The Falls, the Delta, the Cape

Eight nights from the Zambezi to the Atlantic, each stop with time to settle in. Black rhino tracked on a private reserve near the Falls, the chance of a night in a treehouse above the Okavango floodplain, and in Cape Town a seabird hospital behind the scenes and the estate whose sweet wine reached Napoleon in exile.

Length: Eight nights
Pace: Three stays
Style: Safari, waterfalls, city
Route: Victoria Falls to The Okavango Delta to Cape Town

Victoria FallsTwo nights
The Okavango DeltaThree nights
Cape TownThree nights

A steel arch bridge over a gorge, with white water and spray below.

Days 1 to 3 · two nights

Victoria Falls

Through Johannesburg, met on arrival and driven to the hotel. On the hotel's own reserve, black rhino tracking with a seasoned guide, followed by high tea. A visit to the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust can be arranged, to meet the vulture at the heart of its teaching, and the last evening is a sundowner cruise on the Zambezi above the Falls.

Where you stay

Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel

Anantara Stanley & Livingstone stands in its own private game reserve on Old Ursula Road, 15 minutes' drive from the Falls. There are 16 suites of 70 square metres, each with a private entrance, plus the 1871 Restaurant, a pool, a spa, and game drives and guided walks on the reserve.

Two elephants bathing together in a shallow river, with palm trees behind.

Days 3 to 6 · three nights

The Okavango Delta

By road to Kasane and a light aircraft into the Delta. Drives twice a day, a guided nature walk and time with the birds. Subject to availability and weather, one night can be spent in the Baobab Treehouse a kilometre from the lodge: three levels shaped like a baobab, sundowners and a picnic dinner on the deck, then sleep high above the floodplain.

Where you stay

Xigera Safari Lodge

Xigera is set deep in the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, almost hidden under a canopy of indigenous trees, and runs on solar power. Its 12 suites and a two-bedroom family suite are each designed individually, with copper fireplaces and sculptural furniture, and contemporary art fills the lodge.

Days 6 to 9 · three nights

Cape Town

A charter to Maun and a flight south to Cape Town. A half day around the city and up Table Mountain, and a full private day out to Cape Point. On a weekday, SANCCOB's in-depth tour goes behind the scenes of its seabird centre in Table View with its specialist staff, and in Constantia, Klein Constantia tells the story of Vin de Constance, the wine Napoleon sought in exile, revived on the estate in 1991. A day in the Winelands can be made by private helicopter: breakfast at La Residence, a cellar tour with the winemaker at Mullineux Family Wines, then a cellar tour and private tasting at Bouchard Finlayson in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley.

Where you stay

Cape Grace, A Fairmont Managed Hotel

Cape Grace is on a private quay between the V&A Waterfront and the yacht marina, and its 112 rooms and suites look over the harbour, the marina or Table Mountain. There is a Fairmont spa, a pool on the marina, the Heirloom restaurant, and a safari-themed room designed for children.

Arranged on request

Tracking black rhino

On the hotel's private reserve, a seasoned guide leads the search for black rhino and talks through the realities of protecting them, with high tea afterwards.

The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust

The Trust can arrange a visit to its facilities to meet its vulture ambassador and hear about vulture conservation in Zimbabwe.

A night in the Baobab Treehouse

A three-level treehouse a kilometre from Xigera, kept for one party at a time for meals and a sleep-out above the floodplains, subject to availability and weather.

Behind the scenes at SANCCOB

A personal, in-depth tour of the seabird centre in Table View, about two and a half hours with a meeting with its specialist staff, on weekdays and booked at least a month ahead.

Vin de Constance at Klein Constantia

The sweet wine prized by Napoleon in exile and written into Jane Austen and Dickens, revived on the estate in 1991; a bottle can be sealed in wax and initialled by hand on a private visit.

The Winelands by helicopter

After breakfast at La Residence, a private helicopter to Mullineux Family Wines for a cellar tour with the winemaker, then on to Bouchard Finlayson in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley for a cellar tour and private tasting.

Subject to availability.

Ways to make it yours

Three nights in the Kruger National Park, between the Delta and the Cape.
Two nights in the Cape Winelands at the end of the journey, with private tastings with a Stellenbosch winemaker and a visit to the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden.
From Cape Town, 24 hours in Antarctica: a private jet overnight, five and a half hours to an ice runway, about eight hours at the Schirmacher Oasis of cliffs, lakes and science bases under continuous sunshine, and a champagne dinner on the ice before the flight back.

This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.

Made around you

Most travel is bought. This is designed.

Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.

The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.