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Guests watching elephant bathing in waterhole from viewing platform, Delta Camp, The Okavango Delta, Botswana
Elephants drinking at waterhole with lodge in background, The Wallow Lodge, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Guests viewing wildlife from observation deck at waterhole, Chobe Savanna Lodge, Zambezi Region, Namibia
Herd of elephants walking across dusty savanna plain
Elephant approaches wooden viewing deck near waterhole, Delta Camp, The Okavango Delta, Botswana
Dining table on wooden deck overlooking elephants, The Wallow Lodge, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Waterfront deck at sunset with lounge chairs and river view, Chobe Savanna Lodge, Zambezi Region, Namibia
Woman standing on wooden deck overlooking wetland landscape, Delta Camp, The Okavango Delta, Botswana
Sunken deck with fire pit overlooking river and trees, The Wallow Lodge, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Guests dining at sunset table overlooking water, Chobe Savanna Lodge, Zambezi Region, Namibia
Person relaxing on wooden deck overlooking wetland landscape, Delta Camp, The Okavango Delta, Botswana

inspiration

zimbabwe & botswana: khwai camping to chief’s island

Private Safari
From $8,995 pp
2 guests
12 nights

trip highlights

  • Game drives and guided walks across a private sanctuary on the Masuwe River, about twenty minutes from Victoria Falls.
  • River game viewing from small flat-bottomed boats on the Chobe, close to the floodplains of Chobe National Park.
  • Exploring off Chief's Island on foot and by hand-carved mokoro in the Okavango Delta.
  • Sundowners at the lip of Batoka Gorge with the rapids churning below.
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Aerial view of safari camp with waterways and vegetation, Delta Camp, The Okavango Delta, Botswana

From the Zambezi to the Okavango

This twelve-night route runs from Zimbabwe into Namibia and down through Botswana. It opens at Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi drops into the Batoka Gorge, then crosses to the Namibian bank of the Chobe River and its floodplains. From there it moves into the Okavango system, the Khwai Community Reserve, the Moremi Game Reserve and finally Chief’s Island in the Delta itself.

You travel by a mix of open vehicle, boat, mokoro and on foot, the mode changing with each region. Two lightweight mobile camps carry you through Khwai and Moremi, while the fixed camps sit on a private river sanctuary, the Chobe and a palm island in the Delta. Days run to first light and late afternoon, on water where there are no roads and on foot where the ground allows.

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Daily Itinerary Breakdown

Victoria Falls and the Masuwe River

You spend these first two days on the banks of the Masuwe River, in a private sanctuary within Victoria Falls National Park, about twenty minutes from the falls. Because this is private ground rather than parkland, game drives run at first light and again as the heat drops, and guides can take you out on foot. Evenings move to the lip of Batoka Gorge, sundowners in hand with the rapids churning below. The Wallow Lodge raises sixteen canvas suites beneath the riverine trees, each turned to the water, where elephants and buffalo wade below the decks.

The Chobe River by Boat

On the Namibian bank of the Chobe River, all game viewing happens on the water. Small flat-bottomed boats leave the jetty at first light and drift close to elephants standing chest-deep in the shallows, grazing antelope and hippo pods surfacing off the bow, with fish eagles working the channels. From June to October, as the inland pans dry, breeding herds gather along the water within sight of the chalets. Chobe Savanna Lodge is a thatched lodge reached only by boat, its deck wrapping around roughly 270 degrees of river and the Puku Flats floodplains opposite.

Khwai Community Reserve Under Canvas

These three days are spent in the Khwai Community Reserve. You stay in a lightweight mobile camp rather than a permanent lodge, its tents pitched under canvas and struck again when the camp moves on, which keeps the footprint on the ground light. Mornings and late afternoons are given to guided outings from camp, the days shaped by the reserve around you rather than the place you sleep. The camp carries the essentials and little more.

  • Accommodation in a lightweight mobile camp

Moremi Game Reserve on the Move

You move on to the Moremi Game Reserve for three days, again under canvas in a lightweight mobile camp set up for the stay and taken down after. As in Khwai, there is no permanent structure here; the days run to first light and late afternoon on guided outings, with the camp itself kept simple and low. Meals and evenings happen around the fire and the tents, the reserve doing the rest.

  • Accommodation in a lightweight mobile camp

Chief's Island by Mokoro and on Foot

The trip closes on a palm-forested island off the south-western edge of Chief's Island, in the Okavango Delta, where nothing runs on an engine. You explore on foot and by hand-carved mokoro, poled by a private guide who stays with you throughout, crossing to Chief's Island and walking its lechwe paths and elephant tracks morning and afternoon. At night hippos grunt in the reeds below the deck. Delta Camp is built of lethaka reed, local timber and grass thatch, raised on piles, with mesh screens and canvas rolls instead of glass between the beds and the floodplain.

Guides and guests on walking safari observing elephant, Delta Camp, The Okavango Delta, Botswana
Guests in boat observing elephant herd at waterside, Chobe Savanna Lodge, Zambezi Region, Namibia
Luxury safari camp interior at sunset overlooking wetland landscape, Zimbabwe
Woman relaxing in safari camp tent at sunset with lantern, Zimbabwe more photos
Ed Charles photographing wildlife

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.

Ed Charles

Bafta & Emmy award winning film producer of BBC’s Planet Earth 2 and A Perfect Planet

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zimbabwe & botswana

zambezi to the okavango

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  • From $22,955 pp
  • 2 guests
  • 12 nights
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walking with elephants

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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.

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