Suggested Itinerary
Day 1:
Arrive into Victoria Falls International Airport. Your private transfer will be waiting to take you back to your magical and beautiful honeymoon tent on the private Sindabezi Island.
Enjoy a cold glass of white wine or another cool refreshment as you take in the view of the Zambezi River. You never know who might come along for an evening drink!
Overnight Tongabezi Tented Camp in a Honeymoon Chalet
Day 2:
Each day begins and ends with a beautiful boat ride on the Zambezi River. Today you start with the sunrise and head for the beautiful and awe-inspring Victoria Falls. Afterward take a take a walk in the gorge below the waterfalls for a different perspective of this impressive sight!
Other activities can be arranged, such as a visit to Chobe National Park, where you can see numerous elephants or catch a view of the increasingly-rare rhino. Take an exciting canoe ride along the river, watch out for hippos, and spot colorful African birds! In the evening, take your sunset cruise along the river back to your honeymoon suite to relax and enjoy your last night on romantic Sindabezi Island.
Overnight Tongabezi Tented Camp in a Honeymoon Chalet
Day 3:
Depart Tongabezi and fly from Zambia to Maun, Botswana. You will be met at Maun Airport by a member of our team who will assist you with transferring onto the small plane (either a Cessna 206 or 208) that will fly you into camp. This scenic flight takes around 30 minutes and offers a bird’s eye view of the Okavango Delta – it is amazing how tiny the breeding herds of elephant look from the air. A safari vehicle will be waiting for you at the camp’s airstrip for the 45-minute game drive – or an exciting boat ride (depending on the time of year) – into Macatoo Camp where staff will greet you with a welcome drink.
After settling into your tent, you will be offered afternoon tea and homemade cake during a briefing from your guide before heading to the barn for a ride. The pace of the evening rides are deliberately slower giving you the time to enjoy the sunsets and make the most of the photo opportunities offered by the birdlife and game. After a hot shower and change, drinks and snacks are served in the comfortable mess tent ahead of a candle-lit dinner by the fire.
Overnight Macatoo Camp – private honeymoon tent and dinner
Day 4:
The attentive staff will provide a gentle wake-up call along with your choice of tea or coffee served to you in bed. A light breakfast is set up around the campfire ahead of the first long ride of your honeymoon. There is a wide selection of horses among the herd, and the experienced staff has the knack of putting together great horse and rider partnerships.
Depending on the season, the morning ride may involve some galloping across dried flood plains, swimming through floodwaters, or pushing-on through seas of tall grass to watch giraffe, zebra, antelope, elephant, buffalo, and other game. A hearty lunch is served every day – you will need it after all those miles in the saddle. The chicken pie is a favorite, and wine is always offered to encourage a little nap before tea and the evening ride. Sundowners are often enjoyed out in the bush before heading back to camp to freshen up. Dinner is always a great occasion at Macatoo Camp, but there is no guarantee that it is always eaten in the same place –that’s half the fun!
Overnight Macatoo Camp – private honeymoon tent and dinner
Day 5:
After listening to the dawn chorus over tea and coffee in bed, you will have shaken off any first day riding nerves and be eager to get back on a horse. Heading off in a new direction, the landscape will be quite different than yesterday, offering fresh game-viewing possibilities. You will be feeling more confident with the ‘going’ and can speed up the pace a bit – keeping up with some of the large moving animals, such as giraffe or zebra. After lunch, the camp pool is an ideal place to cool down or stretch the muscles that are feeling the effects of the time in the saddle.
The deck is a great place to soak up some sun, read and doze, but keep your binoculars and cameras handy as zebra, buck, and elephant frequently pass in front of camp. The swimming pool is also a popular watering hole for families of baboons – the babies on their mother’s backs are particularly cute. After some lovely homemade cakes or scones, evening rides can be swapped for some sunset fishing from boats or from the banks of pools where hippos wallow. You will have to be quick about reeling in your bream, before the kingfishers and African fish eagles steal your catch from right under your nose.
