A Walk on the Wild Side


The Package

Day 1: Flight: Johannesburg – Victoria Falls (not included)

Upon your arrival at Victoria Falls Airport you will be met by our representative and assisted onto your +/- 2.5 hour road transfer to Muchenje Safari Lodge clearing Zimbabwe and Botswana customs and immigration en-route. On arrival you will be welcomed by the management who will show you to your room, give a brief overview of the lodge and area and will then discuss which activities you would like to do during your stay. Enjoy a refreshing lunch and afternoon relaxing before your afternoon game viewing activity. You then return to the lodge in time to freshen up before a delicious dinner accompanied by the sounds of the African bush.

With stunning panoramic views, the Central Lodge is the heart of Muchenje. Guests can relax in the lounge, bar or lookout platform and enjoy the wonderful homely atmosphere.

Situated on the Western side of Chobe National Park, Muchenje is the only lodge in this area and offers unique prolific game experiences. Only forty minutes drive from Kasane and two hours drive from Victoria Falls. Direct flights are available into Ka sane or Victoria falls from Johannesburg, Windhoek and Gaborone. We can arrange your transfers to Muchenje Lodge.

Muchenje accommodates just twenty guests in intimate exclusivity. The ten twin-bedded thatched chalets, all with en-suite facilities, are sited on the escarpment edge all with their own balcony and unique view. Each chalet is exquisitely furnished and great care has been taken to create a true African ‘ambience’. The Main lodge features a dining area, bar, reception, curio shop, game viewing platform and library. The feature swimming pool is built amongst natural rock formations, taking advantage of the African vista and providing a tranquil setting for guests to relax during the heat of the day. Meals are served table d’bush, wholesome and plentiful, yet well presented. Theme dinners, Vegetarians and special meal requests are catered for. Guest dine together on a long railway sleeper dining table, and dress is informal.

WALKING SAFARIS: Explore the intricacies of the bush studying animal behavior, plants, insects and Big game approaches. Our guides carry a fire arm for your personal protection. GAME DRIVES: Private Safaris conducted in open Land Rover with qualified professional guides. Imagine the explosive tranquility of hundreds of elephants surrounding you, or the excitement of a lion kill. Night Eyes; the alternative after dinner nightcap! RIVER CRUISE: Experience game viewing on the Chobe, drift noiselessly past a bathing herd of Elephants or enter the Hippos world of Crocodiles and amazing bird life. CULTURE: Visit an elder’s home offering a glimpse into tribal life of Botswana. ON REQUEST: Fishing and Interior drives to the remotest parts of central Chobe

Day 3:
After breakfast and an early morning activity (time permitting) you will be transferred by road to Kasane Airport where you will be met by your pilot and transferred by light aircraft to Footsteps where you spend the next 4 nights.

Footsteps Across the Delta is a walking trail camp set on a private concession in the northern edge of the Okavango Delta.  A short trip in a light aircraft wings you into the wilderness, where you meet your guides.

This programme maintains the elegance and eccentricity of the original African safaris under canvas. The emphasis is on exploring this breathtakingly beautiful and diverse environment.

Accommodations are in specially designed twin bedded, insect proof tents with double fly sheets with sewn-in floors. Each tent has its own bucket shower and bush toilet, and a daily laundry service is provided.

Footsteps Across the Delta is a truly unique way to experience the African wilderness. Here you will spend your days exploring this fascinating area led by your Professional Guide on foot, by mokoro (traditional dugout canoe) and vehicle as required. Days are planned as you go, beginning with a full safety briefing and short walk to get you accustomed to the bush and further exploring as the days unfold.

Every evening you return to camp to enjoy a piping hot bush shower and the ambience of dining by candlelight, relaxing by the fire and sleeping amidst the sounds of the wilderness.

The bush kitchen, run by the chef, who has many years experience working in the wilderness, will astound you. The high standard of bush cuisine, includes fresh fruits and vegetables, and selections of cheeses and South African wines as well as a stocked bar, soft drinks and bottled water.

There are Over 450 species of birds and 75 species of mammal, including; lion, buffalo, elephant, wild dog, cheetah, zebra & giraffe, amongst others.

The whole programme is designed to insure an authentic bush experience while never compromising on comfort. The staff at Footsteps provides an excellent safari that leaves you with many fond memories of your fleeting glimpse of the Africa of old.

Evenings can be spent around the campfire, enjoying the peaceful ambience under the stars.

Day 7:
This morning you will be transferred by light aircraft to Delta Camp. On arrival you will be welcomed by the Camp Managers and shown to your room. You will be accommodated in a East Africa style walk in Meru Tent with private en-suite facilities. Enjoy a leisurely buffet lunch and a little later this afternoon your guide will take you on a mokoro excursion where you explore the channels which have excellent birdlife. There is also a chance of seeing Hippo, Elephant and Crocodile as well as numerous antelope species. While on your activity enjoy sundowners while in the mokoro and watch the sun sizzles as it sets on the waterways. Return to the camp in time to freshen up before a delicious dinner accompanied by the sounds of the African bush.

Day 8:
An early morning wake-up call, some tea, coffee and biscuits, and then accompanied by your Guide you go out on a walking safari – really the ONLY way to go out on safari, on foot, accompanied by a man whose knowledge of the Okavango and its wildlife and plants will astound you. You can, in all safety track and stalk animals that you are particularly interested in seeing, a truly remarkable experience. After a leisurely three hour walk, conducted at your pace, you will return to Delta Camp for a hearty Brunch and a rest during the heat of the day. A little later this afternoon enjoy another mokoro excursion returning to the camp by sunset.  Enjoy a leisurely dinner.

