South Africa Highlights: Delta, Falls and Safari

Highlights

• Explore the waterways of the Okavango Delta in a mokoro, a traditional dugout canoe, before spending the night aboard a houseboat.
• Visit the vast Makgadikgadi salt pans for a meerkat experience, time with a local Kalahari community and dinner beneath the baobab trees.
• Search for elephants, hippos and crocodiles on a game drive and river safari through Chobe National Park.
• Cross into Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River drops more than 100 metres into the gorge below.
• Track rhinos on foot with local guides in Matobo National Park and visit ancient San rock paintings in the surrounding hills.
• Visit Hwange and Kruger National Parks for 4WD safaris, with the chance to see elephants, big cats and many other species along the route.

Botswana and the Okavango Delta

Start in Botswana, where the Okavango Delta spreads across the Kalahari in a network of waterways, islands and reed beds. Explore it by speedboat and mokoro, a traditional dugout canoe, walk one of the islands with a local guide and spend the night on a houseboat. From the water, the journey heads onto the open Makgadikgadi Pans, where you can watch meerkats, learn about life in the Kalahari and finish the day with dinner beneath the baobab trees.

Chobe and Victoria Falls

From the salt pans, continue north towards the Chobe River, where Botswana’s wildlife becomes the focus. Head into Chobe National Park at dawn in a 4WD, then take to the river later in the day to look for elephants at the water’s edge, hippos, crocodiles and prolific birdlife. The following journey crosses into Zimbabwe and brings you to Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi drops more than 100 metres into a narrow gorge and walking trails let you experience the falls from several viewpoints.

Hwange and Matobo

Leaving Victoria Falls, travel deeper into Zimbabwe for two very different encounters with the country’s wildlife. Hwange, Zimbabwe’s largest national park, is known for its huge elephant population and gives you another chance to search for wildlife by 4WD. Matobo changes the experience completely: here you leave the vehicle behind to track rhinos on foot with local guides, before seeing San rock paintings among the distinctive granite hills.

Mapungubwe and Kruger

The final part of the journey crosses into South Africa, beginning at Mapungubwe, where wildlife and history come together around one of the country’s most important Iron Age sites. After seeing the archaeological remains, head out after dark in Mapesu Private Game Reserve to look for nocturnal wildlife. From here, continue towards Kruger, stopping to meet the Black Mambas all-female anti-poaching unit before a full day in one of Africa’s best-known national parks, searching for elephants, lions and other wildlife by 4WD. The route back to Johannesburg then follows the Panorama Route past the Three Rondavels and Bourke’s Luck Potholes.

Terms and Conditions

Flights from Dublin to Windhoek, departing 15-04-2027, with return flights from Johannesburg to Dublin and 23kg checked baggage per person. One night in Windhoek with breakfast, followed by the Intrepid Southern Africa Highlights tour through Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, including accommodation, selected meals, transport and guided experiences across the Okavango Delta, Makgadikgadi Pans, Chobe, Victoria Falls, Hwange, Matobo, Mapungubwe and Kruger. Based on two adults.

17 nights from €8,980 per person