Day 1: Friday - Depart New York or Atlanta

En Route

Depart New York or Atlanta aboard South African Airways overnight flight to Johannesburg.

Day 2: Saturday -- Arrive Johannesburg

The Westcliff

Upon arrival you are met and transferred to your hotel located in the quiet suburb of Westcliff. Here your deluxe hotel, The Westcliff, nestles into a hillside overlooking the Zoological Gardens. The afternoon and evening are at leisure to rest from your journey.

Days 3 & 4: Sunday & Monday -- Joburg/Windhoek/Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei Wilderness Camp

You are met after breakfast and transferred to the airport for your flight to Windhoek, Namibia. After clearing Namibian arrival formalities, continue on a one hour flight down to Sossusvlei Wilderness Camp for a two night stay.
 
Sossusvlei Wilderness Camp is situated 9 miles from Sesriem, the Park's entrance to the Sossusvlei dunes. Here, towering sand dunes rise dramatically, more than 1000 ft above the surrounding plains. The camp's location provides access to Sossusvlei, yet also offers privacy and exclusivity. It has been built just below the top of a mountain, using rock, brick, timber and thatch to provide a cool refuge from the desert. There are only nine guest units, ensuring personal service and attention. Each unit is superbly appointed and has a panoramic view overlooking the plains below, its own plunge pool, as well as an en suite bathroom with hot and cold running water, shower and flush toilet. The main living area (comprising dining room, bar and lounge) is under thatch. Activities center around early morning excursions in 4x4 vehicles to the magnificent Sossusvlei dunes and the "vlei" itself. Afternoon activities are enjoyed on the property where you can spend time taking in the desert scenery with its unique fauna and flora (B,L,D)

Days 5 & 6: Tuesday & Wednesday -- Sossusvlei/Etosha National Park

Ongava Lodge

Depart camp after breakfast on a morning flight over the dunes of the Namib and over Sossusvlei itself, then due westward to Meob Bay on the shores of the southern Skeleton Coast. From this point there is spectacular desert and Skeleton Coast scenery, where the dunes and the desert meet the Atlantic Ocean. The flight up the coast takes you over the site of the Eduard Bolen shipwreck, past Conception Bay, the wreck of the Shaunee and around Sandwich Harbour and its famous lagoon to Swakopmund airport. You are then transferred to Walvis Bay harbor by road for a boat trip (weather permitting) allowing you the opportunity to view seals, schools of dolphins swimming alongside the boat and sometimes even penguins. You may also see turtles, sunfish, as well as a wonderful quantity and variety of birdlife. Following a delicious seafood lunch, return to Walvis Bay Harbor before transferring by road to Swakopmund to enjoy a tour of this charming town. In the afternoon depart Swakopmund by air for a scenic flight further up the Skeleton Coast, past the Cape Cross Seal Colony, before turning east to fly up the Huab to Ongava Lodge for two nights' stay. Ongava Game Lodge is situated along the southern boundary of Etosha National Park in the privately owned Ongava Game Reserve. Accommodation consists of 10 air-conditioned rock and thatch chalets, each with en-suite facilities. Meals are served in the main dining area under thatch with a view over the camp's water hole. Activities include game drives in semi-open 4x4 vehicles into the Okaukuejo area of Etosha where lion, elephant, cheetah, gemsbok, springbok, and hartebeest can be seen at many of the water holes in the park. In addition, night drives, game-viewing hides and walks with armed guides are enjoyed on the private reserve. Ongava has resident White and Black Rhino, giving you the opportunity to see both species. A highlight is tracking the rhino on foot. (B,L,D)

Days 7 & 8: Thursday & Friday - Etosha/Maun/Okavango Delta

Jao Camp

Depart Ongava for the Okavango, flying the direct route via Grootfontein and Maun to clear customs and immigration. From Maun you fly to the heart of the Okavango where you enjoy a complete contrast from the Namib Desert. Jao Camp is a 16 bedded luxury tented camp situated in a private reserve to the west of the Moremi Game Reserve, within the northern reaches of the Okavango Delta. The camp is located in a remote area on a long oblong shaped island. Across the waterway in front of camp, guests have access to open flood plains and savannah country for a wonderful Okavango experience. Each room is under a beautiful canopy of shady trees in superb, twin bedded canvas walled rooms under thatch, with en-suite bathrooms and an outside shower under the stars. The rooms are raised off the ground and offer wonderful view of the surrounding flood plains. The activities include mekoros, boats, day and night game drives and guided walks. (B,L,D)

Days 9 & 10: Saturday & Sunday - Okavango Delta/Moremi Game Reserve

Mombo Camp

Today you are transferred by air to Mombo Camp for one of the game viewing highlights of the safari. Mombo Camp is situated on Mombo Island, adjoining the northern tip of Chief's Island, and is within the Moremi Game Reserve in northern Botswana. The camp offers true exclusivity and privacy in the central Okavango, coupled with abundant big game, arguably the best in Botswana. The highlight here is the concentration of plains game and the predators - including the big cats! Leopard sightings are particularly good. Mombo's new camp is built under large shady trees and overlooks a wonderful floodplain that teems with game. The camp accommodates 18 guests in nine wonderful and very spacious tented rooms. The entire camp is raised off the ground, and the guest rooms and the walkways connecting the rooms to the living areas, are over six feet off the ground, allowing game to wander freely through the camp - but at the same time allowing for your safety. The rooms are superbly furnished with en-suite facilities under canvas and an additional outdoor shower if you want to enjoy a shower under the stars. The dining room, pub and living area overlook the open plain in front of the camp which is usually filled with game. There is a plunge pool for relaxing in the heat of the day. Activities at Mombo include morning and afternoon game drives in open 4x4 Land Rovers. The game viewing in the area is excellent, and may see lion, leopard, large herds of buffalo, cheetah, wild dog, elephant, hyena, giraffe, wildebeest and zebra as well as all the plains game. Short midday walks with a ranger may be undertaken if you would like to experience nature in close proximity. (B,L,D)

