KPF7J: Kruger Park + Victoria Falls

Day 1

Arrive Johannesburg Airport and meet your Kruger Park safari host, who will introduce you to the beauty of the Eastern Transvaal on your scenic 3-hour drive to Sabie and Hazyview. Check in to your luxury guesthouse for dinner and overnight.

[Or 45-minute transfer from Mpumalanga Airport]

Day 2

Today we enter the world famous Kruger National Park. Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary the size to Wales. Hopefully we will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before we reach camp.

The Kruger Park offers a choice of seven camps, each situated in a different section of the park with its own unique flora and fauna: Skukuza, Letaba, Olifants, Lower Sabie, Pretoriuskop, Satara and Berg-en-Dal. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable thatched game park bungalows, with each camp having a restaurant and a small shop. Check in, settle-in and relax in your outdoor bushveld surroundings before enjoying dinner (exact camp subject to availability at time of booking).

Days 3

As you will have the services of a private driver/guide throughout your safari, you will have the flexibility of discussing preferred routings and travelling times with him each day. However we recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (05h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day.

Explore the vast Kruger Plains, which offer magnificent game viewing opportunities and the highest concentration of lion in the whole of Africa. Hopefully we will see at least one of the Big Five today - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino, before returning to camp at around 09h00 for breakfast. The rest of the morning can be spent relaxing at camp, reading or bird watching, before setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive.

One game drive per day will be in an open-top game viewing vehicle operated by the Kruger Park (either early morning, late afternoon or evening), with all other game drives taken with your host in an air-conditioned minibus, as this is more comfortable in the heat of the day. With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger Park, we hope to see giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals.

In the evening, enjoy the balmy weather and pristine stars of the Southern Sky and Milky Way, as you have never seen them before – including the spectacular Southern Cross.

[Note: Children < 12 are not allowed on open top game drives. However they may enjoy unlimited game drives in your host’s vehicle]

Day 4

This morning we return to Johannesburg Airport, stopping at a Cultural Village and self-help project to give you the opportunity of supporting the local community by purchasing one of their handmade products.

[Or fly from Mpumalanga Airport]

Check in to your airport hotel for overnight. Conveniently situated only a few minutes from the airport, your hotel is part of a casino and entertainment complex and has several restaurants on site.

Day 5

After breakfast, take the free hotel shuttle to the airport for your 2-hour international flight to Livingstone Airport, Zambia. You will be met at Livingstone and transferred to your hotel on the banks of the Zambezi River, near the mighty Victoria Falls.

Check in, settle-in and relax whilst you catch your first glimpses of the magnificent "Smoke That Thunders” first discovered by Dr. David Livingstone and still one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. The flow of water over the Victoria Falls is greatest during the wet months (February to June) but the falls are a magnificent sight at any time of year.

In the later afternoon, enjoy a Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi River to see hippos, crocodiles and the abundant bird life.

Days 6 & 7

Today explore on foot the mighty Victoria Falls situated close to your hotel and offering magnificent views.

Later relax by the swimming pool and enjoy the many pleasures of your hotel, or participate in one of the many local activities, such as a helicopter flight over the falls or an elephant-back safari.

Adrenalin seekers can participate in many adventure holiday activities, such as canoeing in the gentler rapids above the falls; white water rafting in the turbulent gorge below the falls (beware: grade 5); or bungi jumping from Victoria Falls Bridge!

There is also an interesting local craft market.

Day 8

This morning return transfer to Livingstone Airport for your flight to Johannesburg Airport.