Botswana's Finest Lodges Safari - 9 Days

Once you’ve arrived in Johannesburg and have cleared customs and immigration, you’ll find a representative from African Sky waiting for you as you enter the arrivals hall. First, we’ll take care of a few formalities. Once formalities are completed you’ll then be escorted to the appropriate departure terminal where you’ll be assisted in boarding a local flight to Kasane from where a short transfer will bring you to your lodge. Your activities in Chobe alternate between daily open 4x4 game drives in the park - for the most part, keeping reasonably close to the river - and water-based game viewing on the Chobe River, arguably the single most rewarding wildlife activity on offer in Southern Africa today.

The Chobe riverfront where your lodge is located is a hive of wildlife activity, one a handful of ‘must see’ hotspots on the African continent. The riverfront is an ’Eco-system within an Eco-system’, with large daily back-and-forth migrations as animals move into the surrounding woodland during the day to feed, only to return again in the late afternoon to quench their thirsts. The floodplain, close to the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi rivers, is an oasis in an often harsh and unforgiving environment. Hundreds of hippos, large Nile crocodiles and an incredible variety of birdlife are just some of the animals encountered here. The floodplain is home to Botswana’s only population of puku antelope. Elephant herds numbering in the hundreds are regularly seen during the late afternoon, sometimes swimming across one of the many channels. Close encounters are all but guaranteed. Buffaloes often wade across to the perennially green islands in search of better grazing. Lions and spotted hyenas, wild dogs and leopards are sometimes sighted along the riverbank.

A last morning safari experience in Chobe is followed by a short flight to Kings Pool, situated in the 125 000 ha Linyanti Reserve to the north of the Okavango Delta. The Linyanti Swamp is fed by the Kwando River and is the heart of this wildlife refuge that attracts elephant by the thousands. Guests spend three nights at Kings Pool with two game activities conducted daily by lodge-based rangers and trackers. The Linyanti area is not as well-known as the Okavango but offers exceptional game viewing in one of Africa's truly wild outposts.

During your stay in Linyanti, two safari activities are included daily. These alternate between open 4X4 game drives, walking safaris and water-based game viewing.

A morning game activity in Linyanti is followed by breakfast and a short charter flight to the Okavango Delta. While in the Okavango you’ll enjoy two exciting activities daily, ranging from a water-based Mokoro (dugout canoe) rides on its tranquil waters, to guided nature walks, and of course game drives on open 4x4 vehicles. These safaris are led by local rangers and trackers and include land as well as water-based adventures.

The lush oasis of the Okavango stretches its green arms deep into the desert, its fingertips melting away into the sweltering sands of the Kalahari. It is one of the last wonderfully wild frontiers, unfenced and largely untouched, save for visitors who wish only to revel in its verdant magic and take nothing away but memories. The majority of the estimated 200,000 large mammals in and around the Delta are not year-round residents and leave with the summer rains to find renewed fields of grass to graze on and trees to browse, making their way back as winter approaches again. Large herds of buffalo and elephant total some 30,000 animals.

Enjoy a last breakfast and morning game activity before bidding the delta farewell and departing for Maun via charter flight. From Maun guests will continue to Johannesburg where an African Sky representative will be ready to meet them for any assistance required, whether it be checking in for their flight home or a transfer to a preferred location in Johannesburg or Pretoria. Your luxury Botswana's Finest Lodges Safari is sure to be painted in your memory forever.