This morning you will be collected from your hotel, heading east to the Mpumalanga region. After freshening up at your lodge enter the world famous Kruger National Park and spend the afternoon game viewing in your closed touring vehicle. The park offers some of the best game viewing and wildlife opportunities in the world – and the visitor will soon appreciate the challenges of managing this unique reserve. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
The day begins with early morning coffee or tea, followed by a thrilling open vehicle game drive (with English speaking game ranger) through Kruger National Park with pre-packed breakfast. Your guide will endeavour to spoil you with sightings of the “Big Five”, general game and prolific bird life. Return to the lodge for lunch (own account) and a short siesta. In the afternoon we will journey once again through the magnificent expanses of the Kruger National Park, unrivalled in its diversity of flora and fauna. Enjoy an afternoon of game viewing in your closed touring vehicle pursuing the Big Five and other rare and endangered species. Optional (own account) open vehicle game drives are available.
Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Enjoy breakfast before setting out to explore the magnificent Panorama Route, one of the most scenic routes in the region, offering glorious views, spectacular landscapes and exquisite waterfalls. Visit majestic sights including God’s Window, the Three Rondawels and Blyderiver Canyon – the third largest canyon of its kind in the world, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the charming village of Graskop, one of the first gold mining camps in the country. Optional (own account) open vehicle game drives are available, should you prefer not to join the Panorama Route tour.
Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Enjoy breakfast before starting the return journey to Johannesburg. Arrive in Johannesburg, at OR Tambo International Airport, at approximately 14h30, for your onward flight to Cape Town. On arrival in Cape Town, the oldest city in South Africa, spectacularly set at the foot of Table Mountