Luxury Kruger, Livingstone & South Luangwa

Itinerary information

On landing at Johannesburg, you will be whisked off by private charter plane to Londolozi. Londolozi is located in the Sabi Sands region of the Kruger National Park that, when combined, creates an area of over two million hectares of unspoilt wilderness where a multitude of animals freely roam. Londolozi Pioneer Camp is the epitome of style, sophistication and luxury, which is astonishing considering its remote and wild location.

Venturing out in the cool air of late afternoon, you encounter a plethora of animals and birds. While the Big 5 are sought-after, there is so much more to experience than a mere checklist of species. The leopards here are renowned for their relaxed behaviour, as they go regally about their lives. And nothing can prepare you for the awe you will feel at your first sighting of a pride of lions – the sheer presence of these magnificent cats, coupled with rippling muscles and their haunting amber eyes, will send a shiver down your spine.

Each day features early morning and late afternoon game drives in the care of your experienced guide and expert tracker. After your early morning drive, the generous breakfast that greets you on return is very welcome, and this indulgent dining is best followed by a guided bush walk, which provides a refreshingly close-to-nature perspective of the fauna and flora.

Itinerary information

Enjoy a final brunch before boarding your chartered plane to Livingstone in Zambia and then onto Thorntree River Lodge. Thorntree oozes personalised charm and contemporary sophistication. Set on the bank of the mighty Zambezi River upstream from the Victoria Falls, you are able to have the best of both worlds – close enough to be driven into the hustle and bustle of Victoria Falls Town and far enough to have endless peace and tranquillity.

The perfect introduction to the Zambezi is to take a sunset cruise. Gliding across the water in the golden light, you watch animals come down to drink. Pods of hippos jostle and chortle in the deep channels, and African fish eagles sound their characteristic calls from the tall trees on the bank. As the sunset paints the sky in an otherworldly palette of colour, you drift along in a state of serenity, surrounded by a wilderness of water and woodland that exudes a magical intensity.

From this idyllic location you are perfectly positioned to enjoy the variety of activities on offer, such as an optional helicopter flight over the Victoria Falls. Named ‘The Smoke that Thunders’ by local tribes, these falls are a wonder of the natural world, where millions of gallons of water pour over a great crack in the earth’s crust into a boiling chasm below. The spray from the falls is visible for miles around, and the noise is a deep rumble that makes the ground tremble, a truly awe-inspiring sight that lives up to its name, and the view from the air above it is nothing short of spectacular.

Itinerary information

Departing Victoria Falls, your flight heads to Mfuwe, on the outskirts of South Luangwa National Park. Your guide meets you there and takes you for a game drive to Chinzombo. A seamless blend of simplicity and sophistication, Chinzombo takes the South Luangwa bush-camp experience to an entirely new level of luxury and sophistication. Set in a grove of trees at a bend in the river, the lodge has embraced new technologies to minimise environmental impact, and utilises recycled or locally sourced sustainable materials in its construction. With the teeming wilds of the Luangwa Valley literally on your doorstep, there couldn’t be a more unique destination from which to enjoy an extraordinary wildlife experience.

Open yourself up to the experience as you travel through a primal landscape, unchanged in millennia, where hippos crash and grunt in the river and fish eagles utter their enigmatic call from the trees above. The world-renowned abundance of game in the region ensures a thrilling experience. Your guide reveals the secrets of this incredible ecosystem as they unfold around you, such as where the chattering of an agitated monkey could lead you to an enormous tree, where he shakes the highest branches in a frenzy of aggravation. Following his sharp-eyed gaze with binoculars, all you might see is dense woodland, scrub and trees, until suddenly a shadow detaches itself from a horizontal branch and the unmistakable silhouette of a cat appears. Black against the background and far away, a leopard moves with liquid grace from branch to branch, then on to the ground before melting into the bush.

Itinerary information

Finally, the day arrives when you must bid this extraordinary corner of Africa farewell. During the drive back to Mfuwe and your flight home, you mull over the incredible adventures you have had: the sights, the smells and the sounds of a primal land, where nature still reigns supreme, as it has done for millennia.