ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
10-Day Okavango & Sabi Sand Safari

Botswana - South Africa - Fly-in safari

10-Day Okavango & Sabi Sand Safari

Duration
10 days
Countries
Botswana, South Africa
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 42,580

The journey

Southern Africa has two regions that sit above everything else for game viewing, and they do completely different things. The Okavango Delta is water: floodplains, palm islands, lion that swim, and a predator density on Chief's Island that nothing else in Botswana matches. The Sabi Sand is dry bushveld on the unfenced western boundary of Kruger, and it is where leopards learned to ignore vehicles. Putting the two together in nine nights gives you the full range rather than a repeat. The order is deliberate. You start at Vumbura Plains in the far north of the Delta, where a single day can hold a game drive, a boat and a mokoro. Then a light aircraft carries you south to Mombo, on the northern tip of Chief's Island inside Moremi. Five nights of Botswana done, you cross to South Africa by jet and finish with four nights of leopard country, two at Londolozi Founders Camp on the Sand River and two at Singita Ebony Lodge. May to October is the strongest window. The Okavango flood peaks from June to August, and the Sabi Sand bush thins out at the same time.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

North to Vumbura

You clear Johannesburg early and fly to Maun, then walk from the small terminal straight onto a light aircraft for the flight north. Vumbura Plains sits on a concession leased from five Okavango communities and carries the widest antelope range in the Delta, sable included. Lunch runs late, the plunge pool on your deck is cold, and the first drive works the floodplains until the light goes.

Stay 2

Water and Grassland

Vumbura works both halves of the Delta in one day. The morning drive crosses palm islands and open grassland where lion, leopard and wild dog all use the same ground. After the heat you swap the vehicle for a boat, or for a mokoro if the flood is high, and a poler pushes you through reeds close enough to see painted reed frogs gripping the stems.

Stay 3

On to Chief's Island

A short flight south drops you at Mombo, on the northern tip of Chief's Island inside Moremi Game Reserve, with a 35,000-hectare private area to itself. Eight tented suites face open floodplain where game stands in plain view from the deck. The first drive is a slow one, letting your guide show you which prides and which leopards are holding this ground at the moment.

Stay 4

Predators of Mombo

Mombo carries the highest predator density in the Okavango, and a full day out is the way to use it. Breakfast travels in the vehicle while you follow lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog through the morning. Later a ground-level photographic hide puts you eye to eye with elephant and buffalo at the waterhole, close enough that you hear them drinking.

Stay 5

Floodplain Light

A second full day at Mombo lets you follow something properly rather than tick it off. Rhino were reintroduced to this island in 2001 and the descendants still hold the drier ridges. In the afternoon the guides take you out again as the plain turns copper, and a filtered spotlight on the way home picks up serval, civet and the odd hunting leopard.

Stay 6

Delta to Leopard Country

Coffee comes to the tent before an early light aircraft to Maun, then the jet to Johannesburg and a connecting Airlink flight to Skukuza, the airstrip inside Kruger. Forty-five minutes by road brings you to Londolozi Founders Camp on the Sand River. The family bought this land in 1926 and restored it from worn-out cattle ground. You are out on a drive by late afternoon.

Stay 7

The Sand River Leopards

Londolozi rangers first sat quietly with the Mother Leopard in 1979 and have kept records on seven generations of her descendants since. That is why the animals here behave as they do. You go out at first light with a ranger and a Shangaan tracker, reading tracks in the road sand, and walk a stretch of riverbank on foot before the morning heat builds.

Stay 8

Across to Singita

After a morning drive you transfer by road to Singita Ebony Lodge, the original Singita property, twelve suites under ebony and jackalberry trees on the bank of the Sand River. The traverse here is different country, more open crests and drainage lines, and the lion prides work them in the evening. Dinner comes out of a cellar of about fifteen thousand bottles.

Stay 9

Ebony and the Big Five

A full day on the Singita traverse, which has held the same private concession since 1993 and sees very few vehicles. Morning is spent tracking on foot and by vehicle, and the Big Five are all resident. The middle of the day is yours for the gym, the spa or the photographic studio, then a last drive and sundowners out on the river crossing.

Stay 10

Skukuza and Onward

There is time for a final drive or a slow breakfast on the deck watching the river before the road transfer to Skukuza Airport, about an hour away. The Airlink jet takes roughly an hour to Johannesburg, where you connect to your onward international flight. Travellers with a spare day usually add Cape Town, which is two hours further south.

