Breakfast at the hotel at your leisure.

10:30 AM- Airlink 4Z 871

Departure 19 July 10:30 Johannesburg, (O.R. Tambo Intl ) (+) Terminal: B

Arrival 19 July 11:25 Hoedspruit, (Afb) (+)

Our second day in Africa takes us on a journey to luxurious Senalala Safari Lodge. After breakfast, we will board a flight from O.R. Tambo International Airport to Hoedspruit Airport near Kruger National Park. There we will be greeted by a private driver who will take us to our home for the next 4 days.

The drive from the airport in Hoedspruit to the safari lodge is approximately 45 minutes.

2:00 PM- Lunch at the lodge.

Set in a vast wilderness area, our visit to Senalala Safari Lodge will be hosted by some of the most professional and respected people in the industry who will make our stay a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With a maximum of only 16 guests, it is an extremely private experience whether on a game drive, eating the delicious food, or relaxing with a beverage of your choice in the various tranquil areas of the camp. Your stay includes luxury accommodations, twice-daily game drives, walking safaris, all meals, a diverse selection of South African wines, beers, selected spirits (both domestic and imported), and refreshments, WiFi, limited laundry, and access to all the amenities. At any time, you can help yourself to any beverage, hot or cold, just as you would if you were in your own home. 

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon followed by an evening game drive, our first of the trip at 3:30 PM. Please pack layers. It gets chilly during morning and evening game drives.

Enjoy a delicious dinner after the game drive.

Overnight at Senalala Safari Lodge

6:00 AM-Wake up early to enjoy a warm beverage and an authentic South African snack before setting out on your first game drive of the day (approximately 3 hours long). While on the game drive, enjoy coffee or tea and a snack in the bush.

Upon returning from your morning game drive, enjoy a delicious breakfast followed by time to relax. Around noon, take a break from the relaxing to enjoy lunch and some socializing. After lunch, enjoy more free time.

3:30 PM-The second game drive of the day departs in the late afternoon with a stop for sun-downers, where guests can watch the sunset over the African horizon. After the sun sets, we continue with a drive back to the lodge aided by a spotlight for night sightings. 

Enjoy dinner after our second game drive of the day. 

Overnight at Senalala Safari Lodge

6:00 AM-Start the day early with a warm beverage and a snack before setting out on a walking safari. Senalala has a reputation for its team of highly skilled guides, who have extensive experience in leading walking safaris that allow for the opportunity to experience the bush from a very different perspective. This excursion includes studying animal tracks and signs, as well as learning more about the ecology of the surrounding environment. While out on a walk, there is always a chance of tracking and finding animals on foot. Experience nature in its primal form – a unique way to experience the bush.  This adventure lasts between 2 and 2.5 hours, and guests should be in good physical condition (able to walk 5-7 km).

Upon returning from your morning walking safari enjoy a delicious breakfast followed by time to relax. Around noon, take a break from the relaxing to enjoy lunch and some socializing. After lunch, enjoy more free time.

3:30 PM-The second game drive of the day departs in the late afternoon with a stop for sun-downers, where guests can watch the sunset over the African horizon. After the sun sets, we continue with a drive back to the lodge aided by a spotlight for night sightings. 

Enjoy dinner after our afternoon game drive.

Overnight at Senalala Safari Lodge

Wake up early to enjoy a warm beverage and an authentic South African snack before setting out on your first game drive of the day (approximately 3 hours long). While on the game drive, enjoy coffee or tea and a snack in the bush.

Upon returning from your morning game drive, enjoy a delicious breakfast followed by time to relax. Around noon, take a break from the relaxing to enjoy lunch and some socializing. After lunch, enjoy more free time.

The second game drive of the day departs in the late afternoon with a stop for sun-downers, where guests can watch the sunset over the African horizon. After the sun sets, we continue with a drive back to the lodge aided by a spotlight for night sightings. 

Enjoy dinner after our second game drive of the day. 

Overnight at Senalala Safari Lodge

This morning we bid farewell to Senalala Safari Lodge. We will be met at the lodge and transferred to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport for our onward flight to Victoria Falls (a 3 hour drive to the airport). Breakfast boxes will be arranged for us as we will have to depart from Senalala at around 6 AM.

11:30AM: Airlink 4Z 476

Departure 23 July 11:35 Nelspruit, Kruger Mpumalanga Intl

Arrival 23 July 13:25 Victoria Falls

Transfer is at 13:25

Upon arrival at Victoria Falls International Airport, we will be met and transferred to Ilala Lodge, one of the most highly rated lodges only steps from Victoria Falls.  Included in your room is breakfast and the first stock of the mini bar in your room.  The drive is approximately 20 minutes from the airport to the hotel.

The National Park borders the front of the small property, with the spray of the Falls as the backdrop to the wildlife grazing on the lawn. 

3: 30 PM: Tonight we will explore the luxurious Zambezi Royal, a single-level cruise boat that offers a unique and intimate way to view the Zambezi River. The boat is the first of its kind, custom-built to maximize comfort, style, practicality, and service. Please pack layers and binoculars for possible wildlife viewings.

