The Botswana Explorer

Arrive in Gaborone and settle in before the safari begins. The evening is reserved for the welcome meeting: introductions, a route overview, and final preparations before the Trans-Kalahari Highway tomorrow.

Set off along the Trans-Kalahari Highway, tracing a long, dust-red road deep into desert country. Arrive in Ghanzi by mid-afternoon and set up camp before an educational bush walk with the Khoi San, one of the oldest surviving cultures on Earth, sharing bush skills passed down for millennia.

Continue on from the bushmen's homeland to Maun, Botswana's central safari hub and the gateway into the Okavango Delta, perfectly positioned for the wild parks that lie ahead.

Head into Botswana's water wonderland, transferring by vehicle and then traditional mokoro canoe deep into the heart of the Delta, a landscape of glassy channels, papyrus reeds and islands built by termites and elephants alike.

A full day immersed in the Delta, exploring on foot alongside guides who share how local communities have survived here for centuries: reading the bush, using indigenous plants for medicine, and living alongside some of Africa's densest wildlife.

Rise with the sun and head back to Maun, arriving by midday to restock and rest ahead of the parks still to come. This afternoon is the moment to take an optional scenic flight over the Delta, the only way to truly grasp the scale of its flooded channels and wildlife-dense islands from above.

Pack up for a run of nights camping wild in Botswana's most celebrated parks, starting with Moremi Game Reserve. Arrive by midday and set up camp, then head out on a late afternoon game drive as the heat breaks and the reserve's wildlife starts to move.

An early start for a morning game drive, timed to catch Moremi's predators still active in the best light for photography. Return to break camp, then drive on through the reserve into Khwai Conservancy, a wildlife magnet built around the perennial Khwai River.

A full day exploring Khwai, with an extensive morning game drive followed by a late afternoon and sunset drive as the conservancy's animals gather at the river's edge.

Head north into Chobe National Park, passing the Savuti Marsh en route to Savuti itself, legendary for its outsized lion prides and some of the rawest predator-prey drama in Southern Africa. Settle into camp for your last night in the wilderness in time for an evening game drive.

Break camp and continue north through Chobe National Park, exiting at the northern gate to arrive in Kasane. This afternoon, board a boat for a cruise along the mighty Chobe River, home to huge resident populations of crocodile and hippo, with elephant, buffalo and even lion regularly seen drinking and cooling off along its banks.

A relaxed morning before crossing the border into Zimbabwe to visit the majestic Victoria Falls.

A full day to explore the town of Victoria Falls and take on the many adventure activities on offer, from white-water rafting to bungee jumping over the gorge.

Cross back over the border, traveling through Zambezi National Park and the Pandamatenga wildlife area to reach Elephant Sands, an unfenced retreat where hundreds of elephants rely on the reserve's waterholes, offering an up-close encounter with Africa's gentle giants.

Say farewell to the elephants and head south toward Nata, stopping at the Nata Bird Sanctuary en route to Planet Baobab. Your camp here is perfectly placed for a tour of the Makgadikgadi Pans, vast, ancient dried-up salt lakes in the heart of the Kalahari, with a good chance of spotting meerkat along the way.

Cross central Botswana to reach the final stop, Khama Rhino Sanctuary, a community-run project established in 1992 to protect the country's vanishing rhino population. The 8,585-hectare Kalahari sandveld sanctuary holds white and black rhino, over 30 other mammal species, and 230 bird species. Arrive in time for an evening game drive and sunset.

An optional morning excursion, either a guided walk with rangers among the wildlife or an early game drive, rounds out your final morning before the return to Gaborone, where the tour comes to an end.