Today, you fly to Victoria Falls or Livingstone where our local guide, Mortimer, greets and transfers you into the town of Victoria Falls. Your accommodation is located in a quiet and leafy area, still within earshot of the constant roar coming from Mosi oa Tunya, the “smoke that thunders”.

The town of Victoria Falls – just minutes from the falls and on the fringes of the Zambezi National Park – is a bustling hive of activity, with the village rightly claiming the title of “Adrenaline Capital of Africa”. Although home to a seemingly endless variety of adventure sports, “Vic Falls”, as the town is called, still has a pioneering and colonial atmosphere, and has remained relatively unaffected by Zimbabwe’s economic and political troubles.

Dining options tonight include African-style feasts with accompanying tribal entertainment at The Boma or Jungle Junction restaurants, as well as an afternoon high tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel.

We are pleased to offer you a complimentary guided visit to Victoria Falls during your stay (Zimbabwean and Zambian sides, including entrance fees). We have not included any other activities in your safari, allowing you the freedom to choose what you’d like to do and when you’d like to do it. The plethora of activities on offer include Zambezi river cruises and white-water rafting or canoeing, rhino and elephant walking safaris, helicopter and microlight scenic flights, African township and village tours, adrenaline-packed activities like bungee jumping and zip sliding, and much more. We especially recommend “Tour the Township” with our local guide, Mortimer, who introduces you to his home turf and often invites our travelers to lunch with his wife and family. We will send you our separate “Victoria Falls activities” booklet, and we can pre-book any of these for you or they can be organized by Mortimer upon your arrival.

You now travel by private vehicle to Hwange National Park, from where you embark on a game drive to The Hide Safari Camp. For 3 nights, you are immersed in the special wilderness surrounding The Hide, which boasts the dual prizes of being located within the Hwange National Park and surrounded by a private wildlife concession area. Being located in a private concession means not being bound by the national park regulations imposed on camps located within the park itself. The Hide can, therefore, offer year-round day and night game drives and guided bush walks.

Home to some of Africa’s largest elephant herds and renowned for its wild dog population, Hwange National Park is Zimbabwe’s largest safari wilderness. This massive national park (14,650km²/5,657mi²) is easily accessed from Victoria Falls. It is a year-round option, best combined with a visit to Botswana’s Chobe region to offer “the big three” of game drives, bush walks and boat safaris.

Today, you travel to the Chobe National Park. The private road transfer from Victoria Falls passes through bushveld that is home to wildlife such as elephant and giraffe, sightings of which often occur during the drive. You are again accompanied by Mortimer who will assist with the cross-border formalities. In the afternoon, you embark on a private boat safari along the Chobe River. The accompanying sunset on the river often provides a truly memorable moment of your African safari. From your riverside accommodation, you are usually ‘serenaded’ to sleep tonight by the grunts coming from nearby pods of hippos as they venture out of the water to graze on the lodge’s lush lawn.

Your day revolves around morning and afternoon private game drives within the Chobe National Park. You’ll also enjoy delicious home-style meals and have time for some quality lazing by the pool and perhaps even a midday siesta.

Note: You have the option of a half-day private game drive that ventures further into the park. To make your safari extra special, Compass Odyssey travelers are provided with a private vehicle and boat during your stay in Chobe (other companies typically offer game drives with up to 10 passengers and boat safaris with 10-50+ travelers onboard).

During your game drives, be on the lookout for predators such as lion and hyena, and iconic herbivores such as buffalo, zebra, giraffe, warthog and wildebeest. On your boat safaris along the Chobe River, you will encounter all manner of wildlife, including Nile crocodile and Chobe’s great herds of elephant as they come to the river’s edge to drink and frolic in the fresh water.

This morning’s private boat safari on the Chobe River offers a serene and tranquil end to your safari. After a hearty brunch, we then say tsamaya sentle (“goodbye and go well” in the local Setswana language) as you are transferred the short distance to Kasane Airport for your further travel arrangements. A daily flight to Johannesburg departs Kasane at 2:00 pm, arriving at 3:45 pm. If you wish, we can also arrange for Mortimer to return you to Victoria Falls (2½ to 3 hours).