South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe

• Exclusive journey through Southern Africa, featuring Cape Town, Johannesburg, a 3-day river safari, Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls.
• Created in our tradition of innovative programming and educational travel.
• Specially arranged river and land safaris, designed to give you a variety of game-viewing opportunities.
• Three UNESCO World Heritage sites: Robben Island and the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, South Africa, and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
• Cape Town Pre-Tour Extension.

Depart for Cape Town, South Africa. Please check your bags from your gateway city to your arrival city.

Arrive at Cape Town International Airport and transfer to Cape Grace Hotel, a deluxe luxury hotel on Cape Town’s waterfront. Tonight, join your fellow passengers for a Welcome Reception and Dinner to toast your upcoming African adventure!

Enjoy a delicious breakfast each morning of your program. Get acquainted with the beautiful city of Cape Town during a morning tour. Start with a cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain for unforgettable views (weather permitting). Then, explore the Bo-Kaap, the Cape Malay neighborhood with colorfully painted houses. Continue to District Six. In the early 20th century, District Six was a vibrant, diverse neighborhood, but in the mid-1960s, the government zoned it for white residents only and began forcibly removing residents of other ethnicities. Stroll through the Company’s Garden, built in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company to resupply the company’s ships that were sailing around the world. Today, the gardens are ornamental, and there are museums and historic buildings to visit. As you amble through this lovely urban park, notice the Parliament building and the Tuynhuys, the official Cape Town residence of South Africa’s president when he is in town. Pass by City Hall, where Nelson Mandela addressed the world on February 11, 1990, the day he was released after 26 years in prison. See the plaque marking the spot where people from other parts of Africa and Asia were once sold as slaves. Slavery existed in the Cape Colony under its Dutch founding in the mid-17th century until it was abolished under British rule in 1834.

Enjoy a group lunch, then board a ferry for a 45-minute ride to Robben Island. From the time of Dutch colonization to the late 20th century, the island was used to keep people with leprosy segregated from the mainland communities. During World War II, it was a military base, and in the 1960s, it was converted into a maximum-security prison. The island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its symbolism of the triumph of the human spirit and freedom over oppression. Visit the prison, see Nelson Mandela’s cell and meet a former political prisoner.

 

Take a scenic drive down the coast to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, which is the southernmost point of Table Mountain National Park. Today’s drive takes you through one of the 13 Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, which have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list for their astounding diversity of plant life. Pass by Signal Hill, a popular launch site for model airplanes and paragliders, and Camps Bay, a lovely white-sand beach. Stop to take in the view at Chapman’s Peak. At Simon’s Town, visit the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach. Continue to Cape Point, where you can ride the Flying Dutchman funicular to the lighthouse for breathtaking unobstructed views over the Cape of Good Hope, a spectacular rocky coastline at the edge of the continent. During your drive today, keep your eyes peeled for native ostriches, zebras and baboons! Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant during your excursion.

After breakfast at the hotel, fly to Skukuza on an included flight. Transfer to the MalaMala Game Reserve or Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge in four-wheel-drive vehicles, with game viewing throughout the transfer.

Take the opportunity for extraordinarily up-close wildlife sightings and look for the Big Five—Cape buffalo, African savannah elephant, leopard, lion and black rhinoceros.

Once you’ve checked in and settled in, enjoy an afternoon Game Drive/Safari. Game drives, aboard four-wheel-drive safari vehicles, will take you deep into the bush where you may encounter South Africa’s top predators: cheetahs, hyenas, leopards and lions.

 

After morning tea at the lodge, enjoy an early morning game drive in an open-air vehicle and keep your eyes peeled for the Big Five! Return to the lodge for a delicious, hearty breakfast.

Later in the morning, embark on a walking safari, expertly led by a ranger. Marvel at the park’s abundance of wildlife. During your visit you may see impalas, warthogs, giraffes and painted wolves.

In the afternoon, lunch at the lodge and spend some time at leisure to relax and enjoy the amenities during the hottest part of the day. Afternoon tea is served at the lodge.

Later in the afternoon, embark on a Game Drive/Safari. Then after working up an appetite, savor a delectable dinner at the lodge.

After morning tea at the lodge, enjoy an early morning game drive in an open-air vehicle. Keep an eye out for some of the large mammals that make these lands their home: spotted hyenas, blue wildebeests, zebras, sable antelopes and Cape hunting dogs. Return to the lodge for a delicious, hearty breakfast.

Later in the morning, embark on a walking safari, expertly led by a ranger. During your visit, you may see an impressive array of wildlife, including birds.

