erected Adventurer campsite. On our second day, we depart on an early morning activity in the north-eastern corner of the Linyanti, enjoying a myriad of changing landscapes, from riverine to savannah habitat with sweeping views.
Lunch is at an area, with a sweeping view of the Linyanti waterways. After a siesta in hammocks, there is the possibility of an afternoon canoe trip, before returning to camp at dusk. (This activity is not always possible, depending on whether there are hippo pods moving in and out of the areas in which we canoe.)
Day 4: Savute Marsh, Chobe National Park We depart early morning for the Savute area. This can be an all-day game drive, with lunch en route at a shady place in the Savuti Channel. This game drive is specifically designed to gain an intimate view of the 'Stolen River'. If the guide believes the wildlife better in the vicinity of the trails camp in Savute, we will head directly there and embark on an afternoon game drive to begin our search. While we move from Linyanti to Savute, our camp crew drive ahead and set up the camp for our arrival.
Day 5 & 6: Lechwe Island Camp, North-eastern Okavango Delta We travel south and west through the Chobe National Park and a private concession, stopping en route for game sightings through parts of the area and also lunch. This drive gives the perfect introduction to the varying habitats of a dry and flat northern Botswana, from the sump of Lake Makgadigadi at Mababe Depression to the open savannah of the Savute Marsh with its granite hillocks. We arrive at our pre-erected Adventurer campsite in the mid-afternoon, in time for a short sunset game drive. Activities concentrate on the open herbivore-inhabited plains 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 7 & 8: Xigera Mokoro Trails, Okavango Delta We fly by light aircraft to the water-filled paradise of the private Xigera area, within the Moremi Game Reserve. Xigera is the ultimate Delta experience, with serene waters flowing through innumerable channels around remote islands and a profusion of plant and animal life. There is no better way to experience the Okavango than to travel through it by mokoro, walking and camping out on a vegetated island - all essential elements of the Xigera Mokoro Trails experience. The experience is aimed at exposing the permanently flooded inner Delta, in the serene waterways and on the islands of trees and bush. Our tents are smaller here than the rest of the safari, with a gauze main frame, thus enhancing the views.
Key to the experience is mobility, so bedrolls are on the ground and a battery-powered lamp provides light. Activities include mokoro and walking safaris, which enable up-close encounters with the excellent diversity of birdlife (including Pel's Fishing Owl), frogs and a myriad of game species, some specially adapted to water, such as the rare sitatunga and the familiar red lechwe. Walking activities vary in length and duration through the seasons, especially in the months when the Okavango is at peak flood where they become shorter (June, July and August) as more islands become flooded.
Day 9: Transfer to Maun Airport Bid farewell to the adventure as we transfer by light aircraft to Maun Airport.
NOTE: THIS ITINERARY IS AVAILABLE ON FLEXIBLE DATES AND ITINERARIES, FOR TAILOR-MADE TRIPS FOR SMALL GROUPS.
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 Chobe National Park The Chobe National Park, which is the second largest national park in Botswana and covers 10,566 square km, has one of the greatest concentrations of game found on the African continent. Its uniqueness in the abundance of...
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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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