Southern Africa Encompassed: Bush Camps & Wildlife Spotting

Arrive at any time. Tonight, get to know your group on your first night out together in Johannesburg. After your welcome meeting at the hotel, choose to enjoy an Amarula cocktail at the bar or go to Emperors Palace with a wide array of restaurants and bars to choose from. Sit back, relax, eat some grub, sip a cocktail, and get to know your fellow travel buddies as the adventure begins. If you arrive a day or two early, we recommended booking an excursion to Soweto or the Apartheid Museum.

Get ready to check another country off those travel lists as you and the group pass across the border into Botswana. We’re not going to lie, today will be a lot of driving, but use this opportunity to talk with your group, swap stories, and watch as the landscape changes around you from the desolate scenery of central-eastern Botswana to the wild bush within the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. The group will stop here for the night to set up camp, enjoy each other's company around a fire, and fall peacefully asleep beneath the stars. Today's travel takes us through a very desolate part of central-eastern Botswana. We cross into Botswana and finish the day at a campsite within the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a unique community-based initiative in wildlife conservation.

You didn’t think the group was leaving before taking part in a wildlife drive through the Khama Sanctuary did you? Good, because there’s not a chance. Get out there in an open air vehicle with a guide to spot some wildlife. Jump in the Lando and continue on to Maun. Scroll through your camera roll checking the pictures you've already snapped while the land outside your window becomes more fertile as you approach the area of the Okavango Delta.

Today is going to be busy, but fun, and man do we wish we were going with you on this epic adventure. You’ll wake to the sounds and smells of the bush around you. Later, dive right into some nature with a wildlife walk. The cool thing about being on foot is that you will get to learn about tracking the animals and gain insight into their movement patterns and behaviour on a much more intimate level. From there the group will begin an exciting excursion deep into the Okavango Delta in a traditional mokoro (dugout canoe) to do some birdwatching on the way to our basic bush camp for the evening (get ready to completely unplug). Set up camp, sing with the locals, and simply unwind with a sundowner around the campfire… cheers!

Africa is home to some of the most beautiful sunrises in the world and today (if the weather is just right) you will get to experience the almost too vibrant colours of that quintessential sunrise that we all picture when we think of going on safari to Africa. Then, tip your heads back, take a deep breath, and feel the mokoro cut through the crystal clear channels as you ride out of the Okavango Delta. The group will take some time to freshen up in Maun (showers everyone!) before embarking in the Lando to Nata where the group will camp under massive baobab trees for the night.

Travel to Kasane and choose to embark on a river cruise through Chobe NP, home to the largest elephant population in southern Africa. Drive through the verdant lands between Nata and Kasane. Witness how rain brings life to the salt pans, awakening the dormant fish and aquatic shrimps in the mud. The surrounding grasslands also teem with life and are home to many antelope, which attract a wide variety of predators. Keep your eyes focused as the world passes you by and then reward yourself with a group toast as you camp under the great big African sky. Today we journey to Chobe National Park, home to the largest elephant population in southern Africa. The best way to appreciate one of Botswana's national parks and its thousands of resident elephants, crocodiles, and hippos is on an optional sunset boat cruise on the Chobe River. You can pre-book this on the checkout page, or through your Global Connection Officer or travel agent.

Buckle those seat belts and cross the border from Botswana to Zimbabwe; home of epic Victoria Falls. All that driving is bound to make you hungry and we have a treat for you today! The group will be having a traditional lunch at the G Adventurers supported Lusumpuko Women's Club. With full bellies and even more full hearts, get ready to feel the mist in the air as you enter the town of Victoria Falls. Get up close and personal with one of the largest waterfalls in the world. For the adventurous we recommend going whitewater rafting, taking a scenic helicopter flight over the falls (epic selfies anyone?), or taking the plunge (literally) while bungee jumping with the waterfalls in sight. (Oh man... just thinking of that makes our heads spin and our palms sweat!) Not looking to turn your hair gray today? That’s okay, we understand. Either way the choice is yours, but remember you’re here now so why not escape those comfort zones?

Get up close and personal with one of the largest waterfalls in the world on this free day in Victoria Falls. Feel the strength of the water splashing your skin on the observation deck, taking in the sound of tons of water thundering in over the edge of the falls in the distance, and make your day as relaxing or hair-raising as you like. Opt to try whitewater rafting. Maybe take a scenic helicopter flight over the falls (epic selfies anyone?), or take the plunge (literally) while bungee jumping with Victoria Falls in sight.

Rise early to the sounds of Victoria Falls thundering in the distance before the group heads out towards the Kazangula Border crossing into Botswana. On this long, but scenic drive, take the time to enjoy the views, get to know your group more, and reflect on what you hope to gain from taking this trip. Your stop tonight is a little north of Francistown. Enjoy dinner together at camp before a night under the vast sky.

Depart Francistown after breakfast and cross the border into South Africa at Martins Drift. Enjoy a packed lunch along the way. Upon arrival to Mapungubwe National Park area, the group will embark on a guided bush walk in the Mapesu Private Wildlife Reserve. This is the area where archaeologists excavated the famous golden rhino and other evidence of a wealthy African kingdom. Home to elephants, leopards, and an abundance of birdlife, set against a backdrop of forests and towering cliffs, this is a wonderful place to explore on foot.

Another day, another slice of adventure! Travel into Mapungubwe National Park after breakfast at camp. Visit the Interpretation Centre and Museum for a self-guided experience and short film. Learn about the ancient civilizations that inhabited the area before a packed picnic lunch at the spot where the Limpopo River splits Zimbabwe and Botswana. Then, the main event! A safari drive in the park to spot wildlife before returning to camp this evening. After dark, you can choose to go on a night wildlife drive in the private reserve near the campsite.

Welcome to wildlife country! Kruger is the kind of place that you’ll visit, but still want to return to over and over again. With nearly 5 million acres this park offers some of the best access to wild animals in Africa, so prepare for an epic time… (but you already knew that!) Keep those cameras at the ready and experience your ultimate African safari fantasy become a reality. Search for lions, elephants and many other animals on a full-day wildlife safari drive. Word of advice? Remember that it’s not all about the animals. This sprawling sanctuary is home to much more; think giant baobab, fever, and marula trees towering over the savannah in a place that feels older than time itself. Stop at prime viewing areas like Hippo Pool, the Kruger Tablets, and the Red Rocks, while you simply revel in your primitive surroundings as nature moves around you.

Yesterday was only a taste of the beauty that resides in the National Parks of South Africa. Today, you will head out into Kruger NP again on another wildlife safari drive in the Lando. (Upgrade alert! You can choose to embark on this experience in a 4x4 safari vehicle instead.) Take your gaze to the sky today and try to search for all of the things you didn’t get to yesterday. In the evening fill your bellies with a traditional dinner together, then grab someone’s hand and work up a sweat with some local dancing as the night settles around you.

While you may be leaving the bush behind today, the memories will stay with you forever. So don’t despair, instead look ahead with excitement as you journey back to Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and economic heart.

Depart at any time. Alas, it’s time to go home, but not before giving "Jozi" some love! Perhaps you’ll extend for a few days and enjoy this vibrant, up and coming South African city? Wander through important cultural spaces like the Apartheid Museum and the Mandela House, soaking in the history that shaped Johannesburg. Sample food, music, and art in the city’s trendy neighbourhoods like Melville and give yourself time to relax and unwind before returning home.

Simple hotels (2 nts, single or twin-share), participation camping (11 nts), basic bush camp (1 nt).

Lando (overland adventure vehicle), open safari vehicle, mokoro, walking