On Our Radar
What has opened, what has changed, and what is worth knowing before you go.
The region in brief
12
Botswana
Go to the Okavango This Year
Some years the Okavango Delta is beautiful. This year is extraordinary. Rainfall across Botswana has been more than double the seasonal average in several areas, and the floods flowing south from the Angolan Highlands are arriving into a system already full of water. Guides who have spent decades in the delta say conditions like this have not been seen in over thirty years. What this means on the ground: channels that have been dry for seasons are open again, islands that were accessible only by vehicle are now surrounded by water, and the full ancient rhythm of the wetland is playing out as it should. Mornings begin with mist rising off the water as elephants wade through lilies. Afternoons drift by in a mokoro, guided by skilled local polers whose knowledge has been passed down through generations. Evenings end with lions calling across flooded plains. Peak season runs June to August. Camps are filling fast, and they deserve to.
23 Sept 2026
Zimbabwe / Zambia
Victoria Falls in Low Water: Rafting, Devil’s Pool and the Gorge
This was a big year on the Zambezi. The river ran well above last year's levels through the first half of 2026, and at peak flow in April and May the falls' entire 1.7 kilometre width thundered at capacity, with a spray column visible from fifty kilometres away. Those who stood at the viewpoints then were drenched, deafened and could see almost nothing clearly. It was magnificent. Now comes the other Victoria Falls. The river is falling steadily, and August opens the low water season, when the curtain thins and the geology of the gorge reveals itself. This is when the falls become an adventure rather than a spectacle. White water rafting resumes its full run of rapids from August, Devil's Pool on Livingstone Island reopens from mid August as currents ease, and the exposed channels of the upper river become superb territory for birdlife and game viewing from the water. Two falls, two seasons. If you want the thunder, with helicopter flights and sunset cruises, book for next April. If you want to get into the river rather than simply look at it, the months ahead are exactly right.
23 Sept 2026
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s Visitor Numbers Are Up 11 Per Cent
Zimbabwe welcomed 384,515 international visitors in the first three months of 2026, up eleven per cent on the same period last year, one of the strongest growth rates on the continent. The recognition that began with Forbes naming Zimbabwe the world's best country to visit in 2025 is converting into arrivals, and the country is investing accordingly, with a new tourism financing strategy supporting operators across Victoria Falls, Hwange and Mana Pools. The case for going has not changed. Hwange National Park holds one of the continent's largest elephant populations. Mana Pools offers walking safaris on the Zambezi flood plain where wild dogs hunt in the open at dawn. The Eastern Highlands, rising nearly 2,600 metres along the Mozambique border, remain almost entirely unknown to international visitors. Zimbabwe spent years being overlooked. The numbers now say that is over.
23 Sept 2026
Zimbabwe / UK
Harare and London Are Directly Connected Again
On 22 July, an Air Zimbabwe flight landed at London Gatwick from Harare for the first time in fourteen years. The service runs three times weekly and restores a direct link that Zimbabwe's diaspora, the largest African diaspora community in Britain by some measures, has spent more than a decade replacing with long connections through the Gulf, Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Johannesburg. Gatwick is now the only UK airport with a direct link to the Zimbabwean capital. The operating structure is worth understanding before you book. The flights carry Air Zimbabwe's code and branding, but the service is operated under a long-term wet-lease by the Spanish carrier Plus Ultra, which provides the Airbus A330, its crew, maintenance and insurance. For the passenger, the practical effect is a direct flight of around ten hours where the alternative has meant sixteen or more. The route matters beyond convenience. Every journey home that no longer routes through a third continent changes the arithmetic of visiting, investing and returning. This is the kind of infrastructure the return has been waiting for.
23 Sept 2026
Zimbabwe / Zambia
The Victoria Falls Border Is Now Open Around the Clock
The border post between Zimbabwe and Zambia moved to 24-hour operations in November 2025, enabling round-the-clock crossings and improving mobility across one of Southern Africa's busiest tourism corridors. Sunrise visits, sunset activities and night crossings between the two sides of the falls are now straightforward. FlyNamibia doubled its Windhoek to Victoria Falls frequencies from three to six flights a week in April 2026, further improving access to the region from the west.
