For our trip, Xplorearth partnered with Wilderness, an award-winning, luxury eco-tourism and hospitality company with a focus on conservation with over 60 camps in eight African countries. Together, they designed the perfect 6-night itinerary to accommodate the short school spring break for my 10-year-old son and nieces, 16 and 14, starting with a 2-night stay in Livingstone, Zambia at Wilderness Toka Leya in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. Our itinerary included a visit to the world-famous Victoria Falls, an on-foot excursion with white rhinos, a Zambezi River sunset cruise, a safari, and a tour of a local village. Thanks to Harsh’s expert planning, there was plenty of time built in for lounging by the infinity pool and much-needed massages for me and my sister-in-law in the camp’s spa. We would then continue on to Botswana’s Okavango Delta with a luxury stay at Wilderness Qorokwe.

Two nights in Zambia seemed brief, initially, but felt like two years in the best way possible. I’ve never traveled anywhere where I have felt so immersed in the experience and the culture and so at home in my accommodations that at the conclusion of our trip as we caught the sunrise over the Manhattan skyline upon landing, it felt like we had been gone longer than a lifetime.

Harsh made sure we had the perfect combination of culture and adventure, of excursions outside the camp and free time to relax and enjoy Wilderness Toka Leya’s amenties on property. Every single person from Wilderness and its partners we came in contact with – from the drivers to the chefs – kept us safe and feeling like royalty with white-glove hand-holding every step of the way.

Here, the perfect 2-night Zambia experience our kids still talk about:

Day 1: Arrival in Livingstone, Zambia, White Rhinos and Safari

7am: We woke up at OR Tambo City Lodge in Johannesburg, South Africa, after landing the night before on a direct 15-hour flight from Newark, N.J. The hotel is conveniently-located inside the airport.

8am: We enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet before connecting with the airport porter who helped us take our bags from the hotel to the Airlink Airlines check-in desk where we checked into our flight to Livingstone, Zambia, a city most famous for one of the largest waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls.

1pm: A Wilderness representative met us at Zambia’s Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport, collected our luggage and drove us 30 minutes to our home for the next two nights, Wilderness Toka Leya. Upon arrival, we were greeted by 6 smiling, waving and clapping members of the staff, cold towels and welcome lemonade drinks, and we knew our experience would be far from ordinary.

The camp, situated alongside the Zambezi River, is absolutely stunning with sweeping water views and the sound of the rushing river 24/7. An outdoor lounge, dining room and pool deck all exude luxury and comfort with earth tones, animal prints (of course – it’s Africa), and the nicest, happiest staff I have found anywhere who all knew each of our names within minutes of our arrival.

After a gourmet lunch of local bream and bacon pizza (the “best…even better than Italy” according to my son), we were escorted to our “tents” amidst monkeys jumping from tree to tree and hippos grunting nearby.

Wilderness Toka Leya has 12 luxurious tents – 3 are family tents – all built on raised platforms and connected by a boardwalk. Our tent was a gorgeous structure partially made of canvas with glass windows, sliding doors and air conditioning, a sparkling clean bathroom with double sinks, plush towels, white bath robes, oversized mirrors and a soaking tub just outside the door (which my son enjoyed a candlelit bubble bath in the following night). Every detail of our room exuded luxury.

3:30pm: We freshened up, met at high tea – a daily ritual we absolutely loved – for snacks and beverages on the river deck and were introduced to our guide, Willard. It seemed impossible for any other light to exceed the brightness of the African sun, but Willard – sunshine in human form – did from the moment we met him to the moment we hugged goodbye. He was with us for every step of our stay and more than a guide. He was everything to us: our friend, the kids’ cool uncle, our brother, our bodyguard, our teacher, our personal assistant, and the kids all still talk about him fondly.

That afternoon, he whisked us away in an open-air safari vehicle to an area of the park just 10 minutes away where visitors have the opportunity to walk with a group of white rhinos. Our jaws dropped when we laid eyes on these massive creatures – 3 in total – eating grass only 40 or so feet away. Willard, along with wildlife police officers who protect the rhinos from poachers, taught us so much and answered all of the kids’ questions while we stood there observing. Then it was time to walk back to the vehicle to catch more wildlife in action before the sunset. Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park spans 66 square kilometers and is home to everything from elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, impalas, and hippos with the exception of any big cats. The kids were in awe seeing so many of these animals close enough to reach out and touch them and commented at least three times that as of day 1, this was the best trip they had ever been on.

