8 Day Delta & Chobe Trail

Venture into two of Africa’s most famous wildlife areas – the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park.

Hightlights:

• Explore the watery maze of the Okavango Delta
• Be dwarfed by herds of elephants by the Chobe River
• Marvel at the mighty Victoria Falls

Price: R 7,950
Single Supplement: R 2,140

Activity Package: R 6, 590
Local Payment: $ 745
Countries Visited: Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Type: Accommodated
Vehicle: Adventure Truck.

What’s included

• Meals as indicated on the itinerary
• Accommodation
• Registered guides
• Transport

We also include some of the activities. These activities are listed below in the day-by-day descriptions.

What’s excluded

• All items of a personal nature
• Alcohol
• Snacks
• Souvenirs
• Tips
• Optional activities (see list for an indication of prices)

Note: All information is subject to change without prior notice. Travel times and campsites can change depending on road or weather conditions, etc. These are used as a guideline only.

8 Day Delta & Chobe Trail Itinerary

Arrival: Please be sure to arrive 1 day before your tour is due to depart. This will avoid any unpredictable problems.

Departure: Please book your flight to depart the day after the tour officially ends. This is to account for any delays that we may experience due to unpredictable road conditions.

Departure Point: 8.00 am, Casa Piccolo, 6 Barella Street, Klein Windhoek, Tel: +264 (061) 221155

End Point: Elephant Hills Resort, Park Way Drive, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Tel: +263 13 44793.

Detailed Itinerary

• Day 1 Botswana – Ghanzi
• Day 2/3/4 Maun – Okavango Delta
• Day 5 Gweta
• Day 6 Chobe National Park
• Day 7 Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls
• Day 8 Victoria Falls

Day 1 Botswana – Ghanzi

We say goodbye to Namibia and journey through the Botswana border. Later we arrive at our lodge in Ghanzi, and this evening we experience some traditional tribal dancing from the Bushman (San) community.

• Meals: Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Two per Room: Tautona Lodge www.tautonalodge.com
• Facilities: En-suites, bar, swimming pool.
• Included Activities: Bushman dancing in evening
• Route: Windhoek to Ghanzi. ±570 km
• Travel time: ±8-9 hrs and a border crossing

Border posts:

• Namibia: Buitepos, Tel: +264 62 560401, Open: 07h00-24h00.
• Botswana: Mamanu, Tel: +267 (0) 659 2013/2064, Open: 07h00-24h00.

The San People who were formally know as the Bushmen, are indigenous to Botswana (and Namibia) and have lived here for over 30,000 years. It is truly an incredible experience to get an understanding of what Africa was like so many years ago and how the people survived in these desert conditions when their very existence was based on the land. It is said that the word San meant ‘wild people who can’t farm’, however historically they didn’t have a collective word for themselves. Now they call themselves Ncoakhoe meaning ‘red people’, but it seems San has stuck. They were nomadic people – primarily hunter gatherers, moving to where the food and water could be found. It is estimated that there are 55,000 San people left, with 60% of them living in Botswana and many examples of their cave drawing’s can be found dotted around. Sadly nowadays, their existence is similar to the aboriginals and can be found in ‘squalid alcohol plagued settlements’ or on farms and cattle posts.

As we cross the border we’ll start to see villagers, cattle, donkeys, and sheep roaming along the side of the highway. Sometimes the donkeys and cows sit in the middle of the road and any amount of horn blowing won’t get them out of the road. Independent since 1966 (formally a British protectorate) three of the world’s richest diamond mines were discovered in Botswana, and this has made Botswana quite a rich nation, allowing them to pick and choose their future. Now 40yrs old, it is known as the African success story. Politically stable and with the foresight to invest in education, healthcare, high economic standards and without the racial issues that have plagued other countries has resulted in Botswana having the best economy in sub-Saharan Africa. The government has employed a strategy of high income – low impact tourism. This is where they reduce the number of tourists entering any area of the country by charging a lot more than neighbouring countries, thereby making it more restrictive for the budget traveller.

