A mighty exploration of wildlife, cultures and incredible nature
Looking for Africa with the lot? Ask and you shall receive on this epic trip across ten countries in 63 unforgettable days. Get breathtakingly close to animals more often seen in zoos and nature documentaries, from endangered mountain gorillas and lumbering elephants to ferocious lions and tiny dik-dik antelope. Along the way, meet people from a range of cultures and communities: Zanzibar spice growers, Lake Malawi fishermen and San people. Nairobi to Cape Town and all the adventure in between – this trip will leave you amazed by the breadth of life and culture and the beauty of nature gracing this spectacular continent.
With permits included in your trip, seek out the rare mountain gorilla on a trek through Uganda's steamy forests and spend an unforgettable hour in their presence.
Get the chance to spot and get close to all of the Big Five and more in Masai Mara National Reserve, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Etosha National Park and Chobe National Park, among others.
Experience the two sides of Jinja – a riverside retreat at the source of the Nile, but also the adventure capital of Uganda.
Chill out on the northern beaches of Zanzibar enjoying white sand and sparkling blue sea of the Indian Ocean, and cross over to Africa's Atlantic coastline for seafood spreads and dune bashing experiences.
Meet with village communities during your African adventure, including the colourful Maasai tribespeople, the hunter-gatherer traditions of the San communities, and local fisherman on Lake Malawi.
Tracking gorillas in the dense forest can sometimes be wet, muddy and uncomfortable. The terrain is by no means easy either, so it can be pretty strenuous and often humid. But the sheer thrill in coming across a habituated group of gorillas, dominated by a great male silverback, more than outweighs any difficulty. You need to be prepared and fit enough to walk up to 4 hours - up and down hill. A top tip is to pack some gardening gloves to assist in any uphill climbs. See https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/gorilla-trekking for more information.
Camp in the Serengeti National Park itself without fences between you and the animals. Your leader will brief you on the safety measures the group will need to take for the two nights spent in the park.
At Usambara Mountains the group will do a an easy hike to the beautiful Irente viewpoint.
We use mokoros (small dugout canoes) to pass through the shallow waterways of the Okavango Delta to get to our campsite for the night.
We use our purpose-built overland vehicles for the duration of this trip. This multi-purpose truck allows for great game viewing with large sliding windows. This means the trucks do not have air-conditioning and conditions can get dusty and hot.
The overland vehicle is large enough to seat up to 22 passengers and carries all the camping equipment needed for the duration of this trip. Therefore the going can be slow over the long distances and often bumpy roads.
This is a participatory camping trip. You will be expected to set up and take down you own tent as well as assist with food preparation and cleaning. This makes it quicker, easier, more fun and will bring the group closer together.
There will be many early starts either to make use of the better safari time or to beat the morning traffic on long travel days.
Trip departures are unavailable.
There are currently no scheduled departures on our Africa Encompassed Southbound trip. If you are interested in other trips in the region visit one of the links below.
1. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement excludes Day 48 (Camping with facilities) and Days 55 to 57 (Chalet) where you will be in shared accommodation and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
2.This trip requires a higher non-refundable deposit (AUD 1000, USD 1000, EUR 800, NZD 1250, GBP 650, CAD 1000, ZAR 8000, CHF 900) in order to secure the included gorilla permit. Please note that we need to confirm availability of a gorilla permit if you are booking within 45 days of departure. The additional deposit paid at time of booking will be credited to the final balance of your booking.
3. Optional sunrise balloon rides in the Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara National Reserve are possible on this itinerary. Please see the itinerary above for full details of this activity. As the balloon only holds 16 people, places are limited and we recommend you book in advance. Please inquire when booking your trip to book this optional activity.
4. This trip is a combination of YXOG, YXOP, YXON, YXOR and YXOF our most popular itineraries. As such the make up of your group and your leader may change on days 16, 24, 27 and 42..
5. The Zanzibar portion of your itinerary may have a few more passengers than the maximum group size of 22 as we have a crossover of trips starting and finishing in Zanzibar.
6. This trip finishes upon arrival in Cape Town on Day 63. Please do not book any flights until after 7 pm this evening.
7. Our operator has advised that customers with the J&J vaccine and no booster may have difficulty crossing the border into Botswana (and potentially Zimbabwe) without a negative test result. This information conflicts with various government travel advice websites. We recommend you check with your local consulate before travel to ensure you have the most up to date information.
Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.
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