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Our safaris to the region are expeditions of a lifetime, offering you encounters with a multitude of species while exploring the region’s Natural Wonders of the World, World Heritage Sites and wildernesses. Our journey crosses diverse ecosystems, from the southernmost tip of Africa to desert dunes, river deltas to savannas, forests to mountain ranges, and from river systems to coastal environments. Top destinations such as the “Fairest Cape”, Kruger National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Etosha, the Okavango Delta, South Luangwa and Victoria Falls, provide adventure and abundant sightings.
Target species include the Big 5, African wild dog, cheetah, hyena, hippo, honey badger, sitatunga, sable, roan, red lechwe, bat-eared foxes, and all manner of big and small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies.
A country of contrasts! What else do you call a place where you can experience penguins waddling on the Cape, leopards prowling the bushveld, cinematic coastal switchbacks and burnt Kalahari sand, the oldest wine industry outside of Europe and fusion cuisine? The beauty of touring South Africa tour is being able to fit so much into so little time. From the Stellenbosch Winelands to Kruger, from iSimangaliso to Drakensberg and beyond, this is a place where you can undertake an amazing safari with a side of Pinotage. South Africa has it all.
No trip to South Africa would be complete without a visit to one of the New7Wonders of Nature – Table Mountain in Cape Town – and this is where we begin our tour. We then travel to the furthest south-western point of the continent at Cape Point, named “The Fairest Cape in all the World”. Here we search the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve for eland, Cape mountain zebra, chacma baboons, ostrich and over 250 other bird species. The habitat of the region is called fynbos and comprises the smallest but richest of the world’s six floral kingdoms. We visit Boulders National Park, home to African penguins, while whale watching, dolphin watching, and shark-cage diving expeditions are also options.
Next, we venture to the northern coast of the KwaZulu-Natal province to the country’s first World Heritage Site, the exceptionally diverse iSimangaliso Wetland Park. This huge, protected area includes both land and marine areas. The expansive Lake St Lucia in the centre of the park is inhabited by large numbers of hippo, crocodile, and waterbirds such as pelicans and flamingos. Elephant, giraffe, leopard, buffalo and both white and black rhino inhabit the grasslands, bushveld and forests of the Eastern and Western Shores. To the north, Sodwana Bay is known for its exceptional coral reefs, turtle tours, and whale and dolphin watching. The bird list is extraordinary, with 526 species.
We then travel to the world-renowned Kruger National Park, surrounded by private reserves. It’s one of Africa’s largest game reserves and forms part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. The high density of wildlife includes the Big 5 (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) and 142 other mammal species.
The park is also home to more than 500 bird species, including vultures, eagles and storks, while the landscape features mountains, bush plains and forests. The adjacent private reserves offer some of the world’s best wildlife viewing and safari lodge experiences, with an extraordinary concentration of predators and abundant sightings.
Botswana is one of Southern Africa’s most famous and abundant wildlife destinations. It offers remarkable landscape contrasts from the lily-field backwaters of the Okavango Panhandle to the desolate Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Botswana’s exceptional avifauna includes several range-restricted and highly sought-after species.
Our tour commences in the dry area of Maun, from where we venture east towards the Makgadikgadi Pans, followed by the Moremi Game Reserve and the Okavango Delta. We then head north-east through to the renowned Savuti area, and the tour culminates in the Chobe National Park at Kasane.
On our journey through this wilderness region, we can expect to discover all manner of big game and extraordinary wildlife sightings. Quality time will be spent observing many sought-after species, including lion, African elephant, leopard, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, African buffalo, roan, sable, red lechwe, giraffe, hippo, sitatunga, topi, puku, bat-eared fox and caracal. Birdlife is abundant, with 601 species in the region.
Namibia is a unique destination with extraordinary landscapes, making it a must-visit African country. It features the oldest desert on Earth, lining the coast with the tallest dunes in the world, the rugged desert mountains of the Namibian escarpment, home to desert elephant and rhino, and the vast Etosha National Park, which ranks as one of Africa’s top game reserves.
Our tour leads you through diverse habitat types, including coastal shores and estuaries, broad-leaved woodland, riverine forest, floodplains, grass plains, papyrus swamps, mountains, gravel and sandy deserts. We visit Windhoek and surrounds, the Namib Desert dunes around Sossusvlei, Spitzkoppe, Etosha, and the Caprivi Strip.
Mammals you can expect to see include the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, black and white rhinos), cheetah, bat-eared fox, Hartmann’s zebra, roan and sable antelopes, red lechwe, topi, common eland, springbok, sitatunga, meerkat, honey badger, dassie rat, spotted-necked otter, South African and damara ground squirrel, caracal and African wild cat. The country is home to over 620 species of birds.
Our tour begins at the Zambezi River and the thundering Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Here, the Zambezi plummets over 300ft (91.4m) into the Batoka Gorge. This diverse region includes the Victoria Falls National Park, Kazungula, Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Zambezi National Park to the south of the Falls and many other habitats.
The region hosts over 470 bird species across various habitats, including the rainforest next to the Falls, the Zambezi River, the gorges below the Falls, the miombo woodland surrounds and the National Park. Most of the area is home to large populations of African elephant, African buffalo, lion and hippo, so great care must be taken when on foot.
Mana Pools National Park lies in the heart of the Lower Zambezi Valley, where the river meanders through Zimbabwe on its way to the Indian Ocean. This remote, wildlife-rich area offers spectacular river views and floodplain, forest and escarpment vistas.
This World Heritage Site hosts various mammals, over 350 bird species and aquatic wildlife. Rated as one of the top parks in Africa, it forms part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. It’s also a Ramsar Wetland Site and Important Bird Area.
Hwange National Park in west Zimbabwe is the country’s largest park and protected area, covering some 1.4 million hectares. Hwange offers diverse habitats shared between desert-adapted and woodland species, and it supports large concentrations of other wildlife, particularly elephant. The park has over 100 species of mammals and nearly 400 bird species.
The grasslands and mopane woods are home to lion prides, African wild dog, buffalo, sable, roan, giraffe, wildebeest, and gemsbok. In the northwest, animals gather at the Mandavu and Masuma dams, with concealed lookouts available for observation. The park also features the Bumbusi National Monument with its 18th-century ruins and pre-colonial rock carvings. The southeast area offers several waterholes, including Nyamandhlovu Pan, with an elevated viewing platform.
Our tour begins at the Zambezi River and the thundering Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Next we explore Kafue and Choma, before heading for the Lower Zambezi Valley. Next we head north to explore the awesome Mutinondo and the renowned South Luangwa, a wildlife and birding mecca.
Zambia is one of the hotspot destinations in Africa for birders and wildlife lovers – a naturalist’s paradise.
There are over 700 species to be found throughout the many diverse ecosystems. Perhaps the best time for birding is just before the summer rains arrive, as this is when the local population is swelled by the arrival of many migrant species. Most of the avifauna is found on the Central African Plateau as this region has many ecosystems. There are several birding hotspots, which include the Lochinvar National Park, Bangweulu Swamps, Mutinondo Wilderness, Lower Zambezi Valley, Kafue and the South Luangwa National Park.
On the wildlife from, Zambia is home to an extraordinary diversity of habitats which support an abundance of creatures, great and small, including many icon megafauna, such as African Wild Dogs, Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Giraffe and extraordinary Bat populations. Safaris in this special country will excite and enthrall any visitor.