The Summer Season Spectacular - WILDERNESS SAFARIS

DAYS 1, 2 & 3: KALAHARI PLAINS CAMP, CENTRAL KALAHARI GAME RESERVE

After arrival in Maun, you are met and assisted with your air transfer to the Kalahari Desert to our newest camp, Kalahari Plains.

Kalahari Plains Camp is located in a new concession within the productive and diverse area of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). This tented camp, set to open on 01 December 2008, has 10 Meru-style tents (9 twin and 1 family) each with en-suite bathroom.

Especially during the summer months the landscape here teems with a multitude of antelope species and large predators. This area is characterized by vast open grassy plains, seasonal pans, wooded acacia islands, prehistoric scrub-covered dunes and fossil riverbeds.

Picture by Michael Poliza - Wilderness safaris

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve offers one of the most remote and unspoiled experiences on the African continent – at over 5 million hectares / 12 million acres this reserve is one of the largest in the world. During the summer months the northern part of the CKGR, where the camp is situated, offers some of the best wildlife viewing in Botswana. At this time of year these verdant flatlands are alive with aggregations of gemsbok, springbok and blue wildebeest.

Predator concentrations are also high and sightings of the legendary black-maned Kalahari lions are complemented with some of the best cheetah viewing in Africa. Wild dog and leopard are seen on occasion and other mammal possibilities include southern giraffe, steenbok, red hartebeest and charismatic ground squirrels and meerkats (suricates).

Bird life is equally diverse with over 220 species recorded to date, with a variety of arid-west endemic species such as Burchell’s Sandgrouse, Kalahari Scrub-Robin and African Wren Warbler.

Picture by Mike Meyers - Wilderness Safaris

DAYS 4 & 5: JACANA OR XIGERA CAMP, OKAVANGO DELTA

The Okavango Delta represents the extreme contrast of a water-filled world in an otherwise arid desert: abundant water, sunlight and soil combine to form a paradise bursting with life. The difference between the Kalahari and the Okavango becomes amazingly clear even as we fly from the one to the other. Accommodation on this leg of the trip is at either Jacana or Xigera Camp, both of which are situated in the heart of the Okavango Delta’s myriad waterways. This is the ultimate Delta experience, with serene waters flowing through innumerable channels around remote islands and a profusion of plant and animal life. The experience focuses on the permanently flooded inner Delta, the serene waterways and the islands of trees and bush.

Jacana Camp is situated just west of the Moremi Game Reserve and consists of 5 Meru-styletents nestled discreetly into lush vegetation on a seasonal island. Each tent is on a wooden deck overlooking the floodplains and has an en-suite bathroom with flush toilet and shower. The bathroom is enclosed but roofless allowing for showers by starlight.

The camp has a plunge pool for cooling off from the midday sun. The main dining area is on an elevated wooden deck between two magnificent sycamore fig trees and surrounded by dense wild date palms. Downstairs, there is a cozy bar and lounge with an area for an open fire under the stars.

Xigera Camp (pronounced Keejera) is a private luxury tented camp situated in the Moremi Game Reserve and consists of consists of 10 luxuriously furnished tented rooms with en-suite facilities and outdoor shower. Each room is raised on a wooden deck offering superb views of the seasonal floodplain and lagoon. Meals are enjoyed under the thatch of the raised lounge, pub and dining area overlooking a permanently flowing channel. The wooden footbridge, a unique feature to Xigera, connects Xigera Island to the next one and is often used by hyaena and leopard moving between the islands allowing guests great viewing opportunities.

Activities at the two camps feature excursions on the water in both mekoro and motor boats as well as game drives. Birding is excellent, with specials like Pel’s Fishing Owl, Slaty Egret, Wattled Crane and African Skimmers to be found. In contrast to the Central Kalahari, game viewing here features the water-adapted red lechwe, occasionally amphibious elephant and the small herds of tsessebe and greater kudu resident on the larger islands. Predators such as lion and leopard may be encountered.

DAYS 6 & 7: LIANSHULU CAMP, KWANDO RIVER, MUDUMU NATIONAL PARK, NAMIBIA

We depart by aircraft to the Kwando airstrip from where we enjoy a boat ride on the magnificent Kwando River to scenic Lianshulu Lodge situated inside Namibia’s Mudumu National Park. Lianshulu Lodge accommodates guests in 9 twin rooms and 1 family room, each individually styled and tastefully furnished, with en-suite bathroom and secluded viewing deck. The camp is shaded by a fringe of dense riparian forest and overlooks the tranquil Kwando RIver. The airy thatched dining, lounge and bar areas open onto spacious, split-level wooden decks, affording sweeping views over the Lianshulu Lagoon. Breakfast, brunch and congenial dinners by candlelight are served on the deck.

Two indulgent fireplaces, scenic outlooks and a secluded swimming pool create idyllic places to relax in the natural surroundings. The area is once again a contrast to the tight waterways of the Okavango Delta and opens into lush wilderness of riverine forest, marsh and open woodland. Activities here include morning or sunset boat cruises, nature drives in the Park and visits to the Lizauli Traditional Village, a model homestead where members of the local community give fascinating insights into their way of life in this remote corner of Namibia. Many typical savannah species occur in the area including buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and waterbuck with elephant and hippo being particularly abundant. Predators are sometimes encountered and around 400 bird species have been recorded in the East Caprivi. Hippo, crocodiles and fish such as bream, tigerfish and catfish can be seen from the lodge’s deck.

DAY 8: TOKA LEYA CAMP, MOSI-OA-TUNYA NATIONAL PARK, LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA After a light breakfast, we depart by road to Livingstone, Zambia. This interesting 5-hour drive takes us across the Caprivi Strip and into Zambia via the border town of Katima Mulilo in Namibia. After crossing into Zambia, we drive through beautiful teak forests and African villages, stopping to visit the old cathedral of Mwandi. We arrive in the early afternoon at the new Toka Leya Camp, situated on the banks of the Zambezi River in the eastern sector of the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, some 12km up from the Victoria Falls. This is an area of spectacular scenic beauty: from the Falls themselves to the broad, picturesque course of the Zambezi River upstream, the rainforest adjacent and the stark jagged gorge downstream. The power and timelessness of nature’s forces are evident throughout.
At 1708 metres wide, Victoria Falls is the most expansive curtain of water in the world and drops more than 100 metres into the sheer Zambezi Gorge. The Tonga and Makalolo peoples lived here for centuries before the Falls were ‘discovered’ by David Livingstone in 1855, who named them after his queen. Its local name – after which the national park is named – is Mosi-Oa-Tunya, “the Smoke that Thunders,” which accurately describes the huge spirals of spray that can be seen 30km away. Accommodation consists of 12 en-suite safari-style tents (3 of which are family rooms), each with a view of the magnificent Zambezi River. The dining and bar area are under a canopy of trees overlooking the River and there is a swimming pool. Activities include a tour of the Falls on the Zambian side, game drives, river cruises and fishing. Other activities on offer in the area at an additional charge include sunset cruises, helicopter flights, micro-lighting, canoeing, jet boating, white water rafting and fishing amongst others.
DAY 9: VICTORIA FALLS, TRANSFER TO LIVINGSTONE AIRPORT The grand finale is a guided tour of the Victoria Falls, one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. Later, we transfer to Livingstone Airport and bid farewell to the adventure.

2008 / 9 COSTS:

Cost per person	USD 3,456
No single supplement when 2 or more guests are travelling in the reservation Single traveler supplement US$ 1052