Day 1 Botswana – Martins Drift The tour begins in Johannesburg where we load up the truck before heading north towards the Botswana border. It is a long and fairly uneventful drive to Martins Drift, as we make our way through the Limpopo Province and into Botswana. Our stopover for tonight is situated on the banks of the Limpopo River. After settling in and setting up camp, our guide will give us a briefing on the next few days. Optional Activities: Sunset game drive Meals: Lunch, Dinner Day 2 Martins Drift - Francistown An early morning start, we have a fairy uneventful drive ahead of us to Francistown, Botswana’s second largest city and the site of Southern Africa’s first ‘gold-rush’ back in the late 1800’s. Nowadays Francistown is a modern African city and home to many jazz-clubs and casinos making for some excellent nightlife. A large variety of Botswana bird species can be viewed whilst relaxing on the river bank. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 3 Hwange National Park At around 14650 square kilometres the Hwange National Park is the largest in Zimbabwe and home to one of Africa’s largest Elephant populations as well as over 100 other mammalian species and 400 different birds. Optional Activities: Open 4x4 vehicle game drive Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 4 Victoria Falls In the early morning we will enjoy a game drive in the Hwange NP. After which we drive north to Victoria Falls where we will visit the Victoria Falls National Park in order to experience this magnificent natural wonder. The local people wisely use the expression ‘the smoke that thunders’, or Musi-o-tunya, to describe the unforgettable waterfall in the Zambezi River. We will also visit a local adventure operator to book activities for the next day. In the evening there are many excellent restaurants to choose from. Optional Activity: Dinner Out Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Day 5 Victoria Falls Today there is an entire day free to experience some of the exciting adventure activities that are possible from this tourism town. While the White Water Rafting is one of the most popular activities there are many others on offer such as: Walking with Lions, Elephant interactions, Gorge swing, microlighting and scenic Helicopter flights. Meals: Breakfast Day 6 Zambia - Livingstone and Zambezi River Today we cross over the historical railway bridge that links Zimbabwe and Zambia at the Victoria Falls. This bridge was completed in 1905 and was placed, at the request of Cecil John Rhodes, so that the spray from the falls could embrace the railway carriages as they crossed from one side to the other. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 7 Lower Zambezi National Park Canoe Trip Today we will be beginning our canoe adventure in to the Lower Zambezi National Park. Starting early in the morning we will be taking the minimum of equipment necessary and ‘bush camping’ on an island this evening, surrounded by wildlife, including the hippo. This is a unique experience as we will be a long, long way from any form of civilisation! Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 8 Lower Zambezi National Park This is the second day spent on the mighty Zambezi River. As we are travelling downstream with the current the physical effort required to negotiate the river is not extreme and many happy hours can be spent simply drifting and enjoying the beautiful scenery, birdlife and company. At certain times of the year it may not be possible to canoe on the river due to extreme temperatures or water levels. In this instance the 2 days normally spent on the river will be swapped for a 2-night houseboat excursion on Lake Kariba. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 9 Kariba We finish our canoe trip in the morning and will be taken by speed boat back to the truck. We will make our way to Kariba where you will have the time to relax next to this famous lake. In the evening there is the chance to enjoy and optional sunset cruise. Kariba is the largest artificial lake in the world. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba dam. Optional Activity: Sunset cruise Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 10 Zimbabwe – Chinhoyi Caves From Chirundu it is not a long trip to Chinhoyi. Probably best known for cave diving, the Chinhoyi caves system is the largest publicly accessible cave system in Zimbabwe and reputably a ‘mysterious’ area. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 11 Harare and Chimanimani National Park After visiting the caves it is a short drive from Chinhoyi to Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, where we will stop for some shopping, lunch and exploration. Although Harare has not had a lot of positive press in the last 10 years, many will be surprised at just how safe and accessible this small, modern capital is. After lunch we will be travelling to the Eastern Highlands and the Chimanimani National Park. The Mountain range that separates Zimbabwe and Mozambique is the site of some simply spectacular hiking and scenery and with time permitting we will take a short walk to the well-known Bridal Veil Falls in the late afternoon. