Ultimate Africa: Luxury Safari & Zambezi River Adventure

Soon after you land at Victoria Falls International Airport, an OARS representative will meet you and transport you to The Elephant Camp, located in Victoria Falls National Park. Alternatively, you can make arrangements for a representative to meet you at the airport in Livingstone, Zambia (additional fee applies).

Upon arrival at the lodge, your trip leader will greet you for a welcome toast and trip briefing. Then, settle into your private suite with sweeping views of the savanna and the mist of Victoria Falls hanging above the Zambezi in the distance. After a group dinner with your fellow travelers, the evening is yours to relax and unwind after traveling across the world. (D)

After breakfast, we’ll meet up with professional guides who will escort us to Wild Horizons Elephant Sanctuary and Orphanage, an elephant rehabilitation center adjacent to the lodge. At this animal rescue center, you’ll be able to get up close with rescued elephants.

Later in the day, we’ll head to Victoria Falls for a walking tour and/or a helicopter ride over this spectacular natural wonder (available at an additional cost).

Back at The Elephant Lodge, we’ll gather in the main lodge for another delicious chef-prepared meal and perhaps a sundowner by the fire pit. (B, L, D)

Canoe Camp

Today, our adventure takes us to Canoe Camp along the Upper Zambezi. This portable riverside camp has spacious canvas tents, cots with duvets, a large riverside dining area, flush toilets, and even a hot shower.

Upon arrival, we’ll do an orientation and meet the rest of the crew. This river-based African safari utilizes boats that are more akin to inflatable kayaks than canoes. Easy to paddle and very stable, our two-person “kayaks” are an ideal vessel to explore the Upper Zambezi and its network of coves and shoots.

As we maneuver downstream, the low-stress rapids provide a bit of excitement, but the wildlife is the main highlight of this adventure. It will be the dry season when many animals typically come down to the river to drink. Elephants, zebras, bushbuck, kudu, Cape buffalo, ubiquitous baboons, impala, and giraffes are all common sightings. The bird life is an ornithologist’s dream come true, and we might even get a glimpse of a lion, leopard, or rare wild dog. In some places, the river gets up to a mile wide and channels around sandbanks and reed islands. These are the best places to find hippos and crocodiles.

At dusk, we’ll gather around and sit high on the bank overlooking the river. We’ll hear the deep, low-decibel grumbles and burps of the hippos as they call out to announce their nighttime grazing rituals. A few waking lions might be heard, as well. The bush will be alive with sound as night falls and we inch closer to the fire. 

Overnighting on the banks of the Zambezi, you should be ready for anything. Trips in the past have been woken up early by large herds of elephants crossing the river and coming right through camp. (B, L, D)

Old Drift Lodge

After a few days in the bush, we will paddle our inflatable boats right to Old Drift Lodge. During our stay at this opulent lodge, you’ll be able to choose from a menu of activities each day. All-inclusive options include morning or afternoon game drives, a walking safari, and a riverboat cruise, all in Victoria Falls National Park. 

There are also a number of additional activities available at an added cost, like the chance to plunge into the Devil’s Pools and peer over the edge of Victoria Falls or an exciting canopy tour. Those who prefer to slow down and rejuvenate for a day can book private spa treatments in the comfort of your suite.

In the evenings, we will gather for traditional chef-prepared African dishes prepared on-site and enjoy a sundowner around the fire pit to discuss upcoming plans for the next day. (B, L, D)

Hwange National Park Luxury Safari

This morning, we’ll take a short flight to Hwange National Park. Upon arrival at the airstrip, our talented safari guides will meet us for a game drive that will end at the decadent Somalisa Acacia Camp. 

Hwange National Park is known as one of the most biodiverse game parks in all of Africa. Home to more than 40,000 elephants—one of the largest populations on the continent—as well as lions, leopards, cheetahs, hippos, Cape buffalo, and many other species, this park offers an incredible and crowd-free African safari experience. 

From Somalisa, we’ll set out each day on a 4×4 wildlife safari or bush walk led by professional guides in search of Africa’s Big Five and other resident wildlife like white rhino, zebra, giraffes, and the rare and endangered roan antelope.

In the evening, we’ll return to our elegant and timeless bush camp. Retreat to your private deck for a reflective moment, sip a gin and tonic in the inviting lounge area or take a refreshing dip in the pool—all offering a front-row seat to the evening wildlife show that will unfold before us in the vast open savannah. We’ll join together each night for decadent chef-prepared meals and delightful conversation around the fireplace. (B, L, D)

After breakfast, we’ll head out on our last game drive in Hwange National Park before heading to the airstrip to fly back to Victoria Falls.

Tonight, we’ll stay at the Batonka Guest Lodge, a quaint hotel in town to prepare for our Zambezi River rafting adventure the following morning. This is a great opportunity to do some souvenir shopping and check out the nightlife in this bustling tourist mecca and Unesco World Heritage Site.

Today, we begin our journey into the Batoka Gorge below Victoria Falls, hiking down a steep trail to meet our waiting rafts. The gorge provides a magnificent backdrop for our safety briefing before we don our high-float PFDs and practice our paddling techniques in the warm water of the river. 

Our epic journey begins with “Morning Glory,” a real eye-opener, before one of the biggest commercially run rapids in the world, Class V “Stairway to Heaven.” This is a day of unparalleled fun, with rapids such as “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Midnight Diner,” which features one of the biggest waves you will see on any river. Later, we meet “The Gnashing Jaws Of Death,” a boisterous wave train.

As the canyon walls soar above us, the whitewater thrills continue with rapids like “Creamy White Buttocks” and “The Mother.” There’s nearly a rapid every mile on the upper stretch of the Zambezi, culminating with “Oblivion,” one of the most famous and exhilarating commercially-run rapids in the world. It isn’t the first wave that gets you or the second, but the third crashing wave that normally has all the photographers poised, ready to capture your big moment.

After we challenge more than 20 rapids on our first day, we’ll reach our first riverside camp, complete with tents, a dining area, and a spacious beach. Here, we meet up with the rest of our gear and baggage boaters, who will join us for the remainder of the trip downstream. 

Once settled in camp, your guides will prepare a feast upon which you can celebrate your first day on the river. Relax, watch the sun disappear behind the basalt cliffs, and enjoy your first night under the stars. 

After breakfast on the second day, we’ll get back on the boats. As we float further downstream, the river begins to widen, but that doesn’t mean that the rapids get any smaller. On this stretch, we’ll conquer “Open and Closed Season” and Class V “Chimamba” before our big finale through “Upper Moemba,” one of two waterfalls we’ll encounter on the final day of whitewater. The group will portage over the second waterfall as the guides line the rafts down a 30-foot vertical cliff into an eddy below. 

We’ll stop at a glorious beach camp for the night within sight of the magnificent Lower Moemba Falls. Here, we can sit back and enjoy the beauty of this majestic section of the river while recounting the day’s events. (B, L, D)

On our last river day, we float to the take-out and hike out of the gorge to our waiting shuttle vehicles that will transfer us back to the Batonka Guest Lodge. Tonight, we will rendezvous for a farewell dinner and celebrate the incredible scenery and experiences of running Africa’s most famous stretch of whitewater.

Today, we’ll say goodbye to Hwange National Park, Victoria Falls, and the mighty Zambezi River. As we transfer to the airport for flights home or onward, we’ll reflect on this unique and adventurous part of the world and the remarkable people we’ve met along the way. 

You’re welcome to depart at any time on the final day. We will transfer you to Victoria Falls or Livingstone for return flights home.