Cape Town, Kruger & Zimbabwe

Arrive at any time into Cape Town International Airport (CPT). The day is unstructured, leaving time to find your hotel and get oriented. Most accommodation is clustered in the City Bowl or along the Atlantic Seaboard in areas like Sea Point, which are easily navigated on foot or with ride-sharing apps. A walk along the V&A Waterfront is a good way to shake off the flight.

A full free day to explore Cape Town and its peninsula. The main choices are a trip up Table Mountain via the cable car, a drive down to the dramatic coastline of Cape Point, or a tour of the winelands around Stellenbosch. For history, Robben Island is a powerful option, but tickets must be booked directly and well in advance as they sell out weeks, sometimes months, ahead. The evening is open to explore the city's food scene.

The day begins with a short flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg's O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB). After landing, an hour-long overland transfer leads to Soweto, South Africa's largest and most famous township. The afternoon is spent on a bicycle tour, a ground-level way to understand the area's pivotal role in the struggle against apartheid. The route covers key historical sites before a return transfer to the hotel.

This is a long day of driving, covering the 10-hour overland route from Johannesburg to the lowveld region bordering Kruger National Park. The journey follows the scenic Panorama Route, which tracks the edge of the Blyde River Canyon. The landscape shifts from the highveld plateau to the subtropical bush. The day ends with a traditional dinner and dance performance near Hazyview, offering an introduction to local Shangaan culture.

A full day dedicated to wildlife inside Kruger National Park, one of Africa's most famous reserves. The safari drive follows the park's network of paved and dirt roads in search of the 'big five'—lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo—along with giraffe, zebra, and a huge density of other species. The day is spent scanning the bush and waterholes from the vehicle. For a more direct connection to the environment, an open-top safari vehicle is a common alternative.

After the previous day's focus on big game, today shifts scale. A short 80km drive north leads to a lodge in the Timbavati area, a private game reserve region adjacent to Kruger. Here, the main activity is a guided bush walk focused on the 'small five': the ant lion, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, buffalo weaver, and rhino beetle. A local guide interprets the tracks, insects, and medicinal uses of plants, offering a more detailed perspective on the African lowveld ecosystem.

A dedicated travel day, crossing from South Africa into Botswana. The route is a long one, covering 680km over eight to nine hours on the road. The main event is the border crossing at Martin's Drift, a straightforward but time-consuming process of exit and entry stamps. The drive pushes deep into Botswana, ending in the large village of Serowe, a convenient stopover on the way to Zimbabwe. The evening is for rest before the next leg.

The second long-haul travel day continues from Serowe across the border into Zimbabwe. The drive covers roughly 390km, with the border formalities handled at the Plumtree crossing. The destination is Matobo National Park, a landscape completely different from the lowveld bush. The park is defined by its massive granite domes and balancing rock formations known as kopjes. The afternoon is free to settle into the lodge, set among these dramatic hills.

The day is spent exploring Matobo National Park. The morning is free to hike the surreal landscape of granite boulders or seek out some of the area's ancient San rock art, hidden in caves throughout the hills. In the afternoon, a guided nature walk provides a chance to track the park's wildlife on foot. Matobo is known for its healthy population of black and white rhinos, and it's one of the few places where tracking them with a guide is a real possibility.

Another travel day connects two of Zimbabwe's top wildlife destinations. The eight-hour drive leaves the granite hills of Matobo behind and heads north to Hwange National Park, the country's largest game reserve. The park is famous for its massive elephant herds. After arriving and checking into the lodge on the park's border, there's an option for an evening wildlife drive to get a first taste of the area before dark.

A full day with no fixed schedule at Hwange National Park. This is a chance to relax at the safari lodge, many of which have their own waterholes that attract a steady stream of wildlife. For those wanting more time in the park, optional morning, afternoon, or full-day safari drives can be arranged locally. The flexibility allows for a day of intense game viewing or a quiet day of observation from the lodge deck.

A three-to-four-hour drive brings the overland portion of the trip to its conclusion in Victoria Falls. The first stop is for a traditional Zimbabwean lunch at the Lusumpuko Women's Club, a community enterprise in a nearby township. Afterwards, the main event is a walk along the trails on the Zimbabwean side of Victoria Falls, known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, or 'The Smoke That Thunders.' The viewpoints offer a full frontal view of the main falls. The rest of the afternoon is free to explore the town.

The trip concludes this morning in Victoria Falls. There are no planned activities, allowing for departure at any time. Many travelers choose to book extra nights here to take advantage of the many activities, from helicopter flights over the falls to day trips into Chobe National Park in neighbouring Botswana.