A river that never reaches the sea instead spills across the Kalahari, braiding into a maze of channels, lily lagoons and palm islands thick with wildlife.

Elephants by the hundreds come to drink where the river meets the Kalahari sands. Cruise at sunset and the herd will stroll straight past your boat.

The home of the walking safari and a leopard-rich valley. A river loops through the park, and its lagoons draw crowds of hippos and elephants.

Canoe a wide river with elephants wading beside you, then sip a sundowner as hippos huff in the shallows. A quiet, wild stretch of the great Zambezi.

The Smoke That Thunders. A mile-wide curtain of the Zambezi plunges into a gorge, throwing spray high into the sky and a rainbow across the canyon.

Zimbabwe's largest park is a world of ancient pans, teak woodland and some of Africa's biggest elephant herds. Night at a waterhole is pure theatre.

Walk freely among elephants on a floodplain of the Zambezi. Mana Pools is one of the few places in Africa where you can safari on foot.

Mokoro glide

Pole silently through reeds in a dugout canoe at eye level with the water.

Island walking safari

Follow your guide on foot across palm islands, tracking elephant and buffalo.

Scenic flight

Look down on the delta's pattern of channels and herds from a small plane.