Moremi
Stay & safaris
When to go
Wildlife & experiences
Areas of the reserve
Planning your trip
Booking with us
Victoria Falls, then Chobe, then Moremi, in a week, across one border. The Kololo name for the Falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders, and the spray column is the first thing you see of this route. Two nights in the town on the Zimbabwe side, with a full day at the Falls and the rest of it yours. Then the road into Botswana at Kazungula and two nights at the only lodge inside Chobe National Park, on the river, with the electric boats going out among the elephant. Then a flight into Moremi Game Reserve to finish in canvas, at one of the country's oldest camps, on the Khwai where it opens into the Xakanaxa Lagoon. In Botswana every flight, meal, activity and park fee is in the rate. At the Falls the two nights are bed and breakfast, so the day there is yours to fill, and to pay for, as you choose.
From Victoria Falls Airport a road transfer takes you into town and to Batonka Guest Lodge, a small guest lodge set in gardens in a quiet corner of Victoria Falls. Ground-floor rooms open onto a patio; there is a pool and the lodge's own restaurant. The afternoon is free. The Falls are close, and on a clear day you can see the spray column from the road in. Meals and drinks at the Falls are not in the rate, so you eat where you like, at the lodge or in town.
Breakfast at the lodge, then a day with the Falls. The rainforest path on the Zimbabwe side runs along the lip of the gorge opposite the main face, and for most of its length you walk in the spray; take a raincoat, and expect to be soaked at the Main Falls viewpoint in the high-water months. The rest of the day is open. A helicopter over the gorge, a sunset cruise on the Zambezi upstream of the Falls, and rafting in the low-water season are all bookable at the lodge's activities desk, at your own cost.
The one road leg of the route: north-west out of town, through the Kazungula border post, passports on both sides, and into Botswana. Chobe Game Lodge is inside the park, the one permanent lodge allowed there, and it stands on the riverfront; most rooms open onto the gardens, a few onto the river, and the boardwalk runs along the water. The first outing is late in the afternoon by electric boat, and the boat is the way to meet this river: near-silent, so the elephant at the bank keep feeding as you drift in close, hippo grunt a few metres off, and the crocodiles slide off the sand without hurry.
There is an early drive in the lodge's electric vehicle, out on the park's tracks before the gates open, and elephant, lion, buffalo, giraffe and sable are the usual returns. The day belongs to the water, though. A late breakfast on the riverfront boardwalk, then the pool or the spa through the heat, and by late afternoon you are back on a solar boat with the light going gold. This is the hour the herds come down: elephant in file to the bank, chest-deep and drinking, buffalo on the floodplain, carmine bee-eaters at the sand cliffs in summer, and the sun setting over Namibia on the far shore.
A last morning outing and brunch, then the short road transfer to Kasane and the flight south-west into Moremi. After the Falls and the river, the third stop is the quiet one. Camp Xakanaxa is among the oldest camps in the country and keeps the form it was built in: twelve Meru-style tents on raised decks along the lagoon, each with its own deck, big trees over everything, and canvas walls that let the night in. The afternoon drive goes out into mopane and floodplain, and dinner is at one long table with bread from the camp's own oven.
The dawn drive shows why the ground here is so rich: at Xakanaxa, Kalahari sand and Delta water lie side by side, so dry woodland, grassland and floodplain are all within one morning's drive, and lion, cheetah, elephant and wild dog use all of it. Brunch, then the heat of the day in the plunge pool over the lagoon or in the shade of your deck. The afternoon is by motorboat on the Xakanaxa Lagoon: hippo, a Goliath heron standing in the shallows, malachite kingfishers on the reeds. Back in camp the lamps are lit, and the last dinner at the long table runs late.
An early drive or a last boat outing if your connection allows, brunch, then the light aircraft to Maun, where the Johannesburg connections leave from. If you have more days, the Delta's water camps and the Makgadikgadi both start from Maun.