23 Sept 2026
South Africa
The Swartland Is Making the Best Wine in the Cape
Ask the international critics where South African wine is being pushed forward and the answer keeps coming back to the same stretch of dry, wind-scoured country north of Cape Town. In James Suckling's latest South Africa report, Swartland producers led the country's highest scores, with Sadie Family Wines at the top of the list and Eben Sadie declaring 2025 "the best vintage in my last 25 years". Platter's Wine Guide has named Sadie Family its Top Performing Winery of the Year five times, a record no other producer matches, and the wider Swartland generation around him, from Mullineux to Rall, Alheit and David and Nadia, continues to collect five-star ratings with a consistency that has redefined the Cape's hierarchy. If you are travelling through the winelands, the Swartland is worth a day of your time.
23 Sept 2026
Cape Town
Africa's First Marriott EDITION Opens in Cape Town
The Cape Town EDITION opens at the V&A Waterfront in October 2026, marking the luxury brand's debut on the African continent. The 142-room property, designed by Shanghai-based studio Neri and Hu with Cape Town's StudioMAS, anchors the new Quay 7 superyacht marina precinct and will offer views of Table Mountain, Lion's Head and the Atlantic, with a rooftop bar and pool, spa and destination dining.
23 Sept 2026
Namibia
Namibia Is Quieter Than Usual This Year
Forward bookings for Namibia in 2026 are significantly down, following new visa requirements and limited airlift from key European markets. The African Tourism Board nonetheless named Namibia Africa's most authentic tourism destination in December 2025. For travellers who know what the country offers, a quieter Namibia means more space in an already uncrowded landscape. Damaraland, the Skeleton Coast and Etosha on reduced visitor numbers is not a consolation. It is the experience the destination was built for.
23 Sept 2026
The region
New Lodges to Know Across the Region
Sediba Sa Rona opened in the Okavango's Khwai Concession in March 2026, built on a community revenue-sharing model. Sediba Sa Ron means 'our source of water' in Setswana. Kwetsani Camp in the delta's Jao Concession reopened in June after a full rebuild, timed perfectly for a landmark flood. Anantara Tented Camp Kafue River opened in Zambia's Kafue National Park in July, the brand's first safari camp, raised on timber platforms above the riverbank so wildlife moves freely beneath. Bupenyu Luxury Boutique Hotel opened above Zimbabwe's Batoka Gorge in March. In Namibia, Thitaka Lodge by Newmark Hotels has opened in Bwabwata National Park in the remote Caprivi Strip.
23 Sept 2026
South Africa
The African Penguin Is Critically Endangered
The African penguin was listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN in 2024, following decades of population collapse linked to collapsing sardine stocks off the Southern African coast. The species breeds only along the southern and southwestern coasts of South Africa and Namibia. Colonies at Boulders Beach and Betty's Bay remain open to visitors. Conservation teams are hand-rearing chicks and enforcing fishing exclusion zones around breeding sites, but whether it is enough remains genuinely uncertain.
23 Sept 2026
Zambia
Zambia Invented the Walking Safari. It Still Does It Best.
South Luangwa National Park in Zambia is where the walking safari was pioneered in the 1950s by conservationist Norman Carr, and the guiding standards it established have never slipped. Strict guiding exams have guaranteed consistently high standards, and virtually every camp in the valley has walking guides of genuine experience. The season runs May to November. If you have not done a walking safari, South Luangwa is where to do it for the first time. If you have, it is worth going back.
23 Sept 2026
Mozambique
Mozambique's Coast Remains One of Africa's Best-Kept Secrets
The Quirimbas Archipelago in northern Mozambique remains one of the last genuinely wild stretches of tropical coastline on Africa's east coast, its shoreline interrupted only by small fishing villages and a handful of quiet properties. The Bazaruto Archipelago in the south offers easier access and some of the finest diving on the continent. Humpback whales pass through between June and October. The dry season runs May to November and is the right time to go.
23 Sept 2026