2-Week Self-Drive Through Zambia & Zimbabwe

Arrive in Livingstone and collect your 4x4 with rooftop tent. This bakkie will be your home for the next two weeks. Drive to Maramba River Lodge on the banks of the Zambezi River. Elephants sometimes wander straight through the grounds here. In the evening, step aboard for a sunset cruise. Enjoy a cold beer on the water while hippos emerge nearby. Welcome to Zambia.

Time for adventure. Head out with guide Jonathan as you hike deep into Batoka Gorge. No helicopters or crowds of tourists, just peace and quiet along the banks of the Zambezi. Tonight you'll camp in the heart of the gorge beneath a sky full of stars. The following day, you can choose between rafting the Zambezi's wildest rapids or enjoying a peaceful mokoro trip in a traditional wooden canoe.

Leave Livingstone behind and drive your 4x4 to Kafue National Park. The journey takes around seven hours. Kafue is vast and wonderfully quiet. You'll camp at Hornbill Safari Lodge. Together with a guide, you'll head out on a game drive across the savannah in search of lions and leopards. You'll rarely encounter other travellers here.

Drive to the capital city of Lusaka. Here you'll meet our guides, Anella and her daughter Faith. They'll take you to the local market to buy fresh ingredients before welcoming you into their kitchen to prepare traditional Zambian dishes together. You'll spend the night at the peaceful Pioneer Lodge just outside the city.

Today you'll drive around five hours to Kariba and cross the border into Zimbabwe. This enormous lake is man-made. You'll stay at Hornbill Lodge overlooking the water. As the sun disappears below the horizon, you'll hear hippos grunting in the distance.

Park the car and step aboard a catamaran. Spend two days sailing across Lake Kariba. During the day, watch elephants along the shoreline, and at night sleep on board in the middle of the lake. It's the perfect way to slow down and enjoy the wilderness.

Dock in Milibizi, a peaceful fishing village on the edge of the lake. Life moves slowly here. You'll stay in a simple chalet at Hog & Lilly Lodge right on the waterfront. A great place to relax before tomorrow's rugged roads.

Chizarira is Zimbabwe's least-visited national park. The road is rough, but the views from the cliffs are spectacular. You'll camp at the small Lons Camp hosted by Sarah. She'll take you on a bush walk through the deep ravines. This is Africa at its wildest: raw and peaceful.

Chizarira is Zimbabwe's least-visited national park. The road is rough, but the views from the cliffs are spectacular. You'll camp at the small Lons Camp hosted by Sarah. She'll take you on a bush walk through the deep ravines. This is Africa at its wildest: raw and peaceful.

Drive onwards to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest national park, famous for its enormous elephant herds. Together with a guide, you'll head out on a game drive and wait quietly beside a waterhole for wildlife to appear.

Later, return your 4x4 and prepare for your flight home. You've camped in the bush, slept deep inside a gorge and cooked alongside locals. With your head full of stories and a heart full of Africa, you'll board your flight home. Until next time!