Desert to Delta Journey in Namibia and Botswana

Touch down at Windhoek Airport, meet your host and transfer to your hotel in central Windhoek. Depending on your arrival time you may have a chance to explore the local area, or if you'd rather relax, the hotel has its own pool. Join your group and guide later for dinner and a chat through the epic adventure ahead.

Hop into a desert truck heading for the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Get your first glimpses of Namibia's famous expansive desert landscapes as you head for the southwest part of Naukluft in the granite hills. Arriving after lunch, settle into your desert camp before heading out for a warm-up hike to get the legs moving. Tonight, enjoy a campfire dinner – your first of many! – and some desert stargazing.

Tackle a spectacular day hike today on the Olive Trail, meandering through a diverse range of landscapes and habitats, from riverbank to canyon, plateau to rocky ridge. Hike alongside the Naukluft River, past a series of pools that make for a perfect refreshing swim spot (depending on the season). The trail climbs steeply to a 1910m ridge, the highest point on the hike, giving you incredible desert views. More swimming holes and an impressive waterfall dot the path to the finish line. There is an 8-10 metre fixed-chain section to traverse on this hike; your guide will show you the way, navigating large boulders on your descent into the valley. Finish up an epic day with a drive through stunning mountain scenery to your next camp at Sesriem, surrounded by enormous red sand dunes and with an inviting pool to cool off in.

Start early today as you hop in the desert truck for a pre-dawn ride to the Sossusvlei area of the National Park. The campsite you spent the night in is inside the park gates, giving you a head start and allowing you to reach the dunes before sunrise. You'll hike up the iconic Dune 45, reaching a ridge looking over the desert valley as the sun breaks over the horizon, creating an otherworldly canvas of colours and shadows. Hike, run or roll back down the huge wall of sand, tucking into breakfast and coffee at the foot of the dunes before heading deeper into the park, hiking among the acacia trees and ever-shifting shapes of Hiddenvlei and Deadvlei. All day you'll feel like you're on the set of a movie such as Star Wars or Mad Max (Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed around here). After lunch, take a short drive to your next desert camp and take a sunset stroll on the edge of the Namib dunes.

Any trip around Namibia involves some epic drives – there are big distances to cover between the various highlights – but the landscape is fascinating and you'll be able to spot ostrich, warthog and oryx just off the road. Today's journey takes you through the heart of the Namib Desert (regarded by many scientists as the oldest in the world), towards the coastal city of Swakopmund. Enjoy lunch and a cool Atlantic breeze while watching flamingos at Walvis Bay Lagoon before the final drive up the coast to Swakopmund, a popular town with a German flavour. Arriving in the afternoon you can explore and grab a cold beer overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Alternatively, treat yourself to an optional desert flight over the dunes.

Enjoy a relaxed start to the day in Swakopmund before heading inland to the imposing Spitzkoppe mountains. You'll see the iconic shapes of the massif from the road as you approach, and as you enter the huge campground you'll see why our adventurers say this is the best camp spot in all of Namibia. Settle in to camp, then set off hiking beneath the massive, pyramid-shaped, granite boulders which reach 1650m high. Pass by stone arches to a viewpoint for an amazing panorama of the area. Spitzkoppe is a truly spectacular spot for sunset and another night camping beneath the star-studded sky – with no light pollution for miles.

Enjoy a leisurely start to today, watching the sun rise and hit the peaks while you grab coffee and breakfast at your camp spot nestled amongst the boulders. Today you'll explore this incredible place on a four-hour hike, treading among the expanse of granite hundreds of millions of years old, with many rock paintings dotted around the lunar landscape. You'll hike in the shadow of Spitzkoppe ('Namibia's Matterhorn') on a circular route, ending back up at camp where you can enjoy some chill time before dinner and another night in the best camp spot of your life.

Soak up your memorable camp spot one last time, before leaving the peaks and hitting the road north towards one of Africa's greatest national parks. You are heading for Etosha – truly one of the planet's most incredible wildlife-watching arenas. You'll enter the park gates in the late afternoon and drive towards your first camp at Okakuejo. The drive to the camp is a safari in itself, as you are well inside the park with chances to spot myriad animals already. Etosha is all about waterholes, with hundreds of them dotted all over this vast area where animals congregate to drink, particularly in the dry season from April-October. Staying at Okakuejo is a treat as it has a waterhole right on the edge of the camp, where you can head after dinner to watch the nocturnal parade of Etosha's main characters: elephants, rhinoceros, lions, leopards, hyenas, jackals and more. Staying up late at a waterhole in Etosha as the lingering twilight turns to stars, soaking up the calm silence of the African bush and waiting with bated breath for the next visitor is one of the true highlights of this trip.

Settle in for a classic day of safari game drives throughout Etosha National Park today. You'll be taken to various spots by your trained wildlife rangers, giving you the best chances of seeing Namibia's most famous wild residents. Etosha is renowned for its density of wildlife; the concentrations of animals here are huge compared to other national parks, and in the dry season you'll often have amazing spectacles at the waterholes with several species at once congregating to drink. You'll journey on later in the day to your next camp at the eastern side the park at Namutoni. There's another waterhole here to pitch up at after dinner, for as long as you can stay awake after another epic day.

