Gems of South Africa & Botswana: Luxury Safari to Beautiful Winelands

Arriving at Cape Town International Airport, you are met by a representative and driven to your luxury hotel. This grand establishment may reside in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a lively and bustling port lined with interesting shops, bars, and fabulous restaurants. Spend your evening relaxing in the quiet ambiance by the sea, in the comforts of your hotel room, or step out into the city to explore.

Your guide will collect you in the morning for a tour of the Cape Peninsula. The drive will take you past the “Cape Town Riviera” of Camp’s Bay with its beautiful beach and promenade lined with cafes, along the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive, past quaint little seaside villages and into the rugged beauty of Cape Point Nature Reserve. The landscape is dominated by a unique flora found nowhere else.

Keep an eye out for antelope, birds, and sly baboons. You can walk along the cliff paths to the lighthouse at Cape Point and imagine the Indian and Atlantic Oceans mingling in the deep waters below. Visit Boulders Beach to see the African penguin colony before continuing to the naval village of Simon’s Town. Explore the nooks and crannies of the town steeped in seafaring history before making your leisurely way back to Cape Town.

The wine-making tradition in the Cape goes back hundreds of years, and there are exceptional vintages and varietals to enjoy. With a spectacularly scenic landscape of rearing mountains and sea views, the wine country is reminiscent of Provence, with an African twist. Beautifully gabled Cape Dutch buildings characterize the older estates, set in rolling vineyards on mountain slopes. Visit several estates for tastings of their finest offerings and stop for lunch at one of them. Enjoy a delicious, indulgent meal in a unique setting that blends the ocean, mountains, and vineyards.

Your guide will take you to False Bay in the morning, where the famous Seal Island attracts Great White Sharks in large numbers. Join an expedition to witness the amazing predation activity of these monsters of the deep as they launch themselves out of the water in pursuit of the fleeing seals. You can enjoy a delicious seafood lunch before returning to Cape Town to ascend the famous Table Mountain.

The cable car to the top of the mountain rotates 360 degrees as you ascend, offering incredible views of the city below. Arriving at the top, there are networks of paths to wander, with viewpoints dotted along the way. From here, you can see Lion’s Head, Robben Island, the wine country's distant mountains, and Cape Point in a series of breathtaking vistas.

Today you will fly from Cape Town to Livingstone, Zambia, near the world-famous Victoria Falls. A guide will meet you at the airport and take you on the short drive to your lodge.

Your lodge may be perched on the bank of the mighty Zambezi River in a grove of towering trees. Luxurious and elegant in a safari camp style, the lodge has an undeniable romance and sense of adventure. From your suite, you can hear the river gurgling as it flows past, the shriek of an African fish eagle in the trees above, and the splashing and honking of hippos in the water.

You can enjoy an afternoon cruise on the river, where you sip on a cocktail while watching animals come down to drink in the warm glow of sunset light.

The Victoria Falls are one of the most impressive sights on earth. Known to local tribes as ‘The Smoke That Thunders,’ this is where the Zambezi River plunges over a mile-wide curtain into a huge crack in the earth's crust into a boiling gorge below. The spray thrown up from the falls is visible for miles, and the thundering of millions of gallons of water going over the lip generates a rumble that shakes the ground. If water levels permit, you can stand at the edge of this cauldron of energy on Livingstone’s Island, feeling the tremendous power of nature surrounding you.

After breakfast, you leave Livingstone for the short flight to the Selinda Reserve in Botswana. Upon landing, your safari tour of Botswana begins. Your guide will take you on a short game drive through the mopane woodlands to your safari camp on the edge of Zibadianja Lagoon, the source of the Savuti Channel. Designed to leave as light a footprint as possible without compromising on luxury or comfort, the lodge harkens back to the glory days of safari while including modern touches.

The vast Selinda Reserve has a variety of habitats, from tall riverine forests to grasslands, floodplains, and woodlands that support a tremendous diversity of game. Nothing can compare to sitting quietly in an open safari vehicle while watching a herd of elephants coming to the water to drink. You may notice how silently they move through the forest, like grey ghosts on padded feet.

After your morning game drive, you can enjoy a delicious brunch and board a light aircraft for your flight to the Moremi Reserve. A short while after takeoff, you see a vast, shimmering maze of channels, islands, and lagoons that comprise the Okavango Delta. This pristine wetland is a World Heritage Site and home to an astonishing variety of life; your camp is located right in the middle of it.

During your game drive, you will discover the fantastic landscape in search of the Big Five: elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, and leopard, as well as a host of other creatures, from giraffes to numerous antelope, both large and small.

After your morning game drive, enjoy a delicious brunch before winding your way south to the Makgadikgadi, the immense salt pan left behind when a super lake dried up millions of years ago.

Your luxury camp sits on the edge of this enigmatic region and feels a world away from the lushness of the Okavango Delta. Explore the wonders of this region with your expert guide, who will seek out and reveal the animals that have adapted to life in such an arid place. You can learn about the fascinating history and geology of the area, which gives you an inkling of the magnitude of geological time.

Join a group of Bushmen from the Western Kalahari as they walk through this wilderness and demonstrate how their ancestors have lived here for thousands of years before you visit a meerkat colony to watch the highly social mammals scurry about on their daily business.

Depart the Makgadikgadi with a fond farewell, and board a flight to Maun, where your incredible journey comes to a close. You could continue your journey by adding an extension to explore the wilderness of East Africa or lounge on a pristine beach in Zanzibar at your leisure. Otherwise, you will continue home and carry the memories of your remarkable journey around Southern Africa.