In the afternoon, lunch at the lodge and spend some time at leisure to relax and enjoy the amenities during the hottest part of the day. Afternoon tea served at the lodge.

Later in the afternoon, embark on a Game Drive/Safari. Game drives, aboard four-wheel-drive safari vehicles, will take you deep into the bush where you may encounter an abundance of South Africa’s wildlife. Don’t forget your binoculars and cameras!

Enjoy a delicious dinner at the lodge.

After morning tea at the lodge, enjoy your final game drive in an open-air vehicle and keep your eyes peeled for the Big Five! Return to the lodge for a delicious, hearty breakfast.

Check out and fly to Johannesburg on an included flight.

Lunch at a local restaurant, then transfer to the deluxe Fairlawns Boutique Hotel & Spa, an award-winning luxury hotel. Spend the afternoon at leisure to explore, and enjoy dinner on your own.

Spend the day getting to know Soweto, the vibrant urban area of Johannesburg that comprises the townships built for black workers in the early 20th century. Soweto is an abbreviation of the full name of the area, South Western Townships. Soweto was thrust into the international spotlight in 1976 as the fight against apartheid grew. In early 1976, students took to the streets to protest the government mandate requiring instruction in Afrikaans, which was not the primary language of black South Africans. Pass by the school where police opened fire on protesting students on June 16, 1976, killing 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, which brought worldwide attention to South Africa. Visit Pieterson’s memorial. Continue with a drive down Vilakazi Street, the only street to have two Nobel Peace Prize recipients, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as residents. Visit the Mandela House to learn more about the political prisoner-turned-president. After lunch at a local restaurant, continue to the Apartheid Museum, passing FNB Stadium, where Mandela delivered his first speech in Johannesburg after his release from prison. At the Apartheid Museum, learn about the segregationist policy that oppressed the majority of South Africa’s population for decades.

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Johannesburg Airport for your included flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. A light lunch will be served on board the flight.

Marvel at the natural beauty and power of Victoria Falls, located on the Zambezi River, on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. These mile-wide falls produce a mist that can be seen more than 30 miles away. Take a walk through the unique riverine “rainforest” created by the mist of the falls, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This special region is home to four species of endangered birds. Learn about the natural history of Victoria Falls and the plants and animals that live there. A poncho will be provided for this tour.

Transfer to The Victoria Falls Hotel. Dinner is included tonight.

After breakfast, transfer to Chobe National Park, where you will meet your safari guide. Keep your cameras and binoculars ready for Big Five game viewing and bird watching on our land safari through Chobe National Park, followed by a three-day cruise down the Chobe River to the edge of Namibia.

Experience the awe of this region as we journey from Zimbabwe to the fertile floodplains of Botswana, a sanctuary for one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of fauna, including nearly 120,000 elephants and vast numbers of zebras, giraffes, lions, buffaloes, leopards, rhinos and the rare puku antelope. And don't forget to look down, as the elusive hippo and crocodile have been known to make an appearance in the river itself.

Take a morning game drive through Chobe National Park, then enjoy lunch at a Chobe lodge. Cross from Botswana into Namibia and continue to the Zambezi Queen to begin your Chobe River safari.

 

Begin each day of your cruise with a hearty breakfast. This morning, disembark to visit a Namibian village with a local guide to learn about daily life and culture. Walk through the village and enjoy a traditional performance of music, singing, and dancing.

Return to the ship for lunch. This afternoon, embark on a safari on the water. Get a different perspective of the wildlife as the animals venture to the Chobe River, the lifeblood of the bush, to slake their thirst or just cool off during the afternoon heat. Enjoy game viewing aboard smaller boats that can cruise closer to shore or travel down tributaries.

 

Board smaller boats for this morning’s game-viewing experience. Don’t forget your binoculars. The tree line by the river is a haven for birds. More than 450 species have been spotted in Chobe National Park. Enjoy game viewing aboard smaller boats that can cruise closer to shore or travel down tributaries. Return to the ship for lunch.

Enjoy a final river safari this afternoon. In addition to birds, you may see elephants, zebras, leopards, cheetahs and more. Enjoy game viewing aboard smaller boats that can cruise closer to shore or travel down tributaries.

Tonight, enjoy a Farewell Reception, followed by a special dinner and cultural show on board the ship. Raise a glass to your amazing African adventure!

Following breakfast, disembark and transfer to the Victoria Falls Airport (in Zimbabwe) for your return flights home.

Arrive in your home city today. Welcome home!