This intimate and informal safari camp nestles on a small Falcon close to the south-western edge of Chief’s Falcon, heart of the Okavango Delta – the vast oasis of the Kgalagadi Desert, Botswana. Accommodation is in spacious ‘lethaka’ (reed) chalets with en-suite facilities. The amazing design of the Chalets is such that you enjoy the luxuries of a ‘top rate’ hotel, but without affecting the environment; you will find you share your chalet with the trees around which the chalets have been built rather than having been cut down during their construction.

Your chalet at Delta Camp directly overlooks the waterways. Delta Camp is on the banks of the Boro River, one of the primary watercourses of the Okavango.

Excursions, by foot and mokoro – the traditional dug-out canoe – are conducted in the renowned Moremi Game Reserve, with your own professional game-guide, a man of the swamps, completely at one with his environment.

Dine in the elegant Dining Room overlooking the sweep of the Delta, or take a beautifully prepared picnic onto one of the many nearby Falcons for a secluded and intimate experience.
This unusual Camp engenders in its staff and guests alike, an acute awareness of the ecological sensitivity of this magnificent area. Bio-degradable products have been sourced and are used, careful separation and treatment of refuse ensures that nothing that is not fully bio-degradable stays on the Falcon – light aircraft remove cans, bottles and the like from the Okavango altogether.
The accent is on peace and tranquility (stalking game on foot provides all the excitement one could wish for) and guests are actively encouraged to visit a local village, home to our guides, and to interact, should they wish to, with the people there.

Day 9:
After a light breakfast and morning activity (time permitting) you will be assisted onto your charter flight to Makgadikgadi. Upon your arrival you will be met by your guide and assisted onto your road transfer through the dry arid landscape to the lodge. On arrival you will be welcomed by the management who will show you to your room, give a brief overview of the lodge and area and will then discuss which activities you would like to do during your stay.

Ntwetwe Pan and Sua Pan, together with numerous smaller pans, form the Makgadikgadi Pans system. The pans are the remnants of the once great Lake Makgadikgadi: 80,000 square kilometres in extent, and up to 30 metres deep, this was the largest inland sea in Africa. In the wet season, this vast area of salt pans interspersed with low-lying grass Falcons is the destination of herds of migrating zebra. It has an un-spoilt beauty unlike any other part of Africa.

Situated on Hyena Falcon, Makgadikgadi is a real bush camp offering the very essence of Africa. Accommodation is in comfortable twin-bedded cottage tents secluded among palms and acacias. All tents have en-suite bathrooms and there is a dip pool for refuge from the midday heat.

The traditionally built mess, with its thatched roof and open fireplace, provides the perfect ambience for relaxation at the end of the day. Around the flickering fire the day’s events are recounted, whilst your host conjures up the spirit of Africa. Legends of the bush gently unfold, punctuated by calls of the wild from the surrounding Makgadikgadi Pans.

An early breakfast precedes your day’s exploration of the pans by 4×4 quad motorcycles – the most environmentally friendly way to explore the area, as well as being GREAT FUN!. In the evening, after aperitifs, your hosts invite you to join them at an elegant table for a three course dinner, combining international cuisine with the best of African fare and accompanied by elegant wines from South Africa.

At Makgadikgadi Camp you can go on walks, night drives, game/ nature drives and a visit to a running cattle outpost if you wish. There is lovely seating around the camp where you can just sit and relax and take in the beautiful scenery. At Makgadikgadi you have Mopane veld, grass planes with palm Falcons as well as lunar landscapes. At the salt pans you can also visit archeological sites where they are discovering tools etc 30 000 – 100 000 years old.

On some occasions the lions even come into camp to drink from the watering hole! Although not trying to be a 5 star hotel in the bush – Makgadikgadi Camp is fit for Princes – literally!! – it is a favorite destination for young Royals.

Day 11:
After breakfast and an early morning activity you will be transferred by road to the airstrip in time for your charter flight to Maun, and your onward flight to OR Tambo (formerly Johannesburg) International Airport.

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What is included in the itinerary:

  • Transfer Victoria Falls Airport – Muchenje Safari Lodge
  • 2 x Nights at Muchenje Safari Lodge in a twin thatch chalet with private en-suite facilities
  • Accommodation includes all meals, activities, park fees, laundry, medical evacuation insurance and local beverages.
  • Road transfer from Muchenje – Kasane Airport
  • Charter flight from Kasane – Footsteps
  • 4 x Nights at Footsteps in a twin tent with private en-suite facilities (bucket shower and bush toilet). Accommodation includes all meals, activities, park fees, laundry, medical evacuation insurance and local beverages.
  • Charter Footsteps – Delta Camp
  • 2 x Nights at Delta Camp in a twin East African style tent with private en-suite facilities. Accommodation includes all meals, activities, park fees, laundry, medical evacuation insurance and local beverages.
  • Charter from Delta Camp – Makgadikgadi
  • Road transfer airstrip – Makgadikgadi Camp
  • 2 x Nights at Makgadikgadi Camp in a twin walk in tent with private en-suite facilities. Accommodation includes all meals, all local beverages and all activities.
  • Road transfer Makgadikgadi Camp – airstrip
  • Charter Makgadikgadi – Maun

What is not included in the itinerary:

  • All items of a personal nature
  • Gratuities
  • Visa’s
  • Curios shop purchases
  • Travel insurance
  • Premium brand drinks
  • Any international flights

Priced from Euro 3 300 per person sharing