Southern Africa offers seasons of contrast. In summer, rains brings the profusion of new life – antelope and plains game give birth to their young, opportunistic predators take advantage, colourful migrant birds arrive, dormant plants burst through the soil and flowers and fruits abound. In the drier months, animals are gripped in the epic struggle of survival along major wetlands and rivers that are lifelines at this time of year. The Safari for All Seasons lives up to its name – a spectacular year-round experience that takes in two countries and a variety of ecosystems with their attendant wildlife and scenery. This amazing 8-night package begins with Kalahari Plains in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, moves on to Jacana, Xigera or Seba in the Okavango Delta, ends at Toka Leya Camp or The River Club near Livingstone and the magnificent Victoria Falls. This focused safari is valid until 15 July 2010 and then again from 1 November 2010 until 31 March 2011. ITINERARYDays 1, 2 & 3: Kalahari Plains Camp, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana
After arrival in Maun, you are met and assisted with your air transfer to the Kalahari Desert where Kalahari Plains Camp is situated. This Safari Adventure Company Camp is located in a new concession within the productive and diverse area of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The main area consists of a lounge and dining area with an inviting swimming pool and deck area. The tents and main area are all raised off the ground to catch the breeze and take in the sweeping, spacious views across the Kalahari. The tents are spacious and designed to recreate the style of the early explorers - richly coloured wooden furniture, pure linens of heavy cotton, en suite flushing toilet and shower and comfortable camp features all adding to the atmosphere. Within this massive Game Reserve and as a result of the diversity of habitats, healthy game populations move seasonally between dune and valley depending on the season. During the summer months though (November through to end April) the northern part of the CKGR, where Kalahari Plains 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. As a result of these aggregations on the fossil riverbeds, predator concentrations are also high. At other times, the Kalahari is more typically a desert-type system: warm and dry. Game viewing remains productive and moves into the vegetated dunal belt and pan systems surrounding the valleys – a series of ecologically placed waterholes further ensuring that game viewing remains interesting. The big game includes the sensational black-maned Kalahari lion, as well as one of the highest concentrations of cheetah in southern Africa, leopard, brown hyaena and even caracal. Small predators include meerkats (suricates), Cape fox, honey badger, black-backed jackal and a myriad of mongoose species. General game viewing is fantastic and this is a premium desert game location year round. Days 4, 5 & 6: Jacana, Xigera or Seba Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana
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 Jacana, Xigera or Seba Camp, all situated in the heart of the Okavango Delta’s myriad waterways. Jacana Camp is situated just west of the Moremi Game Reserve and consists of 5 Meru-style tents 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 cosy 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 and Wattled Crane 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. Seba Camp, set in the lush riverine forest, has been constructed as a family-friendly camp offering parents the opportunity to introduce their children to the magic of the African wild; it is also the base of a most fascinating elephant research project. It has five well-appointed and spacious elevated tents, each with en-suite bathroom and a private deck on which to relax and observe the passing wildlife in and around the perennial lagoon. Apart from the large elephant population, there is a seasonal abundance of game in the area including giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest, tsessebe and lechwe. Lion frequent the greater area and herds of buffalo are occasional visitors too. During winter, thanks to the high water levels, Seba is transformed into a water camp, with water-based activities taking precedence, such as mokoro, motorboat excursions and fishing, as well as walks and the usual game drives. Days 7 & 8: Toka Leya Camp or The River Club, Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Livingstone, Zambia
After brunch, we depart by light aircraft to Kasane Airport. After a short boat and road transfer (approximately 1 ? half hours), guests arrive at the new Toka Leya Camp or the Edwardian-style River Club, both situated on the banks of the Zambezi River in the eastern sector of the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, upstream 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. 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. At The River Club, ten luxury chalets are spread out amongst the riverine vegetation, comprising luxurious bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms, most being split-level. The main area is a well-appointed residence, with a comfortable lounge, large dining room, impressive library and wide veranda on which breakfasts and teas are taken. At Toka Leya Camp the 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 here include game drives, river cruises and fishing. A highlight is a guided tour of the Victoria Falls, one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. 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. The River Club offers all of these – some are inclusive activities while others need to be paid for directly. And straight out of the Club, there’s the sundowner cruise along the Zambezi, a breakfast on Livingstone Island, fishing, the Wellness Centre which also has a mini gymnasium, sauna and Jacuzzi. Its best feature though is the enormous panorama window that takes in that broad swathe of the mighty Zambezi. Finally and awesomely there is the Lunar Rainbow trip, a spectacle of a myriad rainbows filtering through the spray in the light of a full moon. (This is only from March to June when the Falls are in spate.)
Day 9: Transfer to Livingstone Airport We transfer to Livingstone Airport and bid farewell to the adventure.
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