During the premium two-hour guided sunset cruise, we can look forward to 5-star service on board, consisting of imported wines and spirits and gourmet hot and cold canapés. We will relax in the lush furnishings of this modern and contemporary vessel, as we coast upriver taking in the stunning scenery and surroundings of the upper Zambezi River. A variety of game is consistently spotted as well as a vast plethora of bird species.

7:00 PM: Dinner at the Casia Restaurant at Ilala Lodge 

Overnight stay at the Ilala Lodge Hotel

Breakfast at your leisure before departing for our Elephant Encounter experience!

8:30 AM: The Elephant Encounter affords you the opportunity to unobtrusively interact with some of the biggest personalities in Africa, in a pristine wilderness environment overflowing with raw natural beauty. We will spend time and connect with elephants in the most positive and natural way possible.

We will have an opportunity to talk to guides that have journeyed (physically and metaphorically) incredible distances with these elephants and learn more about the complexities of the individuals and the herd structures. We will learn about the elephants as well as their history and how they came to be in our care as well as the threats facing elephant populations today, in an interesting and informative talk.

Venture out into the bush to spend time with the elephants and the sight of the gentle grey mammals up close and personal will be imprinted on your mind long after you have returned home. Witness the special relationship the elephant keepers share with the animals and become a part of it. 

We will have the opportunity to take photographs with the elephants, marvel at their size and watch them behaving normally; browsing and interacting with one another. After the encounter with these amazing creatures, enjoy a selection of refreshments in the cool of the Wild Horizons Elephant Wallow, and from there transfer back to the hotel.

1:00 PM: Lunch at The Lookout Café. Please meet in the lobby at 12:50 PM for transfer from Lee Taxi.  Its a 5 minute drive away from the lodge.

3:00 PM: We will take a 2 hour guided tour of the awe-inspiring Victoria Falls. Please pack a poncho or rain jacket as well as shoes with a good grip as the pathway can get slippery when wet.

7:00 PM: Dinner at Baines Restaurant.  Please meet in the lobby at 6:50 PM for transfer from Lee Taxi. Its a 5 minute drive away from the lodge.

Overnight stay at the Ilala Lodge Hotel

Enjoy breakfast at your leisure before departing for Chobe National Park in Botswana. We will be enjoying a full day tour there. 

7:20 AM: Pick up for our day trip to Botswana!  Please do not forget your passport as we will be crossing through immigration on both borders. Please pack layers and binoculars.

Chobe National Park is well known for its large herds of elephant that frequent the Chobe River on a daily basis. In the dry season an estimate of up to 85,000 elephants can be dispersed within the Chobe National Park, where the majority of them can be found along the river. 

Apart from the herds of elephants, Chobe also has lots more to offer. The Park has lion, leopard, buffalo and a whole host of antelope like sable, puku, kudu, eland, roan and many others which you can get to see. The river is filled with big pods of hippos and some of the biggest crocodiles in Africa.

This tour departs daily to the Chobe National Park in Botswana. We will will be transferred to the Kazungula border where their Botswana guide will meet us. We will proceed straight to the morning cruise where we will spend the morning game viewing along the Chobe River. The cruise will end at around 12h30 and we will go to a hotel on the riverbank for lunch.

After lunch, we will board safari vehicles for an afternoon game drive in the Chobe National Park. Following this we will be taken back to the Kazungula Border where we will be met by their Zimbabwean guide for the return transfer to Victoria Falls.

6:50 PM: We will be picked up to be transported to our Boma Buffet dinner with entertainment. 

This is not just another ethnic restaurant, but a unique cultural experience. Excellent cuisine, including a variety of game meats and traditional Zimbabwean dishes, is accompanied by entertainment throughout your meal from traditional dancers, the Sangoma (story teller) and a local fortune teller who is available for fortune telling.

The Boma nestles in a Gusu Forest and is partly open to the spectacular African night skies. A feast of nightly entertainment incorporates Shangaan dancers and singers and a local fortune teller. Guests are welcomed with a traditional greeting in Shona and Ndebele, the local languages. They are invited to take part in a hand washing ceremony before sampling traditional beer and snacks, as a prelude to dinner.

Overnight stay at the Ilala Lodge Hotel

After breakfast, enjoy a private transfer to Victoria Falls Airport for your flight back to Johannesburg for your departure flight home. Your retreat officially ends after breakfast this day.Airport transfers at 10:45 and 15:00

For those of your flying from Victoria Falls International Airport you will be flying on 4Z 495 departing at 2:00 PM and arriving at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 3:40 PM.

For those of us continuing on to Rwanda, airfare from Victoria Falls to Rwanda has been arranged for you. You will fly KQ 793 departing Victoria Falls International Airport at 6:05 PM, arriving at Joma Kenyatta International Airport at 10:20 PM. We will then fly KQ 478 departing Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 1:40 AM, arriving at Kigali International Airport at 2:10 AM.

We are so happy to have experiences this wonderful adventure with you and hope to see you at a future Walker Wellness Retreat!