Fourteen nights across northern Botswana and into Zimbabwe, five stays in order. Three nights each in Moremi Game Reserve, the Khwai Community Reserve and Savute in Chobe National Park follow one another, all under canvas in lightweight mobile camps. Then Jedibe in the Okavango Panhandle, a water camp at the foot of the Delta, before the trip ends on the upper Zambezi at Victoria Falls.
The mobile camps pack down and move rather than sit on one site, canvas set light on the ground, days spent out in each reserve. At Setari, raised on stilts above a palm island, there are no game drives; you travel by boat and mokoro. At Victoria Falls you stay at Palm River Hotel, four kilometres above the falls, with walks, cruises and flights over the gorge.
The trip opens in Moremi Game Reserve, three nights on safari from a camp pitched under canvas rather than built to last. Days are spent out in the reserve, and the camp keeps a light footprint, packing down and moving on rather than holding one permanent site. This is lightweight mobile camping, canvas and timber set close to the ground, with the reserve itself the reason to be here.
Next comes the Khwai Community Reserve, three more nights under canvas on land managed by the local community. As in Moremi, the days belong to the reserve, worked from the camp rather than from a fixed base. The mobile camp is set up for your stay and packed down again when you leave, canvas and timber light on the ground, with none of the fixed structure of a permanent lodge.
The third mobile camp is set in Savute, part of Chobe National Park, for three nights. Days are spent out across this stretch of the park, working it from the camp rather than from a fixed base. As in Moremi and Khwai, this is lightweight mobile camping, canvas and timber pitched for the stay and packed down when you leave, with the country itself the point of being here.
At Jedibe in the Okavango Panhandle the water takes over. Every outing leaves by boat, mokoro or on foot; there are no game drives here. Hippos surface in the lagoons within sight of the decks, and the channels hold their depth all year, staying open when camps further south have turned to vehicles. Fishing runs from March to December, catch and release. Setari is a water camp raised on stilts above a palm island, its nine suites and thatched living areas linked by boardwalks between the palms, reached by motorboat through papyrus channels.
The trip ends at Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi drops into the Batoka Gorge along a curtain nearly 1.7 kilometres across. Two nights leave time for guided walks along the Zimbabwean rim, cruises on the calm water above the falls and helicopter flights over the gorge, while rafting runs the rapids below. Palm River Hotel sits on the upper Zambezi four kilometres above the falls, its foundations routed around the roots of the trees already standing, with a 34-metre infinity pool along the river and hippos in the channels below the balconies at dusk.
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
01 of 39
botswana
Cross Botswana's wild north from Victoria Falls to the Okavango, tracking wild dog and leopard with a private mobile camp.
01 of 11
botswana
Nine nights across three private northern Botswana concessions, from the Okavango floodplains to the Selinda Spillway.
01 of 14
zimbabwe & botswana
Fifteen nights across Zimbabwe and Botswana, from Victoria Falls and Hwange to Matobo, the Makgadikgadi, the Okavango and Chobe.
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.
