South Africa, Botswana & Victoria Falls

Arrive in this bustling city full of coming-together cultures, cuisines and landscapes. Cape Town is unique, as well as its vibes. The flat-topped mountain, Table Mountain, is one of the first sights you will see. And then there are many more parks, mountain tops and amazing natural landscapes to be explored. Do as the locals do and take advantage of the abundance of outdoor activities to do: (kite) surfing, abseiling, hiking, mountain biking or simply jogging along the ocean (especially when the sun is setting with breathtaking views). Visit the historical and colourful Bo-Kaap, the city and its museums around the Company Gardens, the many streetcafés with the best flat-whites in the world, the weekend markets with its biological food and ready-to-made meals… Human creativity is all around; it did get the title World Design Capital 2014 after all… from cafés till restaurants, innovative Woodstock with lots of galleries, world-class restaurants till the arty Kalk Bay on the coast. Cape Town will steal your heart and will keep on being amazing!

Just over half an hour drive you can exchange Cape Town for charming towns in the Cape Winelands, home to some of the most prestigious wineries on the planet. The scenery is simply beautiful, the service in the wineries and the many restaurants full of smiles and the hotels range from ultra-plush to cozy B&Bs. Historical Stellenbosch with its university will ensure your visit to be vibey and never boring, whereas Franschhoek is smaller and more romantic.

Kruger Park is diverse, granite kopjes (hills) pepper the south, the Lebombo Mountains rise from the savannah in the east, and tropical forests cover the north of the 19,485-sq-km park.
Yes, Kruger can sometimes become crowded. And yes, you may have to wait in line to see those lions. But that's because the vast network of roads makes Kruger one of Africa's most accessible parks. We recommend the private reserves that surround the national park. Sabi Sand is your best option since there is a vast number of wildlife (much more than the Big 5) and you will find accommodation that would cater for everyone.

Victoria Falls presents a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River, forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was described by the Kololo tribe living in the area in the 1800s as ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ – ‘The Smoke that Thunders’. In more modern terms Victoria Falls is known as the greatest curtain of falling water in the world.

Columns of spray can be seen from miles away as, at the height of the rainy season, more than five hundred million cubic meters of water per minute plummet over the edge, over a width of nearly two kilometres, into a gorge over one hundred meters below.
The wide, basalt cliff over which the falls thunder, transforms the Zambezi from a placid river into a ferocious torrent cutting through a series of dramatic gorges.
Facing the Falls is another sheer wall of basalt, rising to the same height, and capped by mist-soaked rain forest. A path along the edge of the forest provides the visitor prepared to brave the tremendous spray, with an unparalleled series of views of the Falls.
One special vantage point is across the Knife-edge Bridge, where visitors can have the finest view of the Eastern Cataract and the Main Falls as well as the Boiling Pot, where the river turns and heads down the Batoka Gorge. Other vantage points include Livingstone Island, the Falls Bridge, Devils Pool and the Lookout Tree, both of which command panoramic views across the Main Falls.
Victoria Falls Airport is in Zimbabwe and Livingstone Airport is just across the bridge/border in Zambia. Livingstone in particular is a mecca for adrenaline junkies since there are plenty of activities to do, ranging from white-water rafting, bungee jumping to kayaking. Also the options of lodges and hotels are endless, so there is something for everybody

The Okavango Delta is a unique pulsing wetland. More correctly an alluvial fan, the delta covers between 6 and 15 000 square kilometres of Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana and owes its existence to the Okavango (Kavango) River which flows from the Angolan highlands, across Namibia’s Caprivi Strip and into the harsh Kalahari Desert.
Each year the Okavango River discharges approximately 11 cubic kilometres (1.1 × 10¹³ litres) of water into the Okavango Delta. Most of this water is lost to transpiration by plants (60%) and by evaporation (36%) with only 2% percolating into the aquifer system with the remainder finally flowing into Lake Ngami.
The Okavango Delta is affected by seasonal flooding with flood water from Angola reaching the Delta between March and June, peaking in July. This peak coincides with Botswana’s dry season resulting in great migrations of plains game from the dry hinterland.
Generally flat, with a height variation of less than two meters across its area, dry land in the Okavango Delta is predominantly comprised of numerous small islands, formed when vegetation takes root on termite mounds, however larger islands exist with Chief’s Island, the largest, having been formed on a tectonic fault line.
The 1000th site to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2014, the Okavango Delta is an important wildlife area protected by both the Moremi Game Reserve, on its eastern edge, and the numerous wildlife concessions within Ngamiland.
An oasis in an otherwise dry environment the Okavango Delta is known for its superb wildlife, with large populations of mammals and excellent birding particularly in the breeding season.