botswana & zimbabwe
delta waterways to kariba
Twelve nights across Botswana and Zimbabwe, linking the Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls, a Hwange concession and Lake Kariba.
- Private Safari
- From $12,275 pp
- 2 guests
- 12 nights
trip highlights
- Matetsi River Lodge holds 15 kilometres of private Zambezi frontage across a 50,000-hectare reserve, 45 minutes upstream from Victoria Falls.
- At Mana Pools you explore a Zambezi floodplain on foot and by canoe, among elephant, buffalo and one of Africa's strongholds of the painted dog.
- Linkwasha's sunken hide sits at the water's edge, level with elephant feet and trunks, as herds gather on the pumped pan through the dry months.
- Singita Pamushana stands above Malilangwe Dam on a reserve run as a rhino sanctuary, with black and white rhino ranging the mopane woodland below.
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A Zimbabwe Circuit by River, Lake and Plain
This route strings together five corners of Zimbabwe over thirteen nights. It opens on the Zambezi at Victoria Falls, where the river drops into the Batoka Gorge along a curtain nearly 1.7 kilometres across. From there it runs to Mana Pools, a floodplain walked and paddled rather than driven, then to Matusadona on the southern shore of Lake Kariba, where the safari often begins on the water. Hwange follows, its pumped waterholes gathering elephants across Kalahari sand, before the highlands of Malilangwe close the trip on a private rhino reserve.
You move between stays by light aircraft and vehicle, the days shaped by game drives, guided walks, river cruises and canoeing as each place allows. The camps and lodges are small, comfortable and well positioned on their ground, several of them on private concessions that permit night drives and river activities the parks restrict.
Daily Itinerary Breakdown
The Zambezi Above Victoria Falls
Begin on a private stretch of the Zambezi some 45 minutes upstream from Victoria Falls, with two full days to divide between the river and the reserve. Game drives on the lodge's own ground cross paths with elephant, buffalo, sable, roan, lion, leopard and wild dog, while sunrise and sunset cruises drift past hippos and crocodiles. A guided tour of the Falls is laid on with high tea, and the Flight of the Angels helicopter route lifts off from a helipad two minutes away. Matetsi River Lodge runs its eighteen suites across two camps, East and West, each with a river-facing terrace, and a 25-metre rim-flow pool runs the length of the bank.
- Accommodation at Matetsi River Lodge
Mana Pools on Foot and by Canoe
Fly in to the Mana West airstrip for three nights at the western tip of Mana Pools, a floodplain explored by walking and canoe rather than by vehicle alone. Mornings might open with a game drive or a walk beside a guide, among elephant, buffalo and the painted dogs the valley is known for; afternoons turn to the Zambezi for canoeing past hippo or catch-and-release fishing for tigerfish. Ruckomechi Camp sits on a private concession, so night drives and river activities the park restricts are open to you here. Its ten tented suites face the water, elephants drawn in close by the albida forest.
- Accommodation at Ruckomechi Camp
Lake Kariba and the Matusadona Shore
Two nights on Lake Kariba, where the safari runs from the water as readily as the land. Boating and sundowner cruises follow the shoreline past elephants in the shallows and hippos in the inlets, the fishing for tigerfish is superb and all catch and release, and game drives and guided walks stay on the private concession. The Lady Jacqueline houseboat carries up to eight guests for a one-night sleepout along the Matusadona shoreline. Bumi Hills Safari Lodge crowns a hill above the water, looking across to the Zambezi Escarpment, its infinity pool appearing to blend into the lake horizon.
- Accommodation at Bumi Hills Safari Lodge
Hwange's Pumped Pans and Elephants
Three nights on the edge of the Ngamo Plains, in the south-eastern corner of Hwange. Through the dry months, from roughly May to October, wildlife concentrates on the pumped waterholes as surface water disappears, and elephant numbers around the camp pan build through the afternoon and into the evening, with buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and antelope at the same water and lions working the edges after dark. Hwange holds a high density of painted dog. Linkwasha Camp has nine tents looking over the pan, a swimming pool on the deck and a hide sunk to the water's edge, level with elephant feet and trunks, where photographers work for hours unnoticed.
- Accommodation at Linkwasha Camp
Malilangwe's Rhino Sanctuary and Sandstone
Close the trip with three nights on a private reserve in Zimbabwe's south-east, run as a rhino sanctuary, where black and white rhino range the mopane woodland and breeding herds of elephant swim in the dam through the afternoon heat. Guides take open vehicles through woodland and sandstone hills by day and by spotlight after dark, then swap the Land Cruiser for a boat at sundown. More than 120 San and Iron Age painting sites lie in the sandstone galleries, reached on foot. Singita Pamushana sets eight suites and a villa on a sandstone ridge, built with dry-stone masonry drawn from Great Zimbabwe.
- Accommodation at Singita Pamushana
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.
looking for inspiration?
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
zimbabwe
walking with elephants
Twelve nights across Zimbabwe, from Victoria Falls and Mana Pools to Lake Kariba, Hwange and the granite of Matobo.
- Private Safari
- From $9,986 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.