ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
11-Day Okavango & Royal Malewane Safari

Botswana - South Africa - Fly-in safari

11-Day Okavango & Royal Malewane Safari

Duration
11 days
Countries
Botswana, South Africa
Suited to
2-6 guests
Pricing
From USD 52,780

The journey

This is the top of our range, and nothing in it is trimmed. You open with two nights at Jao, the Wilderness water camp on a 60,000-hectare private reserve west of Moremi, where permanent water means mokoro and boats run when the rest of the Delta has dried back. Then three nights at Mombo on the northern tip of Chief's Island, which carries the highest predator density in the Okavango and has no other operator on the ground. The second half crosses to South Africa. Royal Malewane in the Thornybush has produced four of the roughly eleven Master Trackers alive in Africa, and five of its guides hold the SKS Dangerous Game rating, which takes 1,200 logged hours on foot. You take five nights, two in a Luxury Suite at Malewane Lodge and three with the three-suite Farmstead to yourselves, on your own vehicle with the same ranger and tracker throughout. Run it between May and October. The Delta flood peaks from June to August and the lowveld dries out and goes gold in the same window, so both halves are at their strongest at once. Maun to Johannesburg to Hoedspruit is a single travel day, and every sector is included.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Into the Jao Reserve

You clear Johannesburg early and fly two hours to Maun, then walk from the terminal onto a light aircraft for the half-hour hop west into the Jao Reserve. Jao Camp stands on a palm island above permanent water, five raised suites and two private villas in timber and canvas. Lunch is late and unhurried, the plunge pool is cold, and the first boat goes out at four.

Stay 2

Mokoro and Hunda Island

Jao holds water all year, which is rare in the Delta and the reason you start here. A poler takes you out by mokoro at first light, close enough to the reeds to see painted reed frogs gripping the stems. After brunch you cross to Hunda Island, the largest dry landmass in the reserve, where leopard work the tree line and the resident lion pride moves at dusk.

Stay 3

On to Chief's Island

A twenty-minute flight east puts you down at Mombo, on the northern tip of Chief's Island inside Moremi, with 35,000 hectares to itself and no other operator on the ground. Eight tented suites face open floodplain where zebra and wildebeest stand in plain view from your deck. The afternoon drive is a slow one, your guide reading which prides currently hold the ground.

Stay 4

Predators of Mombo

A full day out. Breakfast rides in the vehicle and you follow whatever the night left behind: lion on a buffalo kill, leopard hauling an impala into a jackalberry, wild dog running the floodplain edge. Mombo is where black rhino were returned to Botswana in 2001. Through the heat you sit in the ground-level hide while elephant come down to drink a few metres away.

Stay 5

Last Light at Mombo

Another morning on the floodplains while the light is still low, then the middle of the day on your deck as the plain shifts colour. Out again at four, and the drive home under a filtered spotlight picks up serval, civet and springhare. Dinner is under the trees with the lamps kept low, and hippo work the channel behind camp long after you are asleep.

Stay 6

Delta to the Lowveld

A long day, and it buys you the best of two countries. The light aircraft lifts off the Mombo strip for Maun, then Maun to Johannesburg, then Johannesburg to Hoedspruit, all three sectors included. A driver meets you at Eastgate, a small open-air terminal with impala grazing beside the runway, and runs you 45 minutes into Thornybush in time for dinner at Malewane Lodge.

Stay 7

Tracking on Foot

This morning you walk. Royal Malewane holds four of the roughly eleven Master Trackers alive in Africa, and five guides rated for dangerous game on foot, a qualification that takes 1,200 logged hours to earn. You read tracks in soft sand before the heat builds, then come back for brunch. The afternoon drive goes out at four and ends with drinks in a dry riverbed.

Stay 8

The Farmstead, Yours Alone

After the morning drive you move across the reserve to The Farmstead, three suites held on an exclusive-use basis, with its own chef, pool, staff and vehicle. The scale drops to something closer to a private house and the cooking turns farm-style. Your ranger and tracker come with you. The afternoon works the western boundary, where buffalo herds come down to drink in the last light.

Stay 9

Leopard and the Bush Spa

Thornybush dropped its fence with the Timbavati, so the reserve now sits inside an open system running through to Kruger, and wild dog den here as a result. You track leopard at first light with the tracker on the bonnet seat calling turns before you see anything. The hot hours go to the Bush Spa, treatment rooms open to the bush, then you are out again until dark.