Bid farewell to Etosha and head north as your journey makes a dramatic shift, leaving the arid landscapes of southern and central Namibia behind and heading for the wetlands of the Okavango. Watch Namibia go by on a long road through rural villages heading for the Caprivi Strip, a little-visited area where the Okavango River marks the border with Angola to the north. The river is one of the main vessels transporting water into the Okavango Delta hundreds of miles to the west. The waters originate in source lakes and peat bogs in Angola – check out National Geographic's excellent documentaries and podcasts on the Okavango Wilderness Project to learn about this remarkable part of the world and the ongoing cross-border project to protect it. The rest of the trip is all about the water in this part of Africa, and the astonishing array of wildlife that call the waters home. Buckle up, the Okavango is a truly magical place unlike any other, and marks an incredible crescendo to this trip. There's an optional sunset river cruise available tonight before you camp on the banks of the Okavango to a cacophony of insect and birdlife while hippos grunt and groan in the water.

Have you ever crossed a border whilst looking out for elephants and lions en route? You can tick that one off your list today as you cross the border into Namibia through the Mahango Game Reserve, a small and remote pocket of wilderness and an important corridor for wildlife moving between Angola, Namibia and Botswana. Once in Botswana, the road skirts the edge of the Okavango Delta en route to Maun – the main gateway to the Delta. Here, you'll switch into 4x4s to journey deep into the Delta, safari-ing as you go with giraffes, elephants, zebras and buffalo for company. Reaching the water's edge you'll meet your 'poler' – a specialist guide from a village at the mouth of the Delta. The polers are a remarkable group of local people with a deep knowledge of the Delta and its incredible ecosystem. They'll guide you serenely in a mokoro (a traditional dugout canoe) for a few hours upstream to reach a remote camp on the edge of Cha Cha Island, deep in the wilderness. A mobile safari camp will already be set up for you to relax in – take in a famous African sunset while watching the hippos in the water, keeping your eyes peeled for other wildlife as the light fades. Enjoy dinner and a campfire, hearing stories from your local crew of their time working in wildest Africa, as the stars come out. You'll go to sleep tonight to the sounds of the bush.

Wake up in the heart of the African bush, tucking into coffee and a light breakfast first thing before hopping in the mokoro to cross quickly to the other side of the water for an extended bushwalk safari. Your guide will lead the way, talking you through the intricacies of the African bush, telling stories about the wildlife and plant life as you track various species. You’ll likely see giraffe, zebra, antelope, buffalo, herds of elephant, impala and countless bird species. Your guide will look out for tracks from the early morning activity for signs of big cats in the area – lion and leopard sightings occur regularly in this part of the Delta. Being immersed in the bush on foot is a unique way to spot African animals, so different to the classic game drive safaris. Eventually circling back to the water's edge, you can enjoy brunch and some downtime back at camp. In the afternoon, you can hop in the mokoro with your guide to reach a safe place for an unforgettable swim – safely away from any hippos or crocs! Later on, take another mokoro ride through the tranquil river channels, eyes peeled for wildlife emerging as the light fades. Watch a classic African sunset from the water before another evening round the campfire after a truly magical day.

Rise early again – the African bush is at its most alive at dawn and dusk – to set off for another bushwalk, tracking various wildlife and looking for the morning activity. Prides of lions have been spotted at this time of day on previous trips, as have African wild dogs – a rare and highly threatened species, though efforts to protect and conserve the population have been gaining traction in Botswana in recent years. Tuck into one last breakfast at the camp before you say goodbye to the wonderful crew who have looked after you while far from civilisation. Hop back in the mokoro for one final meander through the tranquil waters back to where it all began, with the 4x4 waiting to finish your journey back to Maun. In Maun, settle into your hotel and enjoy some creature comforts. The afternoon is yours to spend relaxing after your wilderness exploits of the past few days – there are craft and artwork shops to visit, and we highly recommend heading to an excellent restaurant called Marc's Eatery this evening to toast the end to an unbelievable fortnight.

Home time. If you are leaving today, your host will transfer you to Maun Airport in time for your onward flight home. If you need to kill time at the airport, there are two excellent cafes just outside the terminal: The Duck Cafe and, a little further down the road, The Dusty Donkey.

What do I need to bring?

BAGS
Soft duffel bag or rucksack
Daypack (25+ litres)

SLEEPING

• Sleeping bag (3- or 4-season if travelling May-September; otherwise 2-season is fine)
• Lightweight, packable travel pillow (please check the Optional Extras if you prefer to hire sleeping bag and pillow from your host)
• Sleeping bag liner and pillow case (optional)

CLOTHES
Lightweight waterproof and windproof jacket
Breathable wicking layers
Warm base layers for May-September trips
Fleece jacket or similar
Lightweight trousers/shorts/skirts for hiking
T-shirts
Underwear and socks
Swimwear
Sunglasses
Sunhat
Something to sleep in
Hiking boots or trail runners (worn-in)
Lightweight shoes for camp
May-September: down jacket and gloves

OTHER
Binoculars
Universal travel plug adapter
Power bank or solar charger
Passports (and visas)
Travel insurance documents
Suncream
Insect repellant Personal first-aid kit (inc. blister treatment)
Personal items (biodegradable toiletries, sanitary wear etc)
Quick-dry towel
Alcohol hand-gel
Headlamp or handtorch 2 x reusable water bottle (x1 litre)

OPTIONAL
Earplugs
Energy bars and snacks
Travel hammock (top tip from our curator of this trip: there are chances to tie a hammock up between trees at some of the campgrounds, especially Spitzkoppe – the perfect way to kick back and enjoy a sundowner)