Southern Africa

From the golden dunes of the Namib Desert to the emerald waterways of the Okavango Delta, Southern Africa is a study in contrasts—and home to some of the largest wildlife populations on the continent. Botswana’s elephants are legendary, more than 100,000 strong, protected in some of the Africa’s most successful conservation areas. Beyond the Okavango's lush reaches, the Kalahari Desert sprawls, home to the famous black-maned lions and millennia-old San Bushmen culture. In neighboring Namibia, look for desert rhinoceros and other climate-adapted species that thrive in these arid wastes. Less-visited Zambia and Zimbabwe are safari prizes, with vast national parks and mighty rivers that draw great numbers of game and predators but few travelers. And in South Africa, complement your wildlife viewing in Kruger and Sabi Sand with an ocean safari along the coast, and time in cosmopolitan Cape Town and the Winelands.