20 DAYS · SOUTH AFRICA · ZIMBABWE · BOTSWANA
Southern Africa is exactly the sort of trip where good planning matters. International flights, internal flights, border crossings, safari lodges, tours, transfers, rugby tickets and the small matter of working out how to fit Victoria Falls, Chobe and Cape Town into the same holiday.
This is a real journey we planned and travelled ourselves. Here’s how it came together.
About 20 days away, with travel spanning 19 August–8 September 2026. This is our own journey, used to demonstrate our itinerary-planning style. The Victoria Falls, Cape Town and lion photographs on this page are from our own travels; supporting destination imagery is credited separately.
Journey connections, simplified. Not to scale; lines show the planning sequence, not flight paths or driving directions. Chobe was a return excursion from Victoria Falls.
Load the regional map from OpenStreetMap.
The original route: Johannesburg → Victoria Falls, with a Chobe day trip → Cape Town → Johannesburg → Lower Sabie → Berg-en-Dal → Johannesburg. Regional map only; not a plotted transport route. Map loads from OpenStreetMap only when selected.
After the flight from Brisbane, Johannesburg was our first base. Time to settle in at Radisson RED Johannesburg Rosebank, visit the Cradle of Humankind and get to Ellis Park for the First Test. Rugby gave the trip its fixed points; everything else had to work around them.
From Johannesburg, we flew to Victoria Falls. A Zambezi River cruise started this part of the trip, followed the next day by time at the falls and a helicopter flight. Victoria Falls is impressive from the ground. Seeing it from a helicopter is another thing entirely.
A full-day Chobe experience added Botswana without another round of packing and hotel check-ins. We kept Victoria Falls as our base and made room for the excursion, the transfers and the border crossing. Wildlife was the reason to go. Making the day fit properly was the planning bit.
Next came Cape Town, with Bantry Bay as our base. The Cape Peninsula, penguins, Table Mountain and sightseeing sat alongside the second rugby Test and a full-day shark cage-diving outing. We left space for food and downtime too. Because sometimes the best thing on the itinerary is nothing.
We flew back to Johannesburg and continued into Kruger. One night at Lower Sabie, then two at Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp: a different rhythm after the cities and flights. This is the part of a plan where early starts can earn their keep — and where time around camp matters just as much as time out looking for wildlife.
Back in Johannesburg, we stayed at Hyatt House Johannesburg and attended the Third Test at FNB Stadium. A little breathing room at the end, then the flight back to Brisbane. Several countries, plenty of connections and three rugby weekends, brought together as one holiday.
The Victoria Falls and Chobe cards follow our original schedule. Cape Town and Kruger show how we would present the pacing and practical guidance; they are illustrative day layouts, not claims about unrecorded times or bookings.
Three hours set aside for the falls, rather than treating them as a quick photo stop.
A completely different perspective on the falls and the Zambezi.
Leave the rest of the day open. The river cruise was the previous evening, at 17:00.
Allow for the transfer and border crossing. Exact pick-up and return times belong in the confirmed excursion details.
Wildlife is the focus. Check the chosen operator’s river and land-safari inclusions before booking.
Return to Victoria Falls. No new hotel to find; no suitcase to unpack again.
Give the journey itself enough time. Choose a considered route, rather than collecting every possible stop.
Make this the focus of the day, with room for lunch and the return journey.
Keep a flexible window for the mountain, with weather and operating conditions in mind. Dinner can stay close to your base.
An early start, with the day ahead still wide open.
A proper break. Read, rest, or do very little.
Plan the afternoon drive around camp arrangements and the applicable return time.
No complicated evening schedule required.
Working out which flight gets you there without wasting half the holiday? That’s where we come in.
Flights, stays, dates, tours, costs and links. Plenty to keep track of — and very little reason for you to spend your Sunday colour-coding it.
| Route | Stay | To check |
|---|---|---|
| Internal flight | Which base? | Transfer time |
| Border day | Same hotel | Tour inclusions |
| Safari | Two camps | Drive options |
A readable plan, with the practical details right where you need them.
Our overall planned budget included major travel costs and spending money. This is an example from a previous journey, not a current quote. Travel costs vary significantly depending on dates, flights, accommodation, exchange rates and availability. Itinerary design is quoted separately.
Maybe Africa isn’t your thing. Maybe it’s Japan, Italy, Antarctica or somewhere you’ve never even considered. That’s fine.
Tell us the dates, the budget and what makes a great holiday for you. We’ll deal with the rest.
NO BOTHER TRAVEL
WE PLAN. YOU PACK.