Dunes, Wildlife & Delta

Dunes Wildlife and Delta - African Safari.

Explore South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia with this package and visit some of the most remote and scenic places on the continent. Visit the home of the Bushman, the Kalahari, explore deserts of Namibia, experience true wilderness in Botswana, and take in the awesome beauty of the Victoria Falls. Take this African Safari in a style of your choice with either camping or lodge accommodation and self drive or guided options.

High Lights: Augrabies, Kalahari Transfrontier Park, Fishriver Canyon, Luderitz, Sossusvlei, Dune 45, Windhoek, Okavango Delta, Moremi, Makgadikgadi pans, Chobe, Victoria Falls
Included
Accommodation - CAMPING/LODGES
- Johannesburg: 1 night
- Kuruman: 1 night
- Augrabies: 1 night
- Kalahari Transfrontier: 3 nights
- Fishriver Canyon: 1 night
- Luderitz: 1 night
- Sossusvlei : 2 nights
- Windhoek : 1 night
- Ganzi : 1 night
- Moremi : 3 nights
- Makgadikgadi : 2 nights
- Chobe : 2 nights
- Livingstone : 2 night
Meals - daily breakfast or brunch and dinner (see itinerary for details)
Guide - yes
4x4 Vehicle - yes
Fuel - yes
Activities - Sight Seeing, Game Viewing en-route, mokoro trips, scenic flight over the Delta, . quad bike ride at Makgadikgadi, 4x4 expedition
DETAIL ITINERARY
DAY-1: Johannesburg, South Africa
You will be met at the airport and taken to a Game Lodge close by. Depending on the time of your arrival the guide will do a short briefing of the safari, in preparation of the safari that will start the next morning. You will appreciate the comfortable bed – sleep early and catch your strength for the adventure to follow.
DAY-2: Kuruman, South Africa
You will make a early departure from lodge to try and avoid the morning traffic in Johannesburg. Soon you will be out of the city perimeters and then you can sit back and take in the rural landscape. Your first sleep over will be at The Eye resort, a spring at Kuruman.
DAY-3: Augrabies Falls, South Africa
Today you will travel from this interesting “one horse town “ Kuruman and travel to Augrabies Waterfall, where the Orange River plunges 56m down a rock face. The Khoi people called it ‘Aukoerebis’, or place of Great Noise, as this powerful flow of water is unleashed from rocky surroundings characterized by the 18-km abyss of the Orange River Gorge.

DAY-4&5&6: Kalahari Tranfrontier Park, South Africa
This morning you will head north toward the red sand of the Kalahari. For the next few days you will experience the isolation of this desolate region – there is very few inhabitants of this desert like place, and springbok and gemsbok is abundant. You will have the opportunity to enjoy a serious 4x4 adventure as the thick sands make driving conditions challenging. This area is renowned for it beautiful sun sets – be sure to take a few pictures of this phenomenon, where the sky looks as if it is on fire from the sun.
DAY-7: Fish River Canyon, Namibia
After breakfast you will depart towards Namibia and following border procedures at Ariamsvlei Border Post you will be well on your way to Fish River Canyon. This canyon is the second largest canyon in the world and is sure to take your breath away. As you stand at the edge of this topographic wonder, you feel is sense of insignificance in relation to the forces of nature, as glaciers, water, extreme temperature and wind eroded the canyon of millions of years. The best time to enjoy the splendour of this canyon is at sunrise or sunset.

DAY-8: Luderitz, Namibia
Following a last glimpse over the Canyon you will depart towards the ghost town of Luderitz. This quant German town has interesting stories. With luck you may even catch a glimpse of the desert wild horses roaming free close to town.
DAY-9&10: Sossusvlei, Namibia
Making our way back into the dunes you will depart for Sesriem and on to Sossusvlei, home to the world’s largest sand dune. This magnificent white clay pan is encroached by dunes moving for thousands of years, marking the end of the journey for the Tsauchab River towards the ocean. You will spend two days in this great location, giving you enough time to do sight seeing, crawling up the dune - to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and the view from the top. You will have the opportunity to take plenty of photographs of the red sand dunes as the sun paints beautiful shades on the landscape.

DAY-11: Windhoek, Namibia
Windhoek is the largest town in Namibia. This interesting German settlement has beautiful German architecture and is full of history and interesting stories about the people of this region. Windhoek is a popular destination for most tour operators and there is usually many tourists in town – tonight will be a good time to relax and meet some local people – the people in Namibia in general is very friendly and they enjoy a good social.
DAY-12 : Ganzi, Botswana
By early-morning you will be ready to greet the town good bye and set off to your next adventure. Today you will travel to Ganzi. It is a long road, with a border crossing along the way. The vast, flat landscape and the odd local along the road, will be the only entertainment for the day. Tonight you will sleep in Botswana. .
DAY-13&14: Okavango Delta, Botswana
Again it will be an early departure to Maun. In Maun you will be collected by a charter pilot, who will fly you to a Island Lodge in the Delta. The 20 minute flight over the Delta will be a very scenic and exciting experience. The guide will not accompany you on this part of the trip, but rest assured that the local guides will take good care of you. On day two of your stay in the Delta you will do a makoro excursion – the rest of the time you can relax on the deck and enjoy the island view.

