Upon arrival at Cape Town International Airport off your scheduled international flight (flight not included), you will be met in the terminal and assisted with immigration, baggage collection, through customs and hand you over to your English speaking driver for your private road transfer to your accommodation.
Today you will be briefed on you upcoming Antarctic experience. This includes more details on your time, activity overview and safety briefing. Transfers are provided. You will also have the chance to obtain the required polar clothing as advised on booking.
The following day is at your leisure to explore Cape Town. (B)
Day 4 – White Desert - Antarctic
Today you will be collected from your hotel and transfer to Cape Town Airport for your flight to the White Continent for your Antarctic experience. You will be assist at the airport
Upon Arrival at Cape Town International Airport, your driver will hand you over to the handling agent at the drop off and assist you to the check-in counters, passport control, and assist to the boarding gate of the departure flight or to a departure lounge. Closer to boarding time, the agent will come and collect from the lounge to the boarding gates.
On landing you will be met and transfer to your camp. On arrival at the camp you will spend 3 hours on ice, taking a gentle hike from Wolf’s Fang camp to a nearby nunatak where you will experience an unforgettable champagne picnic and views unlike anywhere on Earth. (BD)
Accommodation: 6 nights White Desert Whichaway Camp.
Established by record-breaking polar explorers, White Desert has been pioneering luxury in the interior of Antarctica since 2005, offering guests bespoke, environmentally-conscious experiences that include visiting the emperor penguins and the Geographic South Pole. Travelling by private jet to a blue ice runway in Queen Maud Land, guests have a wide choice of activities, including climbing, trekking, yoga, photographic safaris and exploring ice tunnels, all from the comfort and hospitality of Whichaway Camp.
At the heart of White Desert’s mission is the desire to create a positive impact on Antarctica’s future through its tourism and science logistics programmes. The company has been carbon neutral since 2007.
Experience & Activities
Key highlights are a magnificent journey to visit 28,000 Emperor Penguins and a flight to the lowest point on Earth – the Geographic South Pole.
Guests can do as much or as little as they desire, weather permitting. More relaxing activities include yoga, meditation, gentle treks to a series of ice tunnels, picnics with remarkable vistas and potentially visits to the nearby Indian and Russian science bases.
More adventurous activities include a hike above the giant ice waves, technical rock climbing and abseiling. All activities are led by certified high mountain guides and experienced polar explorers.
Accommodations
Polar Pod
Whichaway is the only luxury camp in the Antarctic, accommodating up to 12 people in six state-of-the-art, eco-friendly Polar Pods. The camp is situated on ice-free rock at the Schirmacher Oasis and is surrounded by freshwater lakes. Each pod is designed to accommodate two guests and has a writing desk, wash area and toilet. The pods are constructed using cutting-edge materials whilst the interiors have an old-world feel that conjures up images of Antarctica’s rich heritage of exploration.
Day 5 to Day 9 – White Desert
Five full days to enjoy your time on the Antarctic Continent. The camp has numerous activities that they offer.. (BLD)
Day 10 – Cape Town
You will be transferred back to Wolf’s Fang runway for your flight to Cape Town.
On landing you will be met and assisted with immigration and baggage before making you way to your transfer to your accommodation. (B)
Day11 – Cape Town
A day at leisure to reflect on your experience on the moist southern continent or further explore Cape Town. (B)
Day 12 – Okavango Delta
After breakfast you will be collected and transferred to the airport for your flight to Maun (flight not included).
On arrival in Maun you will be assisted to your scheduled light aircraft transfer into the Okavango Delta and your first camp. If time permits enjoy an afternoon game viewing activity. (BLD)
Accommodation: 4 nights Duba Plains Camp.
Duba Plains Camp, is part of a joint venture partnership between Great Plains Conservation and the The Duba Plains Concession, creating maximum benefit to the community nearby with lease funds, jobs and other benefits like our Big Cats Caring for Communities project This partnership ensures that these communities receive tangible and substantial benefits from allowing their ancestral land for wildlife conservation. Botswana is a leader in such partnerships, and Duba Plains is a long-standing example of this successful partnership.
Small and intimate Duba Plains is one of the Delta`s most remote camps. Duba Plains is famous for its classic lion versus buffalo encounters and boasts impressive birdlife. Activities are largely determined by the water levels and range from game drives, night drives, walks and possibly mokoro and boating excursions in times of good floods – usually between May and September.
Day 13 to Day 15 – Okavango Delta
Spend three full days exploring this area of the Delta with the activities offered by your camp. (BLD)
Day 16 – Okavango Delta
Today you move to another area of the Delta. You will be transferred to the local airstrip for your scheduled light aircraft flight to your next camp.
On landing you will be transferred to yoru camp and if time permits join an afternoon activity to start your game viewing. (BLD)
Accommodation: 4 nights Zarafa Camp
Zarafa Camp is an intimate, four tented suite camp located on the private 130,000 hectare Selinda Reserve in northern Botswana, an area linking the Okavango Delta and the Chobe/Savute corridors. Few camps rival the location of this little gem, which together with Duba Plains and Selinda Camps, is one of only three Relais & Chateaux properties in Botswana. Overlooking the crystal waters of Zibadianja Lagoon, the source of the famous Savute Channel, every area of camp has a magnificent view. The lagoon is also the water source for a tremendous population of wildlife – dry season sightings boast buffalo and elephant by the hundreds.
This exquisite camp is the brainchild of the founders of Great Plains Conservation, who pooled their collective experience on safari to create what they deemed to be the best and most environmentally innovative camp. Only recycled hardwoods and canvas were used in the construction and all the camp’s electricity comes from its solar farm while ‘bio gas’ plants recycle waste into usable cooking gas. Zarafa Camp has no equal in terms of its environmental credentials and its careful appointments.
Selinda Reserve, at the crossroads of some of northern Botswana’s most prolific wildlife areas, boasts staggering wildlife populations year-round. Home to some of the classic species, such as leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo, Red lechwe, zebra and giraffe, it is also a refuge for some of the more uncommon species such as African wild dog (which usually den each dry season near camp), cheetah, roan and sable. And for birders, it will not disappoint. Our nearby African skimmer colony is a highlight, as are the antics of the Black egret on the shores of Zibadianja Lagoon. From camp, hippos are visible in the Lagoon and elephant wander through regularly. Night noises will either lull you to sleep or wake you from a deep slumber. It is an exciting area, and guests are in the heart of a wilderness wonderland.
Day 17 to Day 19 – Okavango Delta
Spend a further three full days exploring this area of the Delta with the activities offered by your camp. (BLD)
Day 20 - End of your Okavango Delta & Early Emperors Tour
After breakfast you will be transferred to the local airstrip for your scheduled light aircraft flight to Maun and your onward arrangements. (B)