7pm: We headed back to camp after Willard surprised us with a sundowner stop for wine and snacks like popcorn and biltong while watching the sky dance through shades of violets and magenta. With dinner options like crispy eggplant with cumin yogurt, pan fried bream, braised lamb spaghetti bolognese and lentils mixed with vegetable curry and basmati rice everyone in our family had something delicious to enjoy, even my sister-in-law who is a pescatarian and my niece who eats almost no meat with the exception of chicken. After dinner we were escorted back to our tents by Willard – a must, we were told after dark – in case an animal is close by, and it was time to sleep to prepare for our early wake-up the next morning.

Day 2: Victoria Falls, Sindia Village and Sunset River Cruise

7am: After a delicious breakfast, Willard drove us approximately 40 minutes to the famous Victoria Falls, which in high rainy season moves 500 million liters of water a minute. Arriving early, we were greeted by hoards of baboons, and luckily very few tourists, thanks to Willard’s strategic planning. Harsh gave us expert guidance about what to pack and wear for this activity (pro tip: waterproof open-toed sandals), and Willard came prepared with heavy duty, hooded ponchos for each of us, which we definitely needed to avoid getting soaked. Our morning at the Falls was such a spiritual experience, especially our walk across Knife Edge Bridge, a narrow bridge 40 meters long but just over a meter wide. Water rushed at our feet, and high winds, mist and rain pounded us from every angle, but seeing the kids ahead with Willard all laughing and screaming with joy as they ran and danced in the water made the crossing well worth it. When we reached the other side, a brilliant double rainbow and sunny skies awaited us, and a core memory was etched in our minds.

1:30: After some souvenir shopping and a visit to a local village, we returned to Wilderness Toka Leya for lunch. We asked if it was possible to dine at the infinity pool overlooking the Zambezi River, and the fine folks at Toka Leya immediately brought tables over and set everything up for us while we cooled off from the hot Zambian sun. This level of personalized service is what truly sets Wilderness properties apart from other places I have stayed previously.

2:30: My sister-in-law and I left the kids at the pool and headed to the spa for traditional Zambian massages with hot towels to loosen our tight muscles from travel. Then we checked out the impressive gym with floor to ceiling windows and several machines including a treadmill and elliptical overlooking the Zambezi River before heading back to our rooms with the kids to get showered and dressed.

4pm: We met on the deck for afternoon high tea and all boarded the small boat at dock with Willard for a sunset cruise of the Zambezi on a hunt for hippos and crocodiles. As Willard educated us about the area’s geography (we cruised into Zimbabwe waters at one point) the sky turned stunning shades of orange and pink. We spotted a medium-sized crocodile in the reeds and pulled up for a closer look, and then Willard scouted out the perfect spot for an evening sundowner.

6:30pm: As we approached the dock for dinner, we heard incredible music coming from camp only to find out that a local dance troupe was performing in the lodge’s sitting area with the gorgeous skies as a fitting backdrop. My son was the first from the audience to be pulled up to dance a traditional African dance, and eventually we were all up there laughing and clapping. The performance was theatrical, sharing stories through intricate costumes of tribal masks. We enjoyed another Michelin-star worthy meal, and Willard with a flashlight in hand escorted us all back to our tents for some rest and candlelit bubble baths drawn by the staff in our outdoor tubs.

Day 3: Goodbye, Zambia, and Hello, Botswana

8:45am: After breakfast and an abundance of goodbye hugs, Willard handed us over to our driver and we departed Wilderness Toka Leya for the 75-minute drive to the Botswana border crossing. Harsh had prepared us well for the border crossing and thoroughly explained all documents that were needed (pro tip: when traveling with minors and one parent is not present, bring the child’s birth certificate as well as a signed letter from the parent back home), and we sailed through with close to no questions asked.

10:10am: Our driver handed us off to another driver who took us to Kasane International Airport for our next flight on Wilderness Air. We passed elephant crossing signs in the road, and as we pulled into the airport, a large warthog greeted us, roaming free. “Pumba!!!” the kids all shouted, referencing “The Lion King.” Our driver grabbed our bags and walked us inside to meet the Wilderness representative who escorted us through security with no lines and on to our 12-seater plane waiting on the runway. Bobby, our friendly pilot on Wilderness Air, gave us some safety instructions and we took off for the Okavango Delta.

Xplorearth and Wilderness made our brief time in Zambia with three kids seamless and unforgettable on every level. For more info, visit https://www.xplorearth.us/ .