Tauck 12-Day Botswana, South Africa and Zambia Tour
The Tauck 12-day Botswana South Africa and Zambia tour takes you on a celebration of Southern Africa’s natural world. This is one of Tauck’s most popular South Africa tours – it features an amazing safari through the national parks of Botswana and Zambia along with three nights in South Africa’s Cape Town.
DAY ONE: A rail safari & welcome dinner in Livingstone, Zambia
Tour begins: 5:00 PM, Royal Livingstone Hotel. Transfers are included from Livingstone Airport to the Royal Livingstone Hotel in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Livingstone, Zambia, named for 19th-century missionary and explorer, Dr. David Livingstone, the first European to document the region you’ll discover on these South Africa tours. Check-in is 2:00 pm. Guests wishing to check in prior to this time should arrive the evening before. Settle in at the Royal Livingstone Hotel, a colonial-style luxury hotel on the Zambesi River in the heart of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park; the hotel’s lounges and shaded verandahs evoke the elegance of a bygone era. Join us this evening for our welcome reception and dinner during a romantic journey through the bushveld aboard a vintage 1920s steam train. View the park’s wildlife (which includes big game like elephants, giraffes, and zebras) from the stylish comfort of elegantly restored Pullman lounge and dining cars as you enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a five-course gourmet dinner – a rail safari in high style. [d]
DAY TWO: A rhino walking safari & a Victoria Falls walking tour
A guided walking safari through a rhino sanctuary offers you a chance to see the great horned animals in their natural habitat. Then follow the sound of roaring water on a walking tour to Mosi-oa-Tunya – “The Smoke That Thunders” – which Livingstone named Victoria Falls. The site where the mile-wide Zambezi River plunges powerfully into a chasm more than 350 feet deep, sending billowing clouds of spray skyward like inverted rain, is sure to leave you speechless. [B, L, D]
DAY THREE: Game drives in Moremi Game Reserve
A ferry transports you across the Zambezi River from Zambia to Botswana this morning, where you’ll embark on a motorboat safari on the Chobe River. After lunch, hop a flight to the Moremi Game Reserve on the Okavango River, in the world’s largest inland delta, and settle into your lodge on the Khwai River. During seasonal flooding, the delta swells to three times its size, becoming an oasis in an arid country and attracting wildlife – and predators, including lions and leopards. You’ll have a unique chance to view the wildlife after dark on a night safari before dinner this evening. [B, L, D]
DAY FOUR: Walking safari in Moremi Game Reserve
Tauck’s South Africa tours include days of optional activities. This morning, choose between a game drive or a walking safari* with local guides who demonstrate their knowledge and skills in tracking animals in the bush (where you’ll be on a more equal footing with the big game you seek). Return to camp for lunch and leisure; enjoy the spa, or watch the passing parade of wildlife on the floodplains from the comfort of your own private deck, before embarking on another game drive this afternoon. [B, L, D]
DAY FIVE: Heart of the Okavango Delta
Begin the day with a game drive and an optional walking safari. Today you’ll fly from Khwai further into the Okavango Delta to Eagle island Camp on Xaxaba Island. Situated on remote Xaxaba island among a web of waterways and lush vegetation, it overlooks a lagoon that attracts a breathtaking variety of big game and exotic birds. This afternoon, take a motorboat safari along the intricate waterways of the Okavango Delta in search of elephants and exotic birds. With incredible views cross the Okavango Delta and delicious food to match, the dining experience at Eagle Island Camp tonight will be one to remember. [B, L, D]
DAY SIX: Explore the Okavango Delta
First up this morning – a mokoro canoe safari. This traditional dugout canoe takes you gliding over shallow, clear waters past brilliant water lilies and papyrus grasses to areas inaccessible by boat. Listen to the gentle, rhythmic splash as you are poled along and then attune your ears to other sounds. Long reed frogs will be out enjoying the sun: tiny as your fingertip, they emit extraordinarily loud croaks that resemble Oriental wind chimes. Spiders spin glistening webs above the water; luminous dragonflies hover with whirring wings; game such as red lechwe antelope, reed bucks and giraffes come to drink. But for many, it is the birds of this ornithological paradise that dazzle. Stately egrets, storks, cormorants and even fishing eagles swoop overhead… but for pure drama, the magnificent malachite kingfisher steals the show. Following lunch, take a drive through the Xaxaba village for a unique look into the daily life of a Botswanan. You’ll learn about local traditions for marriage, cooking, village government, music, medicine and more. End the day with another memorable dinner at Eagle Island Camp. [B, L, D]