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Day 12 Great Zimbabwe Ruins No visit to Zimbabwe could possibly be complete without visiting the world-famous Great Zimbabwe ruins. Dating from around the 11th century these iron-age ruins have been the source of much speculation and disagreement over the years. Built without any mortar some of the walls are up to 5 metres high and still standing after so many centuries. This site was also home to 8 carved Zimbabwe birds, the image of which is found on the Zimbabwean National Flag. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 13 /14 Matobo - Matopos National Park It is a long drive to reach Greater Matopos NP area. The next day we enjoy a full day Game drive with a local operator into the Greater Matopos NP area. We head towards the Matobo Hills where we view the Bushman Paintings, rock formations and scenery in the National Park. We will also visit the Rhodes Memorial, a place of beauty and mystery of the natural world where Cecil John Rhodes was buried almost 100 years ago. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 15 South Africa – Bulawayo to Messina After a short visit to the Bulawayo Historical Museum we start the drive back to South Africa. We cross the border at Buitbridge, which can sometimes take a long time, and return to South Africa where we will camp at the border town of Messina. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 16 Johannesburg Today we leave early for the journey south along the Great North Road towards Johannesburg, the City of Gold. We will gradually move up from the Bushveld and Baobabs of the Limpopo Province through citrus and maize fields to the heavily populated and industrialised Highveld and Gauteng Province, the powerhouse of Africa. We will travel past Pretoria, one of South Africa’s capital cities, before arriving in Johannesburg in the late afternoon. Most people choose to get together tonight for a meal out at one of Johannesburg’s many excellent restaurants Optional activity: Dinner out Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Day 17 Kwa Madwala Reserve An early start from Johannesburg, we travel through the Northern Province of Mpumalanga en route to the breathtaking Kruger National Park. This afternoon we enter the Kwa Madwala Game Reserve just south of the Kruger Park. After setting up camp we enjoy an evening game drive followed by local dancing and dinner. Look out for those shining eyes and keep your cameras ready! Meals: Lunch, Dinner Day 18 Kruger National Park Today we start with a morning game walk before proceeding into the Kruger National Park. We enjoy an afternoon game drive from the comfort of our Nomad Truck. On the way keep your eyes open for more wildlife. Our truck gives us a more elevated view of the park, and the ability to spot big cats and other smaller game that can be hiding in the vegetation. Optional Activities: Night game drives with SANP Game Ranger (Subject to availability) Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Day 19 Kruger National Park Today we have a full day of game viewing planned in a Kruger National Park open 4x4 vehicle. This gives you some fantastic photo opportunities so keep your eyes open for Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhino and Buffalo, known as Africa’s ‘Big Five’ as well as many other species of animals and birds. Optional Activities: Morning walk with SANP Game Ranger, Night game drives with SANP Game Ranger (Subject to availability) Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Day 20 Panorama Route – Johannesburg This morning we leave Kruger National Park on our journey back to Johannesburg. We travel along the spectacular Panorama Route. Blyde River Canyon is the 3rd largest canyon in the world, with breathtaking views of formations such as God’s Window and the Three Rondavels. We also see The Bourke’s Luck Potholes, which have been gradually eroded by the Treur River. Your tour ends on arrival in Johannesburg and most groups spend this last night together at a local restaurant. Optional Activities: Morning Game Walk with SANP, Dinner in a local Restaurant. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Notes: Activity Package: This is an optional payment that covers what we consider to be 'essential activities' on our tours. Ideally we would include all of these, but not everyone can afford this. This payment is 100% transparent and is listed below. The Activity Package can be pre-purchased prior to your arrival or through your guide on day 1 of your tour. The itinerary has been written with the inclusion of the Activity Package items. 
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