Day 1

Transfer to Victoria Falls

Take a leisurely breakfast in the morning and drink in the marvellous views of the countryside as the train rolls towards Victoria Falls. Perched overlooking one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Victoria Falls Hotel is perfectly positioned alongside the gorge below the falls to take in the view and listen to the thundering sound of millions of tons of water pouring over the precipice. Settle into your gracious suite and then enjoy a leisurely lunch on the terrace.   In the afternoon, take a helicopter flight over the Falls. As soon as you take off, you see a plume of spray rising into the air that is visible for miles around, which gives the Falls their local name of Mosi-a-Tunya or ‘The Smoke that Thunders’. With the wide river dotted with small islands below you, you fly over the water until the gorge becomes visible, and it is a sight to behold from this perspective!

Day 3

Transfer to Chobe National Park, Botswana

You depart Victoria Falls after breakfast and make your way to the Botswana border at Kasane. From here a charter plane wings you over the vastness of Chobe National Park, bordered by the Chobe River glinting in the northern distance. Arriving at the airstrip, your guide will take you for the game drive as we head to Chobe Under Canvas.   On the drive, keep an eye out for red lechwe antelope, hippos and crocodiles sunning themselves on the banks. Big cats such as lions often rest up among the trees and palm thickets, watching activity on the plain. As you go further inland, the thickets become denser, and mopane woodland dominates the landscape. It is here that leopards stalk and elephants come to feed.   As the evening sets in, drive as you get closer to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Days 6–7

Explore the Okavango Delta

Game drives here reveal a wide variety of interconnecting habitats that support an astounding diversity of life, from aquatic species to the inhabitants of the dry Kalahari woodlands. The region is a big game haven where leopards are often seen, and encounters with these beautiful cats are a thrilling highlight of any safari.   A wonderful way of experiencing the Okavango in all its glory is to step into a mokoro, a traditional-style dugout canoe, and gently slip through the maze of waterways overhung by ferns and crowded with water lilies. Silently gliding through the water, you are able to take in the sound of water murmuring by the birds calling from the reed beds, and hippos grunting in the distance: the ancient song of the Okavango. Taking a motorised boat, you can venture into the deeper reaches of the Delta, where hippos pass below you in a stream of bubbles while you seek out the elusive and rare sitatunga antelope that inhabits the marshes and papyrus beds and, as evening falls, the tinkling serenade of reed frogs surrounds you like a symphony.

• Big Game Drives
• Boat Cruise