Days 11 & 12: Monday & Tuesday - Moremi Game Reserve/Victoria Falls

River Club

After a morning game drive, depart Mombo for Kasane by air, then on to Livingstone, the small town on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls. Your lodge, The River Club, has one of the finest settings for any camp anywhere. It is situated high on the banks of the Zambezi River, 8 miles upstream from Victoria Falls. The camp has a distinct Victorian flavor, and guests here enjoy the sights and sounds of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River in a peaceful and tranquil setting away from the crowds. Ten luxury, thatched chalets accommodate a maximum of 20 people. The rooms overlook the Zambezi River with en-suite facilities.
 
Victoria Falls is the largest and perhaps the most beautiful falls in the world. Here the Zambezi River is over a mile wide and plunges into a vertical abyss across its entire width. The force of the falling water sends spray clouds high into the air, giving rise to the African name of the falls, "Mosi oa Tunya", meaning the smoke that thunders. The falls, when seen by David Livingstone in 1855, were named by him for Queen Victoria, and he is said to have written in his diary that "scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in flight." Daily trips to the Falls are a highlight. Boating to the Zambezi River's islands provide relaxed afternoon activities, and fishing and sundowner trips are offered. You can visit some of the local villages for an interesting cultural experience as well. The Zambezi National Park is located just across the river, and lion calls can often be heard at night. A rich bird life is found in the area. Hippo are regularly sighted (and heard) along the river's edge. (B,L,D)

Days 13 & 14: Wednesday & Thursday - Victoria Falls/Mana Pools

Chikwenya Camp

This morning you are driven across the famous bridge over the Zambezi with great views of the Victoria Falls themselves. After viewing the Falls from the Zimbabwe side and visiting the craft village, fly to Mana Pools, which may be the most scenic of all the parks on this safari. Chikwenya Camp is a beautiful 16 bedded camp on the eastern boundary of the Mana Pools National Park. Accommodation is in nine comfortable tented rooms with en-suite facilities. Each room also has an outdoor shower "under the stars" as well as an indoor shower. There is a separate lounge and dining area, and a plunge pool. The focal point at Chikwenya is the magical Zambezi River, its backwaters, and the surrounding flood plains and forests. Chikwenya Island just off-shore, harbours wonderfully diverse wildlife. The area is a photographer's paradise, as tall albida trees dot the open flood plains, with the mountains of the Rift Valley providing the backdrop. The area is known for its large numbers of elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, leopard, lion and eland that concentrate along the river when the inland waterholes dry up. Game viewing is enjoyed in open 4x4 vehicles, on motorised canoes, on foot, in hides, and in canoes. (B,L,D)

Day 15: Friday - Mana Pools/Johannesburg/Depart

En Route

After your last game activity in the Mana Pools area you fly back to Johannesburg where you land in the afternoon, giving you enough time to connect onto your international flights - or perhaps travel onto places like Cape Town.

Day 16: Saturday -- Arrival New York or Atlanta

En Route

Early morning arrival in New York or Atlanta. Welcome Home!

Day 13: Masai Mara/Nairobi/Depart

Norfolk Hotel (dayroom)

Following breakfast and an early morning game drive, we bid "Kwaheri" to the Masai Mara and depart on the scheduled Air Kenya flight to Nairobi. Upon arrival, we are transferred to the Norfolk Hotel where a dayroom has been reserved for our use. The balance of the day is at leisure. This evening we are transferred to the airport for our departure flight. (B)

Day 14: Amsterdam/New York

En Route

Arrive Amsterdam this morning where we connect with our trans-Atlantic KLM flight to New York

INCLUDED IN YOUR PROGRAM

• Deluxe accommodations, double occupancy, as shown in the itinerary, or similar.
• All air transfers between camps within Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia as specified by light aircraft charter.
• Meals as noted in the itinerary by B=breakfast; L=lunch; D-dinner.
• Daily game viewing and nature activities at safari lodges and camps. You will share game viewing vehicles with other camp guests.
• All excursions and transfers by vehicle, mekoro and boat as shown.
• Services of a pilot or pilot/guide throughout the itinerary in Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, as well as professional lodge guides and staff.
• Botswana accommodation taxes and the current Zimbabwe Tourism Levy.
• Drinks policies vary - some lodges include no drinks, other include only house wine at dinner and drinks on activities, while others include all drinks except premium wines and champagnes, plus premium spirits and liquors.
• English speaking driver/guides throughout.
• Comprehensive safari preparation and planning.

SORRY, NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR PROGRAM

Visa fees and departure taxes.
• Travel, medical or trip cancellation insurance.
• All scheduled flights and their departure taxes.
• Personal expenses such as room service, laundry, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages except where "included", mineral water, telephone calls, hotel incidental expenses, etc.
• Gratuities for guides, drivers, camp and lodge staff.
• Excess luggage fees.