Day 2/3/4 Maun – Okavango Delta

Maun is well known as the gateway to the Okavango Delta, the world’s largest inland delta. We spend one night in Maun and prepare for this excursion. Small planes transport us over this amazing area to our next overnight stop. Animals are often spotted from the lodge, but we also take a nature walk and, if the water level allows, a mokoro (traditional canoe) trip.

Day 2

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Two per Room: Sitatunga
• Facilities: Hot showers, En-suites, bar, swimming pool.
• Route: Ghanzi to Maun. ±300 km
• Travel time: ±4-5 hrs

Day 3

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Two per Meru Tent: Moremi Crossing
• Facilities: En-suite, bar, hot water, swimming pool
• Included Activities: Flight from Maun to Moremi Crossings approx 20min, Afternoon Nature Walk
• Luggage Restriction: 10kg luggage per person. No water permitted on the flights. Water can be purchased at Moremi Crossing.

Day 4

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Two per Meru Tent: Moremi Crossing
• Facilities: En-suite, bar, hot water, swimming pool
• Included Activities: Mokoro Rides and Nature Walks

Maun is the fifth largest town in Botswana. It is an eclectic mix of modern buildings and native huts. Maun is the “tourism capital” of Botswana. Since Maun’s founding in 1915 as the tribal capital of the Batawana people, it has had a reputation as a hard-living ‘Wild West’ town helping the local cattle ranching and hunting operations. However, with the growth of the tourism industry and the completion of the tar road from Nata in the early 1990s, Maun has developed swiftly, losing much of its old town character. It is now home to over 30,000 people and is today a thriving, chaotic tourist town, infamous for its infestation of donkeys and to lesser extent, goats. These animals can be seen standing around on their own as the local farmers arrive in the innumerable taxis to sell their wares on the kerbside.

With the influx of tourism dollars, the typical traditional Rondavels of yesteryear have been replaced by square but modestly sized cinderblock homes roofed with tin and, rarely, tiles. It is not unusual to see mud rondavels with satellite dishes, attesting to the increasing affluence of Botswana, and the increasingly reliability of power and communications in Maun. Likewise, mobile phone service in Maun is excellent to a range of about 20 to 25km depending on weather. Opposite the main shopping strip which has grown around Riley’s Garage, multi-level air-conditioned shopping centres are incongruously surrounded by potholes, dusty or muddy car parking lots, also inevitably a marketplace for whoever wishes to sell. There is now, also, no less than three major chain supermarkets, Cbstore, Spar, Shoprite and a Nandos.

Millions of years ago the Okavango River used to flow into a large inland lake called Lake Makgadikgadi (now Makgadikgadi Pans). Tectonic activity and faulting interrupted the flow of the river causing it to back up and form what is now the Okavango Delta. This has created a unique system of waterways that now supports a vast array of animal and plant life that would have otherwise been a dry Kalahari Savannah.

The delta’s floods are fed by the rains in Angola and Zambia, which start in October and finish sometime in April. The floods only cross the border between Botswana and Namibia in December and will only reach the bottom end of the delta (Maun) sometime in July, taking almost nine months from the source to the bottom. This slow meandering pace of the flood is due to the very minor drop in elevation – little more than 60 meters over a distance of 450 kilometres!

There are an estimated 200 000 large mammals in and around the Okavango Delta. Many of these animals live in the Delta but the majority move in and out. They leave with the summer rains to find renewed fields of grass to graze on and trees to browse, and then as winter approaches and the countryside dries up they make their way back to swamps. This leads to some of the most incredible sightings as large numbers of prey and predators get squashed into a smaller and smaller area, providing some of the best predator action that you can see anywhere in the world.