DAY-15&16: Moremi, Botswana
After the pilot has broad you back to Maun, your guide will take you through to Mankwe Lodge, which is situate in Moremi Nature Reserve. You will have the option to join the local rangers of the open game viewing vehicles for Big 5 game viewing (own expense).
DAY-17&18: Makgadigadi Pans, Botswana
It is another day to long distance travelling and you will depart early morning from Moremi to Makgadidagi Pans. Depending on your time of arrival you will go on a Bushman Walk to explore the local ecology, geology and culture. The next day you travel to Gweta, which is located close by to experience modern African culture – you will have opportunity to try the local food. In the afternoon you will take quad bikes and go for an adventure ride on Nxaisini pans.

DAY-19&20: Chobe, Botswana
As the sun peaks over the horizon you will get ready for your departure to Chobe - it is a 5 hour drive!! In the later afternoon you will go for a sun set cruise on the Chobe River to view hippo and elephant roaming on the river banks. The lodge offers a deck overlooking the river, offering you stunning sunsets. You will have the option to go on game drives, boat cruises and fishing expeditions, departing from the lodge.

DAY-21&22: Livingstone, Zambia
After breakfast you will take the ferry across the river and into Zambia. Your afternoon will be spent doing sight seeing at Vic Falls and doing curio shopping at the local traditional market. The next morning you will have leisure time to do some adrenalin activities like bungee jumping, elephant back safari, microlight flight over the falls and many more. By mid-afternoon your guide will take you to the Livingstone airport, from where you will depart back to Johannesburg.

Experience this African Safari with Lathita Expeditions.

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Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

The Kgalagadi National Park is Africa’s first transfrontier national park, the result of merging the Kalahari Gemsbok Parks in Botswana and South Africa and incorporating Mabuasehube on the eastern Botswana side of the park. The Kgalagadi comprises an area of over 3.6 million hectares or approximately 2.5 million square kilometres.
Kgalagadi means ‘land of thirst’ and the huge, desert landscape is part of the Kalahari Desert – the largest continuous area of sand in the world. Red sand dunes, dry riverbeds and sparse vegetation characterise the Kgalagadi

The annual rainfall is 200mm, mainly between January and April. The summer day temperatures may exceed 40 degrees Celsius yet the night time winter temperatures plunge well below freezing. Visitors should expect extreme heat during the day and extreme cold during winter nights. The last four months of the year are hot, dry and dusty. Then dark clouds start to build up and the wildebeest begin to calve in anticipation of the heaviest rainfall between January and April. In the Mabuesehube after heavy rains herds of eland, hundreds strong can be seen. Following a tremendous thunderstorm and even hail occasionally the dry rivers begin to flow for a brief period.

The birdlife is typical of the dry Kalahari woodlands and as with any dry habitat, birding opportunities vary according to rainfall. 260 bird species have been recorded in the Kgalagadi and the birds of prey are particularly interesting. There are a wide selection of waterbirds due to the sudden transformation of the park after a thunderstorm. More than 50% of the birds are vagrants or irregular visitors. After good summer rains, temporary avian inhabitants may include large flocks of storks and sometimes even a few flamingos, ducks, flufftails, sandpipers or a crake or two.

It is renowned for predator watching and home to black-maned Kalahari lions, leopards, cheetah, brown and spotted hyaena, wild dog, black backed jackal, gemsbok, blue wildebeest, eland, springbok, red hartebeest, duiker and steenbok. It is estimated that there are 450 lions in the park and to survive in such harsh conditions the large carnivores have to adopt wide-ranging tactics. This includes a variety of smaller than usual prey in their diet and a huge range over thousands of square kilometres as prides often split into smaller hunting groups.
Visitors should be totally self-sufficient in fuel, water and food, although water can sometimes be obtained from the Game Scout Camp.
The roads are dirt and are quite sandy in parts but a 4WD will only be necessary during the wet winter months. Due to the remoteness of the area it is advisable to travel in a convoy of at least 2 vehicles.
Light aircraft may land on a tarred runway at Twee Rivieren but prior permission must be obtained from the Park Warden.
It is currently not possible to cross from Namibia at Mata Mata or Union's End.
Where to Stay
Two Rivers Camping Ground – situated near the entrance gate. Currently has three undeveloped campsites.
Rooiputs Camping Ground – situated 25km up the Nossob River Valley from the entrance gate. 6 individual campsites. Presently no facilities available.
Poletscua Camping Ground – situated in the northern section of the NossobValley. 3 undeveloped campsites.
Mabuasehube Area – situated in the extreme east of the national park. A number of individual campsites overlooking the pan, some of which have small waterholes. Some have picnic tables.
Mabuasehube Pan – 4 campsites with pit latrines and small waterhole.
Mpaathuthva Pan – 2 campsites with pit latrines and a small waterhole
Khiding Pan – 2 campsites with pit latrines
Lesholoago Pan – 1 campsite with pit latrine and 1 campsite without. Small waterhole.

Join Lathita Expeditions on a African Safari to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park!

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