Southern Africa Highlights

Welkom! Welcome to Namibia. Your adventure begins in Windhoek, where you‘ll be met by an Intrepid representative and transferred to your hotel. If you arrive early, maybe wander the old German architecture in the town, passing the Tintenpalast (Ink Palace) and the Christuskirche (church). Tonight, you’ll have a welcome meeting at 6 pm to get to know your local leader and fellow travellers. After, you might want to join your group for an optional welcome dinner.

Today is a bit of a long travel day as you cross the border into Botswana and make your way to Ghanzi – known as the ‘Capital of the Kalahari’. Take the opportunity to grab a window seat and watch the landscape pass you by or get to know your fellow travellers a little better with some road trip games. When you arrive, settle into your lodge accommodation and soak up some Botswana sunshine or cool off in the pool.

This morning, you’ll head to the Okavango Delta – known for its sprawling grassy plains that flood seasonally, making the delta a lush animal habitat. When you arrive, board speedboats and make your way to your home for the next two nights – a houseboat in the Okavango Delta Panhandle. You can chill out on the deck or grab a few friends and attempt one of the onsite board games. For dinner, your captain will serve dinner on the deck, and you can watch the sunset while you eat and listen to the sounds of the nearby hippos on the water's edge.

After breakfast, take a speedboat and a 4WD to a nearby polling station. From here, you can explore the waterways in mokoros (traditional dugout canoes) with a local guide. Your guide will take you on a short nature walk around one of the many islands in the Delta Panhandle. Then, return to the houseboat where you can relax, read a book or do some fishing. This evening, grab a sundowner, pull up a chair and watch the often striking sunset.

Leave your houseboat behind and again board the speedboats that take you back to dry land. Drive on to Maun – the gateway of the Okavango Delta. For those seeking an extra adventure, there's an opportunity to fly over the delta in a helicopter for a bird's-eye view! Your leader can give you more information on this activity and how to book, so just ask them if you’re interested. Alternatively, the afternoon is free for you to sit by the pool and take a breather when you arrive in Maun.

Leave your lodge after breakfast and head towards north-east Botswana. The next stop is the Makgadikgadi Pans – a large salt pan in the middle of the dry savanna. This pan is now all that remains of the former Lake Makgadikgadi. Head out to the Makgadikgadi Pans for an afternoon excursion in open 4WDs to one of the largest salt flats in the world, spending some time with a local meerkat community along the way. This visit to the local colony of meerkats will allow you to get close to them without disturbing their natural habitat. Then, take a bush walk with one of southern Africa's oldest inhabitants and learn their way of life within the Kalahari Bushman group. They will teach you how they interact with nature, keeping a well-balanced relationship with the local land. Tonight, sip on a couple of sundowners and enjoy some snacks as you watch the sun fall behind the old baobab trees.

This morning, make tracks towards Kasane, which sits on the edge of Chobe National Park. The stretch of road between Nata and Kasane is known as the 'Elephant Highway'. With no fences, elephants are free to move between Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and Botswana. So, this is the perfect time keep your eyes peeled for roadside elephants during your drive! When you arrive in Chobe National Park – Botswana's first national park, known for its high concentration of elephants – settle into your lodge on the banks of the Chobe River and soak in the sounds of the wildlife.

Wake up nice and early this morning to take a dawn game drive in Chobe National Park. In the park, you might see the resident elephants drinking at the waters' edge, large herds of cape buffalo or one of the many impalas that call this place home. In the afternoon, you’ll take a scenic cruise on the Chobe River – ideal for spotting local bird life such as saddle-billed storks, malachite kingfishers, fish eagles and beautiful bee-eaters. As well as birds, look out for hippos, crocodiles and large families of elephants. There will also be an opportunity to enjoy a drink and watch the sunset over the river after the boat cruise.

Travel on to Victoria Falls, crossing the border into Zimbabwe. Arrive in time to have lunch on the banks of the Zambezi River. Victoria Falls is one of the world's natural wonders, and when in full flow, it forms the largest sheet of falling water on Earth. Your leader will take you to a local activity centre where various activities will be on offer to fill up your afternoon here. This evening, take a local brewery tour with your group and enjoy a tasting paddle to sample the brewery’s finest. After, maybe keep the night going and celebrate a trip well-travelled with your group.

