Cape, Kalahari, Okavango, Falls — and the hills to finish
Overview
Southern Africa at its most cinematic, paced as a proper grand journey rather than a checklist. Begin slowly in the Cape, moving from Babylonstoren’s gardens and vineyards to the wild fynbos and Atlantic cliffs of Grootbos, then take three days at One&Only Cape Town for the mountain, the peninsula and the city’s remarkable food. From there the landscapes open out. Fly into Botswana for the lunar horizons and desert life of Makgadikgadi, then cross the Okavango in two contrasting chapters: Tawana’s game-rich Moremi country and the waterbound privacy of North Island. Continue to Matetsi for the Zambezi, private-reserve safari and Victoria Falls. Most journeys turn home there. This one finishes more personally: Khami’s stone terraces, then Matobo’s granite valleys, rhino country and ancient rock art, with two nights at Matobo Hills Lodge. The route is private and tailor-made throughout, with the lodges, pace and activities adjusted around the people travelling.
Why book direct with ZimTravellers?
Itinerary
Nineteen private days across the Cape, Kalahari, Okavango, Zambezi and Matobo — with each flight, transfer and lodge joined into one journey.
Met on arrival in Cape Town and driven into the Winelands to Babylonstoren, a historic Cape Dutch farm set among vineyards, orchards and an extraordinary working garden. Settle in slowly, walk the farm and let dinner mark the beginning of the journey.
A full day on the farm, shaped around the guided garden walk, a cellar visit and tasting, time at the spa or simply the pleasure of doing very little. This is an unhurried opening chapter: seasonal food, old oaks and the mountains beyond the vines.
Travel south through the Cape to Grootbos, where indigenous fynbos runs down towards Walker Bay. Arrive in time to take in the Atlantic from the reserve and choose an easy first outing with your guide before dinner at the lodge.
Explore the reserve on foot or by vehicle with a specialist guide, learning how much life is hidden in the fynbos. Depending on the season and sea conditions, the day can include coastal caves, a marine safari or whale watching, with a long sundowner view to finish.
Return to Cape Town and check in at One&Only on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The afternoon is deliberately open: settle into the resort, walk the harbour or start with a privately guided introduction to the city and Table Mountain.
Spend the day with a private guide, moving between Table Mountain, the colourful streets of Bo-Kaap, the Company’s Garden and the city’s food and design scene. The order stays flexible so the mountain can be taken when the weather is clear.
Follow the Atlantic seaboard past Camps Bay and over Chapman’s Peak to the Cape Peninsula. Continue towards Cape Point and the penguins at Boulders Beach, returning around False Bay after a day of cliffs, ocean and one of Africa’s great coastal roads.
Fly from Cape Town via Maun into Botswana’s Makgadikgadi region and continue to Jack’s Camp. The scale changes immediately: palms, grassland and the immense salt-pan horizon. Settle in, then head out in the cooler light if arrival time allows.
Begin with the desert waking around you. Spend time near a habituated meerkat colony, then explore the pans and surrounding grasslands by vehicle. Wildlife and routes change with the rains; your guide reads the season and puts the day together around what is happening now.
Walk with San trackers and look more closely at the Kalahari’s plants, tracks and survival knowledge. Later, return to the open country for a game drive or, when the pans are dry and conditions permit, a quad-bike excursion across the salt.
A light-aircraft flight carries you north to Tawana in the Moremi Game Reserve. From the air, channels and floodplains replace the salt. Your first drive introduces a game-rich part of the Delta where lion, leopard and wild dog are all possible.
A full safari day with the freedom to follow tracks and sightings rather than a clock. Explore by 4x4 along the Gomoti River and out across the floodplain, breaking for a bush coffee or sundowner as the light changes over Moremi.
Transfer by light aircraft into the northern Okavango and continue by boat, conditions allowing, to North Island. This is the more waterbound side of the Delta: a private island, reed-lined channels and a small camp surrounded by wilderness.
Take the day at the Delta’s pace. Glide out by mokoro, travel farther by boat or join a game drive on firmer ground, depending on water levels and wildlife movement. Birdlife is exceptional, and the quiet between sightings is part of the experience.
Fly to Victoria Falls and transfer to Matetsi, a private reserve on the Zambezi. After the Delta, the broad river feels like another world. Unpack, then head onto the water for a private sunset cruise or take an evening drive through the reserve.
Visit Victoria Falls with a private guide, walking the rainforest path from viewpoint to viewpoint as the Zambezi drops into the gorge. Return to Matetsi for a quiet afternoon, or add a helicopter flight when the light and spray are right.
A final full safari day on Matetsi’s private reserve. Choose morning and afternoon game drives, a guided walk, time on the river or fishing, then return for an unhurried last evening beside the Zambezi.
Travel south to Bulawayo and meet your private Zimbabwe guide for the final chapter. Explore the terraced stone walls of Khami Ruins, once the capital of the Torwa state, then continue into the granite country for dinner and the night at Matobo Hills Lodge.
Go out early to track white rhino on foot with an experienced guide, then choose the cultural half of the day around a rock-art cave, an Ndebele village or World’s View and the grave of Cecil Rhodes. Return to Matobo Hills Lodge for the night; onward travel is arranged for the following morning.
Victoria Falls · ZimbabweMatetsi Victoria FallsView the lodge →
Matobo Hills · ZimbabweMatobo Hills LodgeView the lodge →25% charge (deposit) — 90+ days out.
50% charge — 61–90 days.
75% charge — 31–60 days.
A 25% deposit confirms your itinerary.
Requested and confirmed within one working day.
Per person sharing, excluding international flights unless specifically stated.
Private (max 8 guests).
Operated by ZimTravellers (own itinerary; partner lodges as listed).
Physical level: Easy.
What’s included
Practical
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