The first move is by road; the rest is flown. Victoria Falls and Chobe are close enough to drive between, so on the third day a vehicle takes you out of town, through the Kazungula border post and into Botswana; it is the only road leg of the week. Moremi is reached by light aircraft only: a scheduled flight from Kasane, its seats shared with other camps' guests, low over the dry country and then the floodplain into the Xakanaxa airstrip, and a second flight out to Maun at the end. At each stop the guiding is the property's own: the lodge's guides and electric boats on the river at Chobe, a driver-guide in an open vehicle and a boat on the lagoon at Camp Xakanaxa. Luggage on the flights is soft bags only, 20 kg per person.
Mosi-oa-Tunya, the Kololo name for the Falls, means the smoke that thunders. In the high-water months the spray column stands far higher than the Falls themselves and can be seen from a long way off, which is how the Falls announced themselves before anyone stood at the edge.
Day 1 · Victoria Falls Airport — Arrive; the road transfer into town starts here.
Days 1–2 · Batonka Guest Lodge — The town on the Zimbabwe side, with the Falls a short way off; two nights bed and breakfast.
Days 3–4 · Chobe Game Lodge — By road across the Kazungula border to the only lodge inside Chobe National Park.
Days 5–6 · Camp Xakanaxa — By light aircraft into Moremi: canvas on the Khwai at the Xakanaxa Lagoon.
Day 7 · Maun Airport — The flight out to Maun for onward connections.
Rates are per person, based on two guests travelling together (sharing).
A single supplement may be applicable to solo occupancy.
May and June for most people: the Falls are still full, the spray has thinned enough to see them, and the dry season has started to pull Chobe's elephant to the river and Moremi's game to the water. July to October are the peak game months, with the Falls lower and clearer. April is the Falls at full power; November and December are green and quieter. January to March carry the lowest rates, with a month's closure at two of the three properties.
- —Elephant in numbers on the river at Chobe; Moremi's predators on open ground
- —The Falls still carry plenty of water in May and June, and the spray thins enough for a clear view
- —Cool, clear days; peak demand at both camps
- —The best balance of Falls and game comes in May and June
- —Game at the last of the water in Chobe and Moremi
- —The Falls at their lowest and clearest: the months to photograph the whole face from the rim
- —Warm, long days on the river and in the reserve
- —Still peak-season rates on this route
- —April: the Falls at full power and their loudest, with heavy spray
- —November and December: the bush turns green and the migrant birds arrive
- —Shoulder rates and fewer vehicles in both parks
- —Short afternoon storms
- —The lowest rates of the year
- —Green bush, storms, newborn antelope, and the birds at their best
- —Two of the three properties close from the end of January to the beginning of March; the rate table shows the dates
- —The Falls building towards full flow
We booked this because I wanted Vic Falls and my husband wanted safari. Worked perfectly. Chobe boat was fantastic and Moremi was probably our favourite in the end.
The week works as written: the Falls, the river, the canvas, one border. Give us your dates and the names travelling; we will confirm the three properties and the road transfer between the first two.
- —Six nights at the three properties as described
- —All meals at the two safari camps, and breakfast at Victoria Falls
- —Local spirits, wines, beers and soft drinks at the safari camps (premium brands excluded)
- —All scheduled activities at the safari camps: game drives, electric-boat river cruises and the motorboat outing on the lagoon
- —The road transfers from Victoria Falls Airport to the lodge and from the lodge to Chobe, and the flights Kasane to Moremi and Moremi to Maun
- —Park fees and all applicable taxes and government levies
- —Laundry at the safari camps
- —International and regional flights
- —Lunches, dinners and all drinks at Victoria Falls
- —Activities at Victoria Falls
- —Premium-brand drinks at the safari camps
- —Travel and medical insurance, which is compulsory
- —Visa fees for Zimbabwe and Botswana where they apply
- —Gratuities for guides and camp staff
- —Personal items, and any activity not listed as included
Children of six and over travel on this itinerary. Family rates differ from the per-person rate shown, so tell us the ages and we will quote the trip for your party. For younger children, ask us about other routes.
The light aircraft carry 20 kg per person in a soft-sided bag. A hard suitcase does not fit the hold; the road leg has no such limit, so pack for the flights.