Yea, that's what I figured, in particular with regards to getting to and from Victoria Falls (transit time is the primary reason why it's optional; plus, waterfall-ed out from Iceland). I can fly from Windhoek to Maun with one layover in Johannesburg, total transit time ~7 hours, which is fine. But too many of these short distance flights where layover times are the same as flight times would be taxing.

As far as Maun goes, doing rudimentary searches, there are a variety of trip types into the delta. Just a matter of picking one that best fits our schedule.

Maybe 3 days in Cape Town, 8 days in Namibia, 5 days in Botswana, then back to SA to fly out. Not going to Victoria Falls might add 2-3 days of on-the-ground activity after accounting for transit time.