19 September 2025 Our tour is officially over now and we have many goodbyes over breakfast. We check out and discover that several of the group are hanging around at the hotel until their transfers to the airport later in the day. Anne and I weren't able to get a flight back to NZ until tomorrow so we have another night at Victoria Falls. We had hoped to spend another night at the Victoria Falls Hotel even though we knew it would be fairly expensive, but when they finally came back with a … [Read more...]

18 September 2025 Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and we explore this incredible location on foot this morning. We have an early start (breakfast at 6.15) as we head off to do our Victoria Falls National Park Rainforest walk before it gets too hot (temp has been in high 30sC every day) and before the crowds. Even though it is the dry season and the Falls are at their lowest level, they are still spectacular and definitely worth their Natural Wonder of … [Read more...]

17 September 2025  We cross the border into Zimbabwe today. The border is not far away from where we are staying.  We had been warned that it could take a long time but we made it through in record time. Then we have about 100km to drive to Victoria Falls. We pass through rolling hills covered in leafless trees. They would be magnificent forests once the rains come. For now we can look through the leafless trees and see herds of elephant, kudu, giraffe but they would be impossible to spot … [Read more...]

16 September 2025 We set off pre-dawn today for an early morning game drive in Chobe National Park. Chobe was the first national park in Botswana and is the most biologically diverse. There are 4 different geographical regions in the park but as it is the dry season, there is most chance of seeing wildlife along the edge of the Chobe River that flows through the park. I started off not liking the game drive at all because there were so many vehicles and it seemed that there was only one … [Read more...]

15 September 2025 A very leisurely start today with a 9.00am departure but we all wake up early anyway. We indulge in reading in bed, leisurely shower and an extra cuppa at breakfast. Our only activity today is to drive around 350km to Chobe National Park - Botswana’s best known national park and our last chance to see a leopard in the wild. They are so well camouflaged and expert at moving stealthily through the undergrowth that we may well have near to several on our journeys but not … [Read more...]

14 September 2025 Today we have an amazing scenic flight over the Okavango Delta seeing all its glory from the air and then continue on to the Makgadikgadi Pan. We have a fairly early flight this morning but we have enough time for Bibi to show us some more of this amazing environment. We learn about elephants stripping bark from tree, not all round to avoid ring barking trees but they eventually do and trees die. There is also dried mud on trees where an elephant has had a mudbath and … [Read more...]

13 September 2025 Today we have a full day exploring the Okavango Delta, one of the richest and most diverse ecosystems in the world. We start the day with a 6.00am wakeup call complete with hot water provided for a wash, followed by breakfast and then a 7.00 departure for an early morning safari to western part of park. It is wetter here than where we were yesterday. Our priority this morning is to hunt out the elusive leopard. We drive through the applewood trees that are a great … [Read more...]

12 September 2025 Today, we are heading into the heart of the Okavango Delta, to camp for 2 nights in the Moremi Game Reserve. At 8.00 we are picked up by our guides for the next 3 days: Solomon and Bibi in 2 safari vehicles. We have the Safari Girls together again with Bibi. First off we have to drive for about 100km on tarsal road (with pot holes) - nothing like having the wind in your hair! and we are grateful for the blankets that have been provided. I have my hooded puffer jacket … [Read more...]

11 September 2025 We travel south today and cross the border into Botswana. Our destination is the small city of Maun at the southern edge of the magnificent UNESCO World Heritage-listed Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta on earth. Our border crossing into Botswana was relatively painless today (although we had been warned to expect much worse). They do a customs check on entering Botswana - particularly checking for fruit. Now we have a long drive (387 km) south to Maun - the … [Read more...]

10 September 2025 It is an amazing day of wildlife viewing today as we explore Bwabwata National Park on game drives, both in the Mahango Core Area and further afield in the afternoon. First thing in the morning our guides meet us with the 4WD open safari vehicles. We end up with all the 'girls' together (the name Safari Girls stays with us for the rest of the trip) and our guide is Theo. We start in the Mahango Core Area. Mahango means 'meeting place'; it is a small park but has diverse … [Read more...]