The Delta provides a seasonal habitat to numerous different species, among these are African Bush Elephants, the African Buffalo, the Hippopotamus, the Lechwe, the Topi, the Blue Wildebeest, the Giraffe, the Nile crocodile, the Lion, the Cheetah, the Leopard, Brown and Spotted Hyenas, Greater Kudu, the Sable Antelope, both the Black and the White Rhinoceros, the Plains Zebras, the Warthog and the Chacma Baboon. Notably the endangered African Wild Dog is present within the Okavango Delta, exhibiting one of the richest pack densities in Africa. The Delta also includes over 400 species of birds, including the African Fish Eagle.

Day 5 Gweta

A second scenic air-transfer will return us to Maun and the truck. This afternoon we drive to Planet Baobab where our evening accommodation is set amongst the majestic Baobab trees.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Two per Room: Planet Baobab Campsite
• Facilities: En-suites, bar, swimming pool.
• Route: Maun to Gweta. ±201 km
• Travel time: ±3-4 hrs

Along the cracked and crop-less landscape on the road between Maun and Francistown, where elephants tear up any tree that dares to raise its head, a large grey hulk looms into sight at the edge of the road. If this is an elephant it is a very peculiar one! As the eyes recognise a giant anteater, the brain begins to wonder what might have been in that last beer? Follow the side road pointed out by that anteater snout and you will discover the intriguingly named “Planet Baobab”. Welcome to the Baobab capital of the world and home of the Kalahari Surf Club! The average age of each baobab tree; 4000 years and beyond, the boundless salt pans of the Makgadikgadi, a lunar landscape the size of Switzerland.

Thankfully, the funkiest bar in the Kalahari awaits your pleasure, a well known watering hole for travellers of every description and the more colourful characters from Maun. At any one time, locals jostle the cross-continentals who have slogged it through the bush, and worse, to get here. Just a stone’s throw from all this beer and bustle is the elephant’s paddling pool. Oblivious to Guests crouching in the nearby trees, the elephants and travellers mostly ignore each other.

Day 6 Chobe National Park

After continuing north to Kasane, we take a sunset river cruise on the Chobe River where animals such as hippos, buffalo and elephant are plentiful.

• Optional Activities: Chobe Game Drive (next morning).
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Two per Room: Thebe River Safaris (no website available)
• Facilities: Hot showers, En-suites, bar, swimming pool.
• Included Activities: Sunset Boat Cruise in the Chobe NP
• Route: Gweta to Kasane. ±400 km
• Travel time: ±6-7 hrs

The Chobe National Park, which is the second largest national park in Botswana and covers 10,566 square kilometres, has one of the greatest concentrations of game found on the African continent. Its uniqueness in the abundance of wildlife and the true African nature of the region, offers a safari experience of a lifetime.

The park is divided into four distinctly different eco systems: Serondela with its lush plains and dense forests in the Chobe River area in the extreme north-east; the Savuti Marsh in the west about fifty kilometres north of Mababe gate; the Linyanti Swamps in the north-west and the hot dry hinterland in between.

In 1931 the idea of creating a national park in the area was first mooted, in order to protect the wildlife from extinction and to attract visitors. In 1932, an area of some 24,000 square kilometres in the Chobe district was declared a non-hunting area and the following year, the protected area was increased to 31,600 square kilometres. However, heavy tsetse fly infestations resulted in the whole idea lapsing in 1943. In 1957, the idea of a national park was raised again when an area of about 21,000 square kilometres was proposed as a game reserve and eventually a reduced area was gazetted in 1960 as Chobe Game Reserve. Later, in 1967, the reserve was declared a national park – the first national park in Botswana. There was a large settlement, based on the timber industry, at Serondela, some remains of which can still be seen today. This settlement was gradually moved out and the Chobe National Park was finally empty of human occupation in 1975. In 1980 and again in 1987, the boundaries were altered, increasing the park to its present size.

Chobe National Park is probably best known for its spectacular elephant population: 50,000 elephants today, it is actually the highest elephant concentration of Africa. Moreover, most of them are probably part of the largest continuous surviving elephant population on earth. The elephant population seems to have solidly built up since 1990, from a few thousand.