DAY SEVEN: Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
Fly from Okavango to Makgadikgadi Pans, the salt plains at the edge of the Kalahari Desert, and arrive at Camp Kalahari. A parched wasteland most of the year, seasonally the plains come alive with water and grass, drawing spectacular herds of wildebeest and zebra, as well as springboks, vultures, eagles, flamingoes, and hyenas. From your deluxe tented camp, venture out on a game drive or take a walking safari with the local San Bushmen, learning how they use their legendary hunting and survival skills in this usually inhospitable environment. Learn how scorpions and roots are used for medicinal purposes as well as hydration in the desert. Please note: Camp Kalahari is a classic, traditional safari camp where air conditioning, Internet and cell phone service are not available; illumination is provided by gas lanterns, and showers are heated by solar power. While there are no electrical outlets in the tents, a charging station is available in the main reception area. [B, L, D]
DAY EIGHT: Meet the Meerkats and a 4-wheel-drive adventure
“Meerkat” is Dutch for “lake cat,” which seems odd, since the meerkat is not a cat and it lives in a desert. But you’ll find the name somehow suits these hyperactive, charming creatures as you encounter them on their daily routine, digging for termites, frolicking, and standing at attention, forever on the lookout for predators. The meerkat families you’ll meet today have no fear of humans; in fact, they’ve been known to climb on visitors’ heads for a better vantage point (one of many potential photo ops on these Botswana and South Africa tours). Enjoy free time at camp in the afternoon before a trip out to the salt pan in a 4-wheel-drive all-terrain vehicle (ATV)* for sundowners and a breathtaking African sunset. [B, L, D]
DAY NINE: From Botswana to Cape Town via Johannesburg
Fly today from the Makgadikgadi airstrip to Maun, then on to Johannesburg, South Africa for a flight to Cape Town, where you’ll spend three nights One&Only Cape Town. Your aptly-named hotel is one of a kind, an urban oasis designed around a series of artificial islands, offering contemporary glamour with an African accent and stunning views of Table Mountain and the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, where you can enjoy dinner on your own tonight. [B]
DAY TEN: Seal Island, sharks & the Cape of Good Hope
The continent’s most urbane, visually exciting and eclectic city, Cape Town nestles in a setting of breathtaking beauty, between an azure sea and a range of peaks dominated by Table Mountain. The city’s mix of modern towers and ornate colonial architecture is as diverse as the many cultures (Dutch, French, British, African, Africaans, Malaysian, and Indian) that blend in the vast enclave known as the City Bowl. Set sail this morning for Seal Island, a rock off the coast that is home to thousands of fur seals… and a magnet for the Great White Sharks that leap out of the water to grab them (it doesn’t get much wilder than this). Arrive at the Cape Point Nature Reserve – home to antelope, zebra, ostrich, baboons, and breathtaking seascapes – in time for lunch overlooking False Bay. Later, a funicular will carry you up to the Old Lighthouse that watches over the ironically-named Cape of Good Hope; the Portuguese explorer who first navigated these treacherous waters where two oceans converge originally named it “the Cape of Storms,” a warning validated by the many shipwrecks strewn along its coast. Return to your hotel, or explore the maritime heritage of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a promenade of shops, tall ships and historical buildings along the working harbor. Then join us this evening at a private home for a traditional braai (barbecue) under a stunning Cape Town sunset. [B, D]
DAY ELEVEN: Spend the day in Cape Town on Africa’s southern tip
Learn all about Cape Town this morning on a city sightseeing tour. Idle in The Company Gardens, a botanical refuge that was originally the site of a vegetable farm that supplied the East India Company’s ships. Nearby is the Slave Lodge (now a Cultural History Museum), once a compound for the hundreds of imported slaves that tended the farm. History and contemporary culture blend in the high energy of Green Market Square, a haven of colorful open-air markets, artists, street musicians, and tribal dancers. The afternoon is free for you to explore as you please. Join us this evening for a farewell reception followed by dinner in the hotel. [B, L, D]
DAY TWELVE: Homeward bound
South Africa tours conclude this morning with a transfer from the One&Only Cape Town to Cape Town Airport for your journey home. Fly home anytime. Allow at least 3 hours for flight check-in. [B]