Tsodilo, NG34 & Chobe Grand Heritage

You are collected in Maun and flown by light aircraft to the Tsodilo Hills airstrip — around 45 minutes in the air over the western Delta and the desert fringe. Your guide meets you on arrival and drives you to camp, where a full safety briefing and camp orientation takes place before any activity. Lunch, a siesta, then your first guided walk to a nearby rock-art site as the light softens on the hills.

A full day exploring Tsodilo Hills — a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 4,500 rock paintings across four quartzite hills. A local San (Basarwa) guide leads you to the most significant sites, telling the creation stories and mythology of the paintings and explaining how these hills have been sacred for tens of thousands of years. In the afternoon, a longer walk to a viewpoint over the surrounding plains, with an optional visit to a traditional San village.

A full transit day by open 4x4 — a long and spectacular drive south-east from Tsodilo into the Okavango region, watching the landscape shift from dry sandveld to the first permanent water of the Delta. Picnic lunch en route. Arrive at the private NG34 concession in the late afternoon, with time for a shower before dinner under the stars.

A full day in the private NG34 concession — an area of permanent channels, palm islands and floodplains. Morning mokoro excursion with a poler, gliding silently past hippos and crocodiles, watching malachite kingfishers dart between reeds. Then a guided walking safari on one of the larger islands, reading tracks in the sand and learning about the Delta ecosystem. In the afternoon, a game drive to a favourite waterhole, then a night drive after dinner for nocturnal sightings.

A second full day in NG34 allows the safari to slow down. Perhaps a long mokoro to a distant heronry, an extended walk onto a remote island, or a game drive to the concession’s most reliable leopard territory. Afternoon activities follow the wildlife, and after dinner another night drive into the Delta’s quietest corners.

A shorter game-viewing transit by open 4x4 north-east into the Moremi Game Reserve. Wildlife is followed along the way. Arrival at camp in the late afternoon — if time allows, an evening game drive around camp as the light drops. Moremi is famous as the predator capital of the Delta, with exceptional sightings of lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog.

A full day around the beautiful Xakanaxa Lagoon. Morning game drive through mopane woodland and riverine forest, followed by a boat safari through the channels around Xakanaxa — hippos, crocodiles, African fish eagles, malachite kingfishers and, on the islands, red lechwe and elephants crossing the water. Return to camp for a siesta, then an afternoon game drive as the light drops.

A transit day by open 4x4 safari vehicle, crossing from the Moremi woodlands into the Savuti ecosystem of Chobe National Park. Savuti is one of Africa’s most storied wildlife areas — rocky outcrops, open grasslands and the famous Savuti Channel, which began flowing again in 2009 after decades of dormancy. Arrive at camp in time for a shower before dinner.

A full day of game drives in prime predator country. Savuti is famous for its lions, spotted hyenas and wild dogs, and for the elephants that move through in enormous numbers. Your guide will read the morning tracks and plan the day around what has been moving overnight. Sundowners overlooking the Savuti marsh as the light drops.

A morning game drive before the overland transfer north through Chobe National Park to the Chobe Riverfront. Wildlife is followed along the way. Arriving in the afternoon, you settle into camp or lodge — and if time allows, board a boat for a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. Hippos, crocodiles, kingfishers and, if you are lucky, elephants swimming across the channel.

Chobe holds Africa’s largest elephant population, and the riverfront is where they gather. A morning game drive along the floodplains is followed by brunch and a rest, then an afternoon river cruise for close-up views of elephants drinking and bathing, huge buffalo herds, and spectacular birdlife — including carmine bee-eaters in season. A farewell dinner in camp rounds off the safari.

If time allows, one last early-morning activity before breakfast. You are then transferred to Kasane International Airport for your onward flight — direct connections to Maun, Gaborone, Victoria Falls, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Guests continuing to Victoria Falls can be assisted with cross-border transfers.