Victoria Falls, Botswana Safari and Cape Town

Itinerary

• Day 1
  Departure
• Day 2
  Arrival in Livingstone - After your morning arrival you will connect with your onward 1 hour 50-minute flight to Livingstone in Zambia and our hotel for the night, located just a short walk from Victoria Falls. After some time to relax and freshen up, we experience one of the highlights of your tour – a sunset cruise along the mighty Zambezi on the African Queen. As the boat slowly glides across the expanse of a river inhabited by hippo and crocodiles, simply settle into a shaded wicker armchair, absorb the unique surroundings, sip a refreshing drink, become acquainted with your fellow travellers and reflect on how good life can be.
• Day 3
  Victoria Falls - This morning we approach Victoria Falls for an outstanding guided walking tour. It may be a cliché, but the falls really do take your breath away and it is at places such as this, that visitors realise just how powerful Mother Nature really is. The statistics are awesome: three times as long as Niagara and twice as high, this is the largest single body of falling water in the world! The area around the falls is surrounded by a unique, lush rainforest eco-system, watered by the fine spray rising from the falls. As we pass through several rainbows arching through the mist, the roar of the falls intensifies, and conversation becomes virtually impossible. The anticipation mounts and on your first view, you will fully appreciate why this is truly one of the wonders of the natural world! At times of peak flow, the spray rising from the abyss is too thick to even see the foot of the falls, whereas during the dry season (generally Sep-Dec) the more adventurous may be able to walk to the edge of the vast chasm or even bathe in one of the pools! During low water flow, an optional boat trip is available to Livingstone Island from where the famous explorer himself first saw the falls. For the ultimate view you can take a helicopter or even a ‘micro-light’ aircraft flight (essentially a powered hang-glider) on an optional ‘Flight of Angels’ tour. We stay three nights half-board at a safari lodge, blending superbly with the natural surroundings. Signature experience - This afternoon we cross the border to Botswana using the newly constructed Kazungula Bridge over the Zambezi River. Stretching from the tip of Northern Botswana to the Okavango Delta there’s a host of landscapes and habitats amongst the park’s 10,700 square metres of beautiful, unspoilt wilderness. From the riverside’s emerald floodplains to the sweeping marshy grasslands stretching as far as the eye can see, peppered by the occasional stark outline of a leadwood tree, this is undoubtedly one of the world’s most biodiverse and fascinating natural environments. Take in the spectacular views and marvel at the magnificent African sunset, join your fellow travellers for a sundowner drink while enjoying the sights and sounds of Africa.
• Day 4
  Chobe Safari - There is simply nothing to beat the feeling of excited anticipation and rising expectation as we start our game drive in the half light of an African dawn, accompanied by a unique ‘dawn chorus.’ Using specially adapted 10-seater open-sided safari vehicles we look out for big cats, giraffe and elephants in Chobe National Park, a huge reserve of over 10,500 unfenced square kilometres. You will see a wide variety of game: beautiful impala, monkeys, warthogs, kudu, even leopards if we are lucky! The birdlife is also simply superb – look out for the darting pied kingfishers, African skimmers, ibis, ground hornbills and a variety of brilliantly coloured bee-eaters. We return to our lodge mid-morning for some relaxation by the pool and a spot of lunch. Later we take a boat safari on the Chobe River.  Signature experience - During the afternoon we take a superb boat safari on the Chobe River, the region’s main watercourse to see at first-hand what makes this extraordinary National Park so special. Home to the world’s largest concentration of protected elephants, well over 100,000 of them, sightings of these magnificent creatures, alongside hippos, crocodiles and fish eagles are virtually guaranteed all year round. During the dry season (Aug-Nov), you’ll witness the elephants congregating along the shore for their daily drink – a truly awesome game viewing experience! It’s the most moving, humbling experience to see these powerful and fascinating mammals interacting with each other – playing, bathing and splashing in the water. As the sun sets beyond the wide grassy plains on the horizon, we are treated to one of this continent’s greatest gifts – the incredible multihued spectacle of an African sunset.
• Day 5
  Free day in Chobe - Today is at leisure at your lodge. You may either relax and enjoy the excellent facilities or take additional optional game drives or river safaris in this, the real heart of Africa. One of the trips on offer includes trying your hand at fishing for the fearsome tigerfish.
• Day 6
  Flight to Cape Town - After breakfast we cross back into Zambia across the Chobe River and drive back to Livingstone airport. From Livingstone we fly to Cape Town, via Johannesburg and transfer to our hotel, beautifully located within walking distance of the V&A waterfront. Backed by ever-present blue skies and the iconic Table Mountain, fringed with white sand beaches and the nearby fertile, seemingly never-ending valleys of the Winelands, South Africa’s ‘Mother City’, was the first settlement founded by Europeans and now it’s a lively, cosmopolitan centre.
• Day 7
  Cape of Good Hope - This morning we drive to Cape Point, visiting the legendary Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point on the African continent, originally known as the Cape of Storms. We pass pristine beaches, the fishing harbour of Hout Bay and continue along the breathtakingly scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive, full of rugged seascapes and cliffs, to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, one of the world’s biodiversity hot spots. At Cape Point itself you see the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean currents and the treacherous promontory of rocks, the scourge of mariners for centuries. Finally, you visit Boulders Beach and its resident penguin colony before returning to the city in the afternoon. Lunch is included today.
• Day 8
  Winelands - Today you tour the awesomely beautiful Winelands. Set in a wide valley backed by majestic mountains, rows of manicured vines and orchards stretch into the distance, studded by lime-washed, often thatched, 300-year-old wineries built in the unique Cape Dutch style, sympathetically mirroring the undulations of the surrounding countryside. Later you visit the small town of Franschoek in a magnificent setting at the head of a valley, then elegant Stellenbosch, established 300 years ago and home to South Africa’s most prestigious university. Period buildings and historic streets reinforce the town’s dignified atmosphere. We have an included lunch and time to explore this delightful town before enjoying a fascinating cellar tour and tasting at the award-winning Blaauwklippen Wine Estate.
• Day 9
  Free day in Cape Town - Cape Town, featuring British, Dutch and Cape Malay influences, is simply one of the world’s most naturally beautiful cities, with so much to offer the visitor! Today is at leisure to explore as you wish. In addition to the excellent shopping and dining available within the tastefully restored Victoria and Alfred Waterfront complex, no visit to Cape Town would be complete without taking the revolving cable car to the summit of iconic Table Mountain, the unofficial symbol of South Africa and with breath-taking views. You should also visit Robben Island (weather permitting), where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years incarceration, and whose visitors have included Bill Gates, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton and even Nelson Mandela himself. Wander through the Bo-Kaap area, the very image of small-town South Africa. Alternatively, simply just wander where your feet take you, or relax a little, taking afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson, one of the great colonial hotels of the world: the choice is yours.
• Day 10
  Return home