Elephants living here are Kalahari elephants, characterized by rather brittle ivory and short tusks, perhaps due to calcium deficiency in the soils. Damage caused by the high numbers of elephants is rife in some areas. In fact, concentration is so high throughout Chobe that culls have been considered, but are too controversial and have thus far been rejected.
At dry season, these elephants sojourn in Chobe River and the Linyanti River areas and in rainy season, they make a 200-km migration to the southeast stretch of the park. Their distribution zone however outreaches the park and spreads to northwestern Zimbabwe…

Day 7 Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls

After an early morning optional game drive we cross into Zimbabwe where we have a short briefing on all the activities available here. Then we enter the much anticipated Victoria Falls NP where we will experience the might of the great Zambezi River. Officially your tour finishes the next day after breakfast but most people will spend the day White Water Rafting, Optional Activities: Zambezi Sunset Cruise, Dinner out, White Water Rafting, Bungee Jump, Elephant Excursion, White Water rafting and many more…

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
• Accommodation: Two per Room: Elephant Hills Resort
• Facilities: En-suite, bar, swimming pool.
• Included Activities: Vic Falls National Park Entrance
• Route: Kasane to Vic Falls. ±100 km
• Travel time: ±2 hrs and a border crossing

Border posts:

• Botswana: Kazangala Road, Tel: +267 62 50320, Open: 06h00-20h0
• Zimbabwe: Kazangala Road, Open: 06h00-18h00

The small tourist town of Victoria Falls is located within walking distance of the famous waterfall. Victoria Falls is also an adventure hub with activities that include the ever-popular white water rafting, the flight over the Falls, an encounter with the Lions as well as the opportunity to ride an Elephant!

Once we have crossed the border into Zimbabwe it is a short drive to town where we will be briefed about all the different activities available. Choose carefully as almost all of them are really worth doing, speak to your guides for some advice. Please be aware that you cannot use credit/debit cards in Zimbabwe, so cash (USD) is best. The prices of the activities are listed at the beginning of this dossier so you can make sure to bring what you need.

Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view the Victoria Falls. The older, indigenous name of Mosi-oa-Tunya is the name in official use in Zambia. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,600 ft) and height of 108 meters (360 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world. The falls’ maximum flow rate compares well with that of other major waterfalls.

The unusual form of Victoria Falls enables virtually the whole width of the falls to be viewed face-on, at the same level as the top, from as close as 60 metres (200 ft), because the whole Zambezi River drops into a deep, narrow slot like chasm, connected to a long series of gorges. Few other waterfalls allow such a close approach on foot.

Victoria Falls are one of Africa’s major tourist attractions, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The falls are shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and each country has a national park to protect them and a town serving as a tourism centre: Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and Livingstone in Zambia, and Victoria Falls National Park and the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

The falls are formed as the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop into a chasm 60-120 metres (200-400 ft) wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau. The depth of the chasm, called the First Gorge, varies from 80 metres (262 ft) at its western end to 108 metres (360 ft) in the centre. The only outlet to the First Gorge is a 110-metre-wide (360 ft) gap about two-thirds of the way across the width of the falls from the western end, through which the whole volume of the river pours into the Victoria Falls gorges.

There are two islands on the crest of the falls that are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood: Boaruka Island (or Cataract Island) near the western bank, and Livingstone Island near the middle. At less than full flood, additional islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams. The main streams are named, in order from Zimbabwe (west) to Zambia (east): Leaping Water (called Devil’s Cataract by some), Main Falls, Rainbow Falls (the highest) and the Eastern Cataract.