Stay 10

A Day to Shape

The last full day is yours. Take a long morning on foot with your tracker, or fly by helicopter over the Blyde River Canyon, the greenest of the world's large canyons and 25 kilometres of it. The afternoon drive works whatever the trackers have been holding for you, and dinner comes at a fire in the Farmstead courtyard, the table laid under the trees.

Stay 11

Hoedspruit and Home

Coffee comes to your suite before a last unhurried breakfast, and there is time for one more drive if you want it. The 45-minute transfer runs to Hoedspruit Eastgate and the flight to Johannesburg takes an hour, connecting with evening international departures. Bags check through, so the last thing you do in the lowveld is watch the bush from the vehicle for one more sighting.

Safari highlights

  • Jao and Mombo, the two finest camps in the Okavango Delta
  • Mombo holds the highest predator density in the Delta
  • Five nights at Royal Malewane with a private ranger and tracker
  • The Farmstead taken on an exclusive-use basis for three nights
  • Four of Africa's eleven Master Trackers work at this one lodge
  • Every regional and light aircraft sector included, Maun to Hoedspruit

What is included

Included

  • 10 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Regional flights Johannesburg-Maun, Maun-Johannesburg, Johannesburg-Hoedspruit and Hoedspruit-Johannesburg
  • Light aircraft sectors Maun-Jao, Jao-Mombo and Mombo-Maun
  • All road transfers, including Hoedspruit Eastgate to Royal Malewane both ways
  • All meals and local drinks at every camp, including South African wines, beers and spirits
  • Two game activities daily, with a dedicated ranger and tracker throughout Royal Malewane
  • Exclusive use of The Farmstead for three nights, with its own chef, pool and vehicle
  • All park, concession and conservation fees, plus the Botswana tourism development levy
  • Laundry at all three camps

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Visas and any entry fees payable on arrival
  • Travel and medical insurance, including emergency evacuation cover
  • French champagne and premium imported spirits
  • Spa treatments, helicopter flights and hot air balloon flights
  • Africa House exclusive-use supplement for parties of eight or more
  • Gratuities and items of a personal nature

Frequently asked questions

How much does an 11-day Botswana and South Africa safari cost?

This programme starts at USD 52,780 per person sharing in shoulder season and runs to about USD 62,580 over peak dates. That covers ten nights at Jao, Mombo and Royal Malewane, the four regional flights between Johannesburg, Maun and Hoedspruit, three light aircraft sectors inside the Delta, all road transfers, all meals and local drinks, all game activities, and every park and concession fee. International flights are not included.

Are international flights included in this safari price?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded, so you are free to use miles or fly the carrier you prefer. You need to be in Johannesburg on the morning of day one and you fly home from Johannesburg on day eleven. Everything inside the itinerary is included: Johannesburg-Maun, the three Delta light aircraft sectors, Maun-Johannesburg-Hoedspruit and Hoedspruit-Johannesburg.

Can you combine the Okavango Delta and Kruger in one safari?

Yes, and it is one travel day rather than two. Mombo to Maun is a 30-minute light aircraft flight, Maun to Johannesburg is two hours, and Johannesburg to Hoedspruit is an hour, all on the same day. A driver meets you at Hoedspruit Eastgate and you are in Thornybush 45 minutes later, in time for dinner. The two reserves are entirely different country.

What is the most expensive camp in the Okavango Delta?

Mombo. Published 2026 peak rates run to about USD 5,043 per person per night sharing between June and October, dropping to around USD 3,062 in the green season from January to March. It holds a 35,000-hectare private area at the northern tip of Chief's Island inside Moremi Game Reserve, has eight tented suites, and no other operator works that ground.

How many nights do I need in the Okavango Delta?

Five is the number that works, split two and three across two camps of different character. Two nights at Jao gives you the water: mokoro, boats and Hunda Island. Three at Mombo gives the predators time to play out, since lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog all hold territory there. Three nights in a single camp is the working minimum anywhere in the Delta.

Is Royal Malewane in a malaria area?

Thornybush sits in the Greater Kruger lowveld, a low-risk seasonal malaria area rather than a malaria-free one. Risk peaks in the wet months from November to April and falls close to nil from May to September, when this programme runs best. The Okavango Delta is also a malaria area. Speak to a travel clinic about prophylaxis at least two weeks before you travel.

Can you book The Farmstead or Africa House at Royal Malewane on an exclusive-use basis?

Yes. This programme already includes three nights with The Farmstead to yourselves, three suites sleeping up to six adults, with its own chef, pool, staff and game-drive vehicle. Africa House is the larger option at six suites for up to twelve guests, and carries a supplement quoted per party. Both come with a dedicated ranger and tracker for the whole stay.