Deadvlei, the Okavango Delta and Victoria Falls

Who it is for

For travellers who have done a classic safari, or want a different one: desert, delta and waterfall, three southern African landscapes in the same dry season.

Not for anyone who would rather not drive on dirt roads or take small planes: much of the roughly 340 km to Sesriem is gravel, and the delta is reached by 4x4 or light aircraft.

The strategy

The trip starts at Hosea Kutako airport, 45 km east of Windhoek, where you pick up the rental car; Namibia drives on the left. Sesriem is about 340 km away, most of a day’s drive: fill up at Solitaire or Sesriem and carry cash, because the fuel stations do not take credit cards for fuel. Sleep two nights inside the Sesriem gate, to be at Deadvlei at sunrise and have a second morning in the dunes. Drive back to Windhoek on the same road and fly to Maun with FlyNamibia. Maun gets three or four days: the scenic flight, the mokoro in the channels, Moremi and, with a fourth day, Nxai Pan and Baines’ Baobabs; if budget allows, swap the second and third days for two nights at a camp inside the delta, flying in by light aircraft. The mokoro depends on the year’s water level, so confirm with the operator. From Maun, Air Botswana flies to Kasane, the gateway town to Chobe National Park, and the Kazungula border is about 70 km from Victoria Falls. The falls get three days, sleeping on the Zimbabwe side, with the Zambian side one bridge away; Victoria Falls airport has flights to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi and Addis Ababa. From June to August all three stops are in their best season: mild days in the desert, the Okavango flood at its peak and the spray at the falls revealing more of the curtain. Nights are cold in all three places, and in the desert they can freeze.

What you will see

• Deadvlei, Sossusvlei. A white clay pan about 2 km from Sossusvlei, ringed by dunes among the tallest in the area.
• Okavango Delta, Okavango Delta. From the air, the delta shows the pattern of channels, lagoons and islands all at once, and it changes with the water level from one week to the next.
• Victoria Falls National Park, Victoria Falls. The rainforest trail on the Zimbabwe side is the main visit: about two kilometers of path with viewpoints facing Devil's Cataract, Main Falls and Rainbow Falls, and the statue of David Livingstone, with the motto he championed engraved on it.

Day by day

Sossusvlei

1. 1
   Day 1: From Windhoek to the Sesriem gate
2. 2
   Day 2: Deadvlei at sunrise and Dune 45 late in the afternoon

   1. 1DeadvleiOne to two hoursEssential
   2. 2SossusvleiUp to half an hourWorth a visit
   3. 4Dune 45One to two hoursWorth a visit
3. 3
   Day 3: A second morning: balloon or Hidden Vlei · if you have more time

   1. 7Hidden VleiHalf a day or moreIf there is time

Okavango Delta

1. 4
   Day 4: Maun and the delta from above

   1. C6Chief's IslandOne to two hoursWorth a visit
   2. 9Nhabe MuseumUp to half an hourIf there is time
2. 5
   Day 5: Mokoro in the channels north of Maun
3. 6
   Day 6: Moremi Game Reserve

   1. 2Moremi Game ReserveHalf a day or moreEssential
4. 7
   Day 7: Nxai Pan National Park (day trip) · if you have more time

Victoria Falls

1. 8
   Day 8: The Zimbabwe side and the river above the falls

   1. 1Victoria Falls National ParkOne to two hoursEssential
   2. 3Victoria Falls BridgeUp to half an hourWorth a visit
2. 9
   Day 9: Across the bridge: Zambia and Livingstone

   1. 3Victoria Falls BridgeUp to half an hourWorth a visit
   2. 2Mosi-oa-Tunya National ParkOne to two hoursEssential
   3. 4Livingstone IslandOne to two hoursWorth a visit
   4. 9Livingstone MuseumOne to two hoursWorth a visit
3. 10
   Day 10: Chobe National Park (Botswana) (day trip)
4. 11
   Day 11: Batoka Gorge or a safari on the Zambezi · if you have more time

   1. 7Zambezi National ParkHalf a day or moreWorth a visit
   2. 8Victoria Falls HotelUp to half an hourWorth a visit