Safari highlights

  • Two Delta concessions and two Sabi Sand traverses in one trip
  • Mombo on Chief's Island, the Delta's densest predator ground
  • Vumbura Plains: game drive, boat and mokoro in a single day
  • Londolozi, seven recorded generations of leopards since 1979
  • Singita Ebony Lodge on the Sand River, twelve suites only
  • Every jet and light aircraft sector between the two countries

What is included

Included

  • 9 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Jet flights Johannesburg-Maun and Maun-Johannesburg, economy class
  • Jet flights Johannesburg-Skukuza and Skukuza-Johannesburg, economy class
  • Light aircraft flights Maun-Vumbura Plains, Vumbura Plains-Mombo and Mombo-Maun
  • Road transfers Skukuza Airport to Londolozi, Londolozi to Singita Ebony Lodge, and Singita Ebony Lodge to Skukuza Airport
  • All meals and selected drinks at all four camps, including house wines, beers and spirits
  • Twice-daily game drives with a ranger and tracker in the Sabi Sand, plus drives, boating, mokoro and guided walks in the Delta
  • All park, concession and reserve fees, the Botswana tourism development levy and the Sabi Sand conservation contribution
  • Laundry at all four camps

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Visas and any entry fees payable on arrival in Botswana or South Africa
  • Travel and medical insurance, including emergency evacuation cover
  • Premium imported spirits, champagne and rare vintages from the Singita cellar
  • Private vehicle and private guide supplements
  • Spa treatments, helicopter flights and photographic equipment hire
  • Gratuities and items of a personal nature

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 10-day Okavango and Sabi Sand safari cost?

This programme starts at USD 42,580 per person sharing in shoulder season and runs to about USD 48,580 at peak. That covers nine nights at Vumbura Plains, Mombo, Londolozi Founders Camp and Singita Ebony Lodge, all four jet sectors, all three light aircraft flights, every road transfer, all meals and selected drinks, all game activities, park and reserve fees and the Botswana tourism levy.

Are international flights included in the price?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded and quoted separately. You fly yourself into Johannesburg. Everything inside the itinerary is included from there: Johannesburg to Maun, the three light aircraft sectors between Maun, Vumbura Plains and Mombo, Maun back to Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Skukuza and the return, plus all road transfers.

Can you combine the Okavango Delta and the Sabi Sand in one trip?

Yes, and it is one of the strongest pairings in Africa. The link runs through Johannesburg. Maun to Johannesburg is about two hours by jet, and Johannesburg to Skukuza, the airstrip inside Kruger National Park, is about one hour more. With a light aircraft out of the Delta first thing, you can leave Mombo after breakfast and be on a Sabi Sand game drive that afternoon.

How many nights do I need in the Sabi Sand to see a leopard?

Three nights gives most travellers a leopard sighting; four, as here, makes it close to routine. The Sabi Sand holds one of the highest leopard densities on the continent, and Londolozi rangers have kept continuous records on the same leopard lineage since 1979. Two drives a day over four nights is eight chances, with a ranger and a Shangaan tracker on every vehicle.

When is the best time to combine Botswana and South Africa on safari?

May to October. The Okavango flood peaks between June and August, which is when boating and mokoro are at their best at Vumbura, and September and October concentrate game hard around the remaining water at Mombo. The Sabi Sand runs well year round, but the bush thins from May to September and sightings open up. January to March is green, wet and cheaper in Botswana.

Do I need malaria tablets for the Okavango Delta and the Sabi Sand?

Both are malaria areas, so yes, prophylaxis is advised. Risk is highest from November to May in the Delta and from October to April in the Sabi Sand, during and just after the rains. See a travel clinic at least two weeks before departure. All four camps have nets or screened rooms and spray at turndown, and repellent plus long sleeves at dawn and dusk does most of the work.

How much luggage can I take on a light aircraft in Botswana?

20 kg per person including hand luggage and camera gear, in a soft bag with no rigid frame or wheels, no bigger than about 25 x 30 x 62 cm. That limit applies to the three Delta sectors. The jet flights allow 20 kg checked in a normal suitcase, so most travellers leave a hard case in Johannesburg or Maun. Laundry is included at every camp and turned around daily.