Today is a free day to enjoy the many activities on offer. There will be another Welcome Meeting at 6pm to meet the new group members joining today. Please let you leader know if you will not take part in this meeting.

Depart Victoria Falls and hit the road to Hwange National Park, stopping at the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust along the way – one of The Intrepid Foundation projects. Here, you’ll learn about the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, human-wildlife conflict and their role in anti-poaching. There may also be a chance to meet any rescued or orphaned wildlife currently in their care. This afternoon, take a game drive within the Hwange National Park in 4WDs. Hwange, the largest park in Zimbabwe, was designated as a national park in 1929 after acting as the royal hunting grounds of the Ndebele warrior-king Mzilikazi in the early 19th century. The park is famous for its elephants and is home to one of the largest populations in the world, as well as a huge variety of wildlife including over 100 mammals and nearly 400 bird species!

Leave Hwange as you make tracks for Matobo National Park. Along the way, you’ll stop at the Painted Dog Conservation Centre. Learn how the loss of quality habitats and poaching are driving the painted dogs towards extinction, and how the centre protects painted dogs and the Hwange ecosystem. After, it's onto Bulawayo – Zimbabwe's second-largest city. Take a stroll through the streets and stop in at a local restaurant for lunch. Continue to Matobo, where you'll spend the next two nights. The rocks balanced in Matobo Hills are thought to be the seats of God and ancestral spirits. The park is home to the grave of Cecil John Rhodes, founder of Rhodesia and the De Beers diamond company, and is especially known for its rhino population.

Enjoy an unforgettable day of tracking rhinos on foot with your local guides. You'll learn about the local plants and trees and their traditional uses, and there'll be plenty of chances to spot wildlife other than rhinos. The park is home to leopards, hippos, antelope and more! Learn about the San people who have called this area home for thousands of years and visit their rock paintings in the hills. Spend some time in the nearby villages to meet some of the local community before returning to your lodge for the evening.

Say goodbye to Zimbabwe and cross the border into South Africa. Your bush lodge for tonight sits inside Mapesu Private Game Reserve – a 12,500 hectares property surrounded by unique sandstone formations, woodlands and wildlife. The reserve focuses on biodiversity, conservation and the protection and reintroduction of species including efforts specifically on endangered animals. When you arrive, have dinner here with your group and watch the night sky come alive with stars.

Today, you’ll explore Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site – home to South Africa’s most significant Iron Age site. Visit the 13th-century grave site on Mapungubwe Hill, which contains ornaments, jewellery, bowls and amulets covered in gold foil. The most spectacular of these pieces is a small, gold-covered rhinoceros. Apartheid kept this discovery a secret as the regime attempted to suppress any historical information that proved black cultural sophistication. Later, you have free time to relax at the lodge or you can take an optional game drive in through the park. Tonight, you’ll head out on a night safari in Mapesu Private Game Reserve. Look out for bush babies (galagos), bushpigs, hyenas, genets and tiny chameleons – all of which don’t come out much during the day. Maybe you’ll even get lucky and encounter a leopard!

Wake up early this morning and drive to Greater Kruger National Park. When you arrive, the rest of the day is free for you to enjoy. Maybe kick back at the lodge and relax with a good book, chat to your fellow travellers over cards, take a dip in the on-site swimming pool or venture out for more wildlife spotting on an optional safari in a private game reserve within the national park.

Start the day early and head into Kruger National Park – one of the largest game reserves in Southern Africa and home to over 500 bird species, 100 species of reptile and 150 mammal species including all the big cats. Your wildlife experience begins as soon as you enter the park, as you're taken into prime viewing areas. Enjoy a picnic breakfast here before spending the rest of the day wildlife-spotting in the park, watching game, birds and stopping at various waterholes as you go. The group will leave the park in the late afternoon and return to the lodge for another relaxed evening.

Enjoy the scenic route back to Johannesburg filled with beautiful views of stunning landscape. Along the way, you’ll visit the breathtaking Three Rondawels Viewpoint and the impressive Bourke's Luck Potholes, perfect stops to break up the drive and enjoy the scenery. When you arrive in Johannesburg, your adventure comes to an end. If you’d like to extend your stay here, and it’s recommended that you do, just get in touch with your booking agent ahead of time.