A game drive or accompanied walk or boat rides – depending on the time of year – are also available for those wanting time away from the horses or for non-riding partners and guests.
Overnight Macatoo Camp – private honeymoon tent and dinner
Day 6:
Ride through different landscapes, making your way through clouds of bushman hair grass to plains dotted with fig trees. You might encounter giraffe or shyer antelope while passing through mophane woodlands. The pace increases as you break out onto the flood plains, often disturbing troops of baboons.
Return to the camp for an afternoon spent at leisure or the possibility of hiring a helicopter for an hour to gain access to remote and otherwise totally inaccessible parts of the Delta with spectacular photographic results. Finish off the day with a night drive by spotlight, where the resident clan of hyena are often spotted. Bushbabies leap from branch to branch through the terminalia and acacia trees – only seen by the brights of their eyes. If lucky, the spotlight will pick up the glint of a leopard’s sultry stare. If there are lion on the drive, we can spend quite some time watching them from the safety and comfort of the vehicle, over snacks and drinks, as they wake up from their long afternoon rest, groom each other, and prepare for a night of hunting. It is always such a highlight of the holiday to see a big cat – you will have lots to talk about around the dinner table that night.
Overnight Macatoo Camp – private honeymoon tent and dinner
Day 7:
This morning, ride deeper into the heart of the Delta, to corners of the wilderness where vehicles simply cannot reach. Horses can get much closer to the big game. Cross high palm islands with great sweeping views of the Delta plains. Enjoy a wonderful champagne breakfast under a large baobab tree and perhaps enjoy a recap of the morning’s sightings. By now, you will have settled into the wonderful rhythm of camp where great adventure, creature comforts, and downtime are combined!
After tea and a gentle sunset ride, you may find yourself at the fabulous tree house where you will have the option to spend the night out, sleeping high up in the tree canopy under the African night sky. From there, it is fascinating to watch and listen as the birds and animals prepare for night by roosting, traveling, or preparing to hunt.
The barking baboons and calling lions provide an unforgettable soundtrack to a romantic honeymoon night out under the stars. Your guides will stick around the tree house to ensure you’re safe as you listen to and watch the nocturnal inhabitants begin their routines.
Overnight Macatoo Camp or Treehouse, private dinner
Day 8:
After waking up in the treetops, you will be whizzed back to camp by vehicle to change before riding off into new terrain. By now, you will have seen most of Africa’s big five, and riding alongside moving giraffe, antelope, and zebras will have become a thrilling, almost daily, activity. Make the most of a bush breakfast or lunch out in the bush, and savor the sights and sounds around you. An afternoon by the pool is a great way to rejuvenate a bit. Spend your final sunset on an evening game drive, watching a local clan of hyena or lions out on the hunt.
After last night’s treetop sleepover, a prompt bedtime will most likely to be the most popular after dinner activity, as you save energy for the last day.
Overnight Macatoo Camp – private honeymoon tent and dinner
Day 9:
The dawn call of the African fish eagle has, by now, become as familiar as the morning alarm at home. The delivery of tea or coffee in bed heralds the start of your last morning in camp, and you will be anxious to make the most of your final ride. Today’s ride is close to home. Enjoy splashing through water on the vast open plains – home to blue wildebeest and Burchell’s zebra. The riding pace will be deliberately fast and fun as you make the most of your final hours.
Be prepared to get wet in the Delta’s waters as you approach deep reedy areas full of bird life, including open-billed storks, squacco herons, slaty egrets, and Egyptian geese. You will return to Macatoo Camp along the myriad of waterways lined with large trees, before arriving back at the barn to say a sad farewell to your horse. There will be just enough time to shower, change, and pack before the game drive to the airstrip, carrying a picnic lunch to tide you over until your return to the real world. Don’t worry, you can always come back – so many of our guests do!
Interested in booking this itinerary or customizing a trip to Botswana or Zambia? Get in touch with a private travel designer!
