zimbabwe
rhino in the save valley
Nine nights in south-eastern Zimbabwe, from the Save River and Gonarezhou to rhino tracking in the Sango Conservancy.
- Private Safari
- From $11,015 pp
- 2 guests
- 9 nights
trip highlights
- Kweene Trails walks between two canvas camps across a private 30,000-hectare concession in the western Okavango Delta.
- Shinde sits beside a lagoon that holds water year-round, so mokoro, motorboats and game drives run from the same island in every season.
- San Camp stands on the edge of Nwetwe Pan, where quad biking, horse riding and sleeping out are possible on private concession land.
- At Victoria Falls the Zambezi falls into the Batoka Gorge, with a rim rainforest kept green by the constant spray.
Scroll for the full itinerary
From the Zambezi to the Makgadikgadi
The route opens at Victoria Falls in northwest Zimbabwe, where the Zambezi drops into the Batoka Gorge along a curtain of water nearly 1.7 kilometres across. It then crosses into Botswana for three contrasting parts of the Okavango and the Kalahari: a private walking concession in the western Delta, a permanent lagoon in the north, and the salt flats of the Makgadikgadi.
You travel by boat, light aircraft and helicopter, on foot and by mokoro. The days hold game drives, river cruises, walking and time on the pans. Accommodation runs from timber treehouse suites to classic tented camps and a lightweight mobile walking camp, each chosen for its ground rather than its built hardware.
Daily Itinerary Breakdown
Victoria Falls on a Private Zambezi Island
Two nights on the Zambezi above the falls, on a private island reached only by boat. The days run from the mainland lodge a short transfer away: game drives in Zambezi National Park morning and afternoon, guided walks, canoe trails on the upper river, and a cruise at sunrise or sunset when the elephants come down to the bank. Victoria Falls itself and the Batoka Gorge are close enough to take at your own pace. You sleep at Island Treehouse Suites, timber and glass on stilts above the water, adults only, each with a plunge pool facing the river.
- Accommodation at Island Treehouse Suites
Walking the Kweene River Concession
Four nights walking the Abu Private Reserve, a 30,000-hectare concession in the western Delta reached only by helicopter. You walk between two camps fifteen kilometres apart, Kweene River Camp among arid grass floodplains and Magwegwe Camp north of it in seasonal swamp that holds water all year, so the ground changes underfoot as you go. There is no timetable. Some days are a gentle stroll to a lagoon, others run beyond twenty kilometres. On foot you share the ground with lion, leopard, wild dog and spotted hyaena, and with elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and red lechwe across the floodplain. Both camps are lightweight canvas, pitched and struck with the season, and Kweene Trails is hosted by Simon and Marleen Byron, who walk with you.
- Accommodation at Kweene Trails
Shinde and the Permanent Lagoon
Out of the Abu concession by helicopter and on to a private concession in the northern Delta for three nights. The lagoon here holds water all year, so you can take a mokoro out at dawn, a motorboat after lunch and a game drive at dusk on the same day, in any season. The land is private, which lets the guides do what Moremi does not permit: walking safaris, and night drives for genet, civet and porcupine. The reserve boundary is shared with Moremi, the vehicles are not. Shinde is a small camp on a palm island in the middle of it, with the lagoon at its edge and every boat, mokoro and vehicle leaving from the same landing.
- Accommodation at Shinde
San Camp on the Edge of Nwetwe Pan
Three closing nights on the edge of Nwetwe Pan, a flat white expanse of salt in the Makgadikgadi. This is not game-drive country and the days do not pretend to be: you quad bike out onto the crust, ride across it, and sleep out on the salt with nothing on the horizon. Mornings go to the habituated meerkats, and to walking with the Zu/'hoasi, who read the ground for what it will give. The camp runs only in the dry months, roughly April to October, when the pan will carry a vehicle. San Camp is seven white tents under desert palms, with a mess tent of fossils, maps and curios.
- Accommodation at San Camp
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.
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zimbabwe & botswana
khwai camping to chief’s island
Twelve nights from Victoria Falls to the Chobe and across Botswana's Okavango, by vehicle, boat, mokoro and on foot.
- Private Safari
- From $8,995 pp
- 2 guests
- 12 nights
zimbabwe & botswana
zambezi to the okavango
Twelve nights from the Zambezi floodplain and Victoria Falls to Selinda's spillway and the Okavango's Gomoti channels.
- Private Safari
- From $22,955 pp
- 2 guests
- 12 nights
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
remote, exclusive
& personal
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.