Day 8 Victoria Falls

Most people will spend the day white water rafting, a not-to-be-missed experience of a lifetime! Vic Falls offers many exciting alternatives, such a walk with lions, or a helicopter flight over the Victoria Falls. Your tour officially finishes after breakfast, but there is the option to book extra nights. Optional Activities: White Water Rafting, Bungee Jump, Elephant Excursion, White Water rafting and many more.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Accommodation: Own Arrangements / Post Tour accommodation can be booked through Nomad

Tour Ends

We will drop you off at the Elephant Hills Hotel. You need to pre book this accommodation through your travel agent.

Note: Accommodation providers are subject to change without notice, the accommodation listed in this dossier is our preferred supplier, but sometimes due to availability, we are unable to make use of the property listed in this dossier. If we cannot use the accommodation provider as listed we will substitute another property of similar standards, however, en-suite facilities are not always guaranteed.

Optional Activities

Note: There are more optional activities being created every day – we have listed only the most popular. If there is something specific you would like to do then speak to your guide as they will be able to assist you.

Green Seats – Making Africa Greener

We give you the opportunity to offset your carbon foot print by purchasing a “Green Seat”. Please ask us for the donation on this tour.

Onward Travel

This tour can be linked to the Kruger Park, East African Adventure, South African Explorer and Discover Mozambique tours. Transfer with truck to Johannesburg.

Preparation

Visas

Please note that these are your responsibility. Some nationalities require visas for Namibia and Botswana. Most nationalities will require visas for Zimbabwe. See Pre Departure Booklet for more information.

Health

Please inform us of any pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or asthma and any prescription medicine you may be taking. We also need to know about any food allergies or physical disability that you may have.

Malaria

Malaria prophylactics are required. Very low risk of malaria in northern Namibia, but the risk increases to high risk as we travel north to Zimbabwe.

Vaccinations

No vaccinations are prescribed by law for the countries being visited on this tour. Please see the Pre Departure Information booklet for detailed information on vaccinations in Africa.

Local Information

Climate

The African sun is very strong. Please use a factor 30 sunscreen and wear a hat. You should drink at least 3 litres of water per day to avoid dehydration. It can also get very cold during winter months on this route. Please see Pre Departure Booklet for detailed information.

Currency and Banking

South African Rand is the most widely used currency on this route. US Dollar cash can be used for optional activities. In Botswana, the Pula is the local currency. You can change your Rand or Dollars to Pula when you enter Botswana. ATM’s do not always work in Botswana. Travellers cheques can take a long time to change into cash and often incur unreasonable charges. Credit Cards cannot always be processed – especially in remote areas. USD Notes printed before 2002 (i.e. the old style notes) will not be accepted and many places will not accept USD100 notes, so make sure to bring small notes for tips and craft markets. Please see Pre Departure Booklet for detailed information on each country.

Local Payment – USD 745

Payable in cash to the guide on departure. Only small denominations ($50, $20, $10, $5) notes printed after 2002 will be accepted. The local payment covers the 2 day Okavango Excursion, including a flight into and out of the Delta, entrance to Chobe National Park and a sunset boat cruise in Chobe National Park.

Tipping On Tour

Southern Africa: In general tipping in restaurants is generally expected and is around 10% for good service, more if you have received exceptional service, and, feel free not to tip at all if you received poor service. Tipping taxi drivers etc is really at your own discretion and not always expected. If in doubt please ask your guides.

Our guides do work hard, but they are also paid at (and often above) industry levels for this work. Our Crew can be tipped if you feel that they have done a good job and/or gone above and beyond the call of duty.
The best way to arrange tips is to elect one person in the group to collect the money. We recommend USD1 (or about R5) per day per person, per guide as a fair tip. So if you have 3-crew on a tour, we would recommend that 3 envelopes are used and each crew members name written on one. Place what you feel is fair in to each envelope and the elected person can give these to the crew at the end of the tour. If you do not feel that the crew deserve a tip, please, do not tip them. You must remember that tipping is only for exceptional service and is not at all compulsory or expected.

Pre and Post Tour Accommodation

If you require accommodation before or after your tour we can arrange this for you. We can also arrange airport transfers – contact your travel agent to make these bookings.