Soul in Southern Africa: 14 Days Spanning Botswana, Zimbabwe, & South Africa

The water that never finds the sea

Your baptism into wild Africa begins at Xigera Safari Lodge, where architect Anton de Kock channeled the Pel’s Fishing Owl’s silent flight into a structure that floats above the delta without disturbing a single tree root. Morning mokoros—some with glass bottoms revealing the underwater ballet below—glide past submerged elephants while your guide identifies which matriarch leads today’s crossing. The resident pack of painted wolves (wild dogs) has names and stories: the alpha female with the distinctive ear recovered from a snare. Her latest litter of nine pups born under April’s full moon. As golden hour approaches, ascend to the Baobab Treehouse sleepout—suspended 10 meters high—where your bed faces west toward channels that turn molten at sunset. Chef Ziyaad Brown’s dinner arrives via a pulley system: springbok carpaccio with mongongo nut oil, or Moremi catfish with wild sage butter, paired with wines from the 1,200-bottle cellar. Sleep comes to the sound of hippo laughter and lion calls measuring distance.

The smoke that thunders at Matetsi

400+ elephants follow ancient pathways from forest to river between 3–5 pm daily. Their arrival is timed like clockwork for sundowner viewing from your suite’s plunge pool. Your guide knows the bachelor coalition of three lions—brothers expelled together who now patrol the western boundary—and the leopardess who stashed cubs in the leadwood tree last month. Chef Mxolisi Ndiweni transforms hyperlocal ingredients: Doper lamb from nearby farms, bream pulled from the Zambezi that morning, wild mushrooms foraged at dawn. The Elephant Café experience transcends dining—these orphans choose to return each evening, trunks exploring your pockets while you savor Annabel Hughes Aston’s legendary slow-roasted duck with masawa fruit glaze. At Devil’s Pool (August–January), swim to the falls’ edge where Livingstone first peered over, your safety assured by guides with 100 percent perfect records over thousands of guests.

Where two oceans kiss

Ellerman House isn’t just accommodation—it’s a living gallery where breakfast happens beneath an original Irma Stern, where the 9,000-bottle cellar includes vintages from apartheid’s end, where the pantry stays open 24/7 because midnight cravings for artisanal cheese deserve respect. Your terrace overlooks the Atlantic where southern right whales breach June through November, while the daily ritual of canapes and sundowners becomes a masterclass from the sommelier.

The finale (of Cape Town come after a day of exploring Cape Point & the penguins of Boulders Beach via sea kayak) at The Foodbarn, Noordhoek—where Franck Dangereux insists “bare feet are welcome”—brings nine courses paired with boutique wines. At Delaire Graff, Laurence Graff’s obsession with perfection manifests in everything: the Chardonnay that scored 96 points. The Owner’s Villa where Oprah stayed, the Hōseki restaurant where rice gets washed twelve times and wasabi arrives weekly from Japan. Your Franschhoek morning begins with wine tram rides through 1904 railway routes, stopping for Chamonix chocolate pairings and Alle Bleue pinotage with house-cured biltong. La Petite Colombe’s tasting menu reads like poetry: “langoustine dressed for the Cape Town summer” or “yellowfin tuna remembers Kerala.”