Doesn't seem like anybody here is much of a fan of trains! My thinking was that it saves on a hotel night and is only taking one "day", not two, since it's about 4pm to 4pm if I recall correctly. Flying doesn't really seem that much faster, given time getting to, through, and from airports (probably a total of 4 or 5 hours).
Logistically, it would be a lot easier to do everything from just the Johannesburg side of the country, primarily the river boat timing... but that's mostly because the train runs just one day a week, as noted by some here. Lots more flexibility if you fly. It's just that... well... it's nearly 12,000 miles to get there, another 12,000 miles to get back... do I really want even more plane trips? Especially trips I don't get elite-earning miles from?
Regarding Chobe being hot, not much I can do about that, as this is the only time of the year I can make a trip like this. Guess mid-November would be better than late October.
Trying very hard not to break the bank with this trip. One way to save would be to do the Chobe day trip out of Victoria Falls, and stay at a place like this- (
Green Tree Lodge in Livingston). We could also do a day trip to Victoria Falls, and the Zambezi Queen river trip.
But Victoria Falls/Chobe/River Cruise at the beginning or end of the trip? This assumes still spending a couple days at Cape Town.