Itinerary | Dar to Cape Town via Zimbabwe

We recommend you arrive in Nairobi the day before the trip departs. If you’re there with time to spare there are lots to see and do around the city.

WEEK 1: Dar es Salaam to Malawi

From Dar es Salaam we head south through Tanzania; our route takes us through Mikumi National Park where we may well see giraffe or elephant grazing beside the road. The road from Mikumi National Park to Malawi takes us through the southern highlands, passing Baobab Valley to Iringa.

Crossing the border into Malawi, we reach the shores of its huge lake. We spend the night at Chitimba Beach Camp. The campsites and small resorts along Lake Malawi offer sandy beaches, swimming and snorkelling, water-skiing, horse riding or walking in the surrounding countryside. Markets sell carved Malawi chairs, tables and wood carvings

Kande Beach. We head south through the hills and drop down to the lake and Kande Beach resort. Very relaxed and just the sort of beach place you need in Africa.

WEEK 2: Lake Malawi to Harare, Zimbabwe

Leaving the beach we go inland to spend the night in the capital Lilongwe through sparsely settled countryside with few people or villages for miles.

From Lilongwe we cross Mozambique for Zimbabwe and Harare. It’s got a well organised city centre, with markets throughout the city with craft markets, gardens and good nightlife in one of the many bars throughout the city.

WEEK 3: Harare, Zimbabwe to Bulawayo

From Harare we make our way to the Eastern and Chimanimani. Hike through the mountain wilderness area, and Bridal Veil Falls. Great Zimbabwe Ruins which was once the greatest medieval city in Sub Saharan Africa is form the name Zimbabwe is derived, it means stone houses.

We drive across Mashonaland to Gweru, to a horse and game ranch where you can go game viewing on horseback. Then into Matabeleland and Bulawayo.

WEEK 4: Bulawayo to Vic Falls

You can leave the truck for a day to venture into Matobo National Park with a local safari company. You can walk around the park to see the Black Rhino – and other game. Here is Cecil Rhodes’ grave at the worlds end view.

If it’s running, you can take the old overnight sleeper train from Bulawayo Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls – the Zambezi River plunges 100 metres down a mile wide chasm, creating one of the most incredible natural wonders of the world. The local name for the falls is ‘Mosi- oa-Tunya’ – ‘the smoke that thunders’.

We stay beside Victoria Falls in Victoria Falls town; there is lots to see and do. Adventure activities abound – you can bungee jump, white water rafting, and go game-viewing on horseback or walking with lions. More sedate excursions include canoeing, light aircraft or helicopter flights over the Falls and the sunset cruise on the Zambezi. Though the Falls themselves are the main attraction, you can walk in the rainforest along the cliff opposite for an excellent view.

Optional Activities – Bungee jump from the Victoria Falls Bridge, abseil down the Gorge. Fly over the Falls. Whitewater raft down the Zambezi. You can float serenely down the river deep below the cliff topped gorge.

WEEK 5: Bulawayo to Vic Falls & Okavango Delta, Botswana

In the midmorning we leave Zimbabwe for Botswana and Kasane, where we have a chance to explore the town of Kasane. Wander around town for the day or have a break on the banks of the Chobe River. In Chobe National Park you can take an overnight game drive; a wild experience – excellent game viewing is a must.

Back in camp, you can have a break, after all the adventure. You can take an optional boat cruise on the Chobe River, or spend your time by the pool.

We travel along the edge of the Kalahari Desert to Maun a small town on the edge of the Okavango Delta, the starting point for the Delta trip.

A Mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe and your transport into the Delta. As you glide through the waterways, you will see a fantastic array of wetland wildlife, birds in particular, and you will come across hippos in the water and elephants drinking on the shore. You can go on a walking safari to look for giraffe, buffalo and rare antelope – the overnight stay is a great wilderness experience.
Optional Activity: Overnight Delta excursion

Up early and it’s off walking with the guide, a unique chance to see game on foot; elephants, herds of grazing zebra and pods of hippos. Try learning how to pole your mokoro, or try to catch a catfish; the guides make it look so easy. A last swim in the clear delta water before heading back to the truck and campsite for a shower and cold drinks. Time permitting you can take a scenic flight over the Delta from Maun.

Week 6: Maun, Botswana to Cheetah Park, Namibia

From the lush Delta, we pass through the arid Namibian landscape to our evening’s bush camp. Heading north to Etosha Pan National Park. Thousands of years ago this vast saltpan was a lake, till Kunene River changed course and deprived the lake of water. The pan and surrounding bush support large numbers and a wide range of wildlife. We view the game from the truck and spend the evenings by the floodlit water holes at the park’s campsites. These waterholes provide an excellent opportunity to see animals that are hard to find during the day, particularly rhino and also smaller animals such as the genet. Elephant, lion, giraffe, zebra, oryx, ostrich, springbok, jackals, hyenas and meercats are also likely to be seen.

We leave Etosha and head to a cheetah rescue park and get up close to these amazing and endangered creatures. The animals here are rescued from the wild where they are in conflict with herders and farmers.

Brandberg Mountain or Fire Mountain; a massive mountain outcrop rising above the gravel plains, uninhabited and isolated with the tallest mountain in Namibia.

WEEK 7: Brandberg Mountain to Fish River Canyon

Namibia is a land of wide open spaces and we pass few inhabited areas as we drive towards Spitzkoppe; a group of granite peaks Swakopmund is an old German colonial seaside resort with plenty to do for the energetic and German beer halls for those after a more relaxing time. Horse-riding, quad biking or sand boarding on the dunes, deep sea fishing in the Atlantic, jump out of a plane or take a scenic flight over the coastline are just a few of the things you can do here.
Included Activity: Spitzkoppe
Optional Activities: Skydiving, quad biking, sand boarding, scenic desert flights, dolphin cruises, fishing trips, golf, horse riding etc.

Leaving Swakopmund, we head south to the industrial port Walvis Bay, before turning inland and toward the desert. Continuing our journey, we enter the Namib-Naukluft Park in one of the oldest deserts in the world. We base ourselves at Sesriem, a great place to experience the Namib and its many moods.

Namib-Naukluft National Park, Dune 45 & Sossusvlei. An early start into Namib-Naukluft National Park, we take a morning roaming around the sands. We take some time to summit the famous Dune 45. We then take a desert shuttle a further 5 kms into the desert where you can take a walk to Sossusvlei; a river which ends is a salt and clay pan, surrounded by high red dunes.
Included Activity: Visit to Sossusvlei & Dune 45

After overnighting in the desert we drive south to Fish River Canyon; 160 km long and half a kilometre deep; second in length only to the Grand Canyon. You can trek along the rim and look into the canyon from the various viewpoints.
Included Activity: Visit to Fish River Canyon

Fish River Canyon to Cape Town, South Africa 

We cross to South Africa over the Orange River. Take a canoe trip down the river or relax by the pool enjoying the spectacular view.
Optional Activity: Canoe the Orange River

We drive through mountain valleys and stony semi-desert following the farmland south through the sparsely populated areas of the Western Cape. Cederberg growing area of the centre of one of the Cape’s many wine routes.
Optional Activity: Wine tasting

Continuing south through to the fruit growing area of Citrusdal; we cross the mountains to Cape Town – a beautiful city, plenty of cafes, pubs, clubs and markets. Tonight’s accommodation is in dormitories in one of Cape Town’s hostels.

This morning is the end of our tour. While in Cape Town; go and climb Table Mountain or take the cable car to the top for views of the city and visit Robben Island