Best of Africa

Day 1 and 2 - Sossusvlei, Namibia
Your guide will meet you at the Windhoek International Airport from where you drive south-west to the Namib Naukluft area via the spectacular Spreetshoogte Pass. En route we will have a picnic lunch overlooking the endless the Namib Desert. The journey is about 300km of excellent gravel road.

Many visitors to Namibia say that no part of the desert is visually more stunning than Sossusvlei. This major attraction of the Namib Naukluft Park is renowned for its gigantic dunes. These star-shaped mountains of sand, the highest of which is estimated to be about 325m, are a sought-after topic for photographers.

We will also visit the Sesriem Canyon, which is one of the most amazing features of the Namib. Here the Tsauchab River has carved a gorge – up to 30 meters deep – into the gravels deposited some 15 to 18 million years ago, during a wetter phase in the history of the Namib.

Accommodation: Namib Naukluft Lodge
Meal arrangements: Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

Day 3 and 4 - Swakopmund and Walvis Bay
After breakfast, you drive north-west to the coastal town of Swakopmund. As you travel towards the Atlantic Coast you will see the scenery change from sand dunes to dark craggy canyons and then to flat gravel plains. You will also visit the moon landscape, which reveals the famed Welwitschia plants that grow on seemingly lifeless gravel plains.

Spend two days exploring Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and the surrounding area with your guide. The Walvis Bay Lagoon is a RAMSAR site and home to thousands of flamingos and numerous other species that gather at these rich feeding grounds. Altogether some 80,000 wading birds can be seen on the lagoon. Extra optional activities include dolphin cruises, scenic flights over the Skeleton Coast, quad biking and fishing.

Accommodation: Hansa Hotel, Swakopmund
Meal arrangements: Breakfast and picnic lunch

Day 5 - Damaraland
The drive north to Damaraland goes along the Skeleton Coast via Cape Cross, which is one of the largest seal colonies in the world. Continuing the journey up the coast, you cross the windswept gravel plains bordered by the icy Atlantic Ocean on one side, and the endless desert on the other.

Hidden in a valley, on the northern slopes of the Huab River in central Damaraland, where blankets of sea mist drift in from the ocean, is a safari camp that will touch your senses as never before. Accommodation consists of permanent tents with en-suite facilities and verandahs from which to enjoy the spectacular scenery.

This camp is a rare venture that integrates the local community, environment and wildlife, offering a true wilderness experience in magnificent surroundings.

Accommodation: Damaraland Camp
Meal arrangements: Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

Day 6 - Etosha National Park, Okaukuejo
After breakfast you depart for Etosha National Park via Twyfelfontein, which is home to one of the largest ancient rock art galleries in Africa. Some of these engravings date back to the Early Stone Age.

You also visit the Organ Pipes, which are exposed in a gorge, roughly 100m long and reach a maximum height of 5m. They were formed by the intrusion of a dolerite sheet into the shale's of the Karoo Sequence some 120 million years ago.

Before leaving Damaraland you will visit the Petrified Forest. The forest lies on a small sandstone rise and covers an area of about 65ha in the Aba Huab River valley. The trees occur in sandstone of the Ecca Group, a subdivision of the Karoo Sequence, and are about 260 million years old.

After the organ pipes we travel north and arrive at the enormous 22,000sq km Etosha National Park in the late afternoon. Herds of Burchell's zebra, springbok and numerous other antelope species provide continual hunting opportunities for the lion prides. Etosha is famous for its elephants and also boasts healthy populations of black rhino, damara dik-dik and black-faced impala.

Characterised by its thatched rondavels (hut-shaped bungalows), Okaukuejo is Etosha’s oldest and most popular rest camp. Activities include game drives to several excellent waterholes nearby. Okaukuejo is the main administrative centre and headquarters of the Etosha Ecological Institute, where research and nature conservation management in Etosha are conducted.

Accommodation: Etosha - Okaukuejo rest camp
Meal arrangements: Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

Day 7 and 8 - Namutoni, Etosha National Park
Today we head through the park to Namutoni Rest Camp, the most easterly camp in the park. Namutoni was developed around a German fort built in 1902 and now houses a museum and accommodation units of various sizes.

The lodge overlooks a floodlit waterhole and it has a game-viewing hut and lookout tower. Several waterholes in the area make for excellent game drives.

Accommodation: Etosha, Namutoni Rest Camp
Meal arrangements: Full board

Day 9 and 10 - Mahango Game Park, Caprivi
After breakfast we depart for the north to Mahangu Safari lodge, where you can experience the Okavango River on their boat trips and sunset cruises.

Sandwiched between the Botswana border and the Okavango River, the Mahango Game Park is a fascinating world of papyrus-lined channels, vast floodplains, dense riverine forests and woodlands. Animals such as Hippo, elephant, roan, sable, red lechwe, reedbuck, bushbuck, tsessebe, blue wildebeest, impala, gemsbok and kudu can be seen.

Accommodation: Mahangu Safari lodge
Meal arrangements: Full board

Day 11 and 12 - Chobe National Park, Botswana
We drive through the Bwabwata National Park in the Caprivi to the edge of the Chobe National Park in Botswana. The lodge is situated in a shady, riverine woodland at the meeting point of four countries – Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

By day, the water brims with hippo, which submerge at dawn and emerge at dusk. Buffalo and elephant are ever-present in their thousands and giraffe, zebra, jackal, baboons and warthog can also be seen in numbers.

The marshy river floodplain is inhabited by red lechwe and puku. The river is also home to crocodile, Cape clawless otter and abundant bird life.

Accommodation: Chobe Safari Lodge
Meal arrangements: Full board

Day 13 and 14 - Victoria Falls, Zambia
After breakfast we depart for the Victoria Falls. Above Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River winds its stately way through the African bushveld, forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Wild and scenic, the domain of game and bird life, a cruise on this great river is part of the extraordinary experience of Victoria falls.

Spend two days at the Royal Chundu Lodge, 60km upstream, and enjoy the region's many attractions and activities, including river rafting, scenic flights over the falls, game drives, boat cruises, fishing and birdwatching.

Accommodation: Royal Chundu Lodge Zambia
Meal arrangements: Breakfast

Day 15 - Livingstone Airport, Zambia
Depending on your flight there may be time to visit the traditional arts and crafts markets after breakfast. Thereafter we will drive you to Livingstone Airport for your onward flight and the end of an excellent African safari.

Meal arrangements: Breakfast