Arrive at any time and transfer to your hotel. Enjoy a traditional South African braai (barbecue) for dinner tonight.
Transport: You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel to start your adventure.
Activity: Enjoy a spread of grilled meats, vegetables, homemade salads, and the opportunity to taste some of the South African flavours after your welcome meeting.
Activity: The adventure begins tonight. Feel free to explore before your welcome meeting, but make sure you're back in time to meet the group. Check for the meeting time on the welcome note at the hotel. After introductions, your CEO will review the details of your tour. Please note that normal check-in times apply at our start hotels, but you can usually store your luggage for the day if you arrive early.
Accommodation: aha Kopanong Hotel (or similar)

Meals:   Dinner

Set out towards Kruger National Park via the magnificent Panorama Route, one of the world's most picturesque drives. Make stops at the dramatic Blyde River Canyon and Bourke's Luck Potholes, and take in panoramic views of the forest-covered valley from the God's Window viewpoint. Continue to our lodge near Kruger National park, savour a delicious South African Dinner in this picturesque location.
Transport: Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Activity: Enjoy a scenic drive along the famed Panorama Route. You'll see magnificent mountains, panoramic passes, valleys, and waterfalls. There will also be stops at Blyde River Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes, and God's Window.
Accommodation: Umbhaba Eco Lodge (or similar)

Meals:   Breakfast   Dinner

Rise early and climb aboard an open jeep for a full-day safari in Kruger National Park—home to an extraordinary array of large mammals. Spot elephants, lions, giraffes, and perhaps elusive leopards as we explore this breathtaking wilderness of savanna and scrubland. Return to our lodge in the evening, where you can take some time to relax and enjoy the nocturnal sounds of the bush.
Activity: Hop in a 4x4 safari vehicle and get yourself one step closer to the surrounding nature. Be ready to spot elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions, zebras, and many other species in this impressive South African national park.
Accommodation: Umbhaba Eco Lodge (or similar)

Meals:   Breakfast   Dinner

Travel to the Karongwe Private Game Reserve, a pristine wildlife sanctuary located in the Greater Kruger area. Meet with a researcher from the Endangered Wildlife Trust's Cheetah Metapopulation Project—a program funded in part by National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative—and learn about efforts to protect the region's cheetahs and other carnivores. The researcher then joins us for a wildlife-viewing excursion through the reserve.
Transport: Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Activity: Meet with a researcher from the Endangered Wildlife Trust's Cheetah Metapopulation Project, a project managed by National Geographic grantee Vincent van der Merwe. A member of Vincent's team will give a talk about cheetahs in South Africa and the important research CMP is doing. We will also discuss conservation within parks and reserves in South Africa and National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative. You will then be accompanied by the researcher on a wildlife safari drive to give you more insight into cheetahs and other carnivores.
Accommodation: Karongwe Private Game Reserve - Lodges (or similar)

Meals:   Breakfast   Lunch   Dinner

Spend the day exploring Karongwe on morning and afternoon safaris with our local guides. Search for Africa's famed "big five" as we drive through the shrublands of the bushveld. Back at camp, relax on deck or take a walk around the grounds.
Activity: Jump into a safari 4x4 and keep your eyes open for fantastic wildlife encounters. Wildlife safari drives are conducted with qualified wildlife rangers and local expert trackers; both will share their vast experience of the African bush.
Free Time: Relax and enjoy some down time between wildlife safari drives.
Accommodation: Karongwe Private Game Reserve - Lodges (or similar)

Meals:   Breakfast   Lunch   Dinner

Embark on one last safari this morning, keeping a lookout for Karongwe's iconic inhabitants. Then head back to the city, where you'll enjoy dinner in our lodge.
Activity: Jump into a safari 4x4 and keep your eyes open for fantastic wildlife encounters. Wildlife safari drives are conducted with qualified wildlife rangers and local expert trackers; both will share their vast experience of the African bush.
Transport: Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Accommodation: aha Kopanong Hotel (or similar)

Meals:   Breakfast   Dinner

Catch a flight to the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, named after one of the most powerful waterfalls on Earth. Visit a nearby village and go grocery shopping in the bustling market. Then sit down with a local family for dinner, helping your hosts prepare a traditional Zimbabwean meal using the ingredients you picked out, and hear stories about local life and culture.
Transport: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Activity: Flatter Ncube is the head of her family which includes two sisters and numerous children. She's the youngest of a family of 10 and, now in her early 40s, lives in the village she was raised in near Victoria Falls. There she takes care of her extended family on their homestead, which she and they have been proudly building by hand, brick by brick, for years. Flatter's story highlights that life isn't easy in Africa, but despite its challenges, there is much love and laughter and a strong sense of family here. Visit Flatter's homestead in her rural village; meet her and some of her family, and walk with some of them throughout the property, among the fruit and vegetable plants the family grows for consumption. (They even plant hot chillies among the vegetables to discourage nosy elephants.) Then help the family prepare a traditional Zimbabwean dinner, which we'll all eat together outside on the property, weather permitting. Ingredients for the meal will have been hand-selected earlier in the day, at the bustling and friendly local village market. This experience offers great insight into typical African life, and ultimately reinforce how we all really want and need the same things in life: a stable home full of love, a good education, and plenty of opportunity for our children.
Accommodation: Explorers Village Lodge - Deluxe (or similar)

Meals:   Breakfast   Dinner

Set out for a tour of magnificent Victoria Falls. Scottish explorer David Livingstone named them after Britain's Queen Victoria, while their older, indigenous name is Mosi-oa-Tunya—"the smoke that thunders." Opt for a scenic sunset cruise on the Zambezi River; and much more.
Activity: Join a knowledgeable guide for an unforgettable experience at Victoria Falls. Explore the rainforest and learn about the geology, history, and local legends of this world wonder. After your immersion, get up close to the falls and discover the beauty of "the smoke that thunders." Be sure to have your camera ready!
Accommodation: Explorers Village Lodge - Deluxe (or similar)

Meals:   Breakfast

Depart at any time.
Activity: Not ready to leave? Your CEO can help with any onward travel arrangements you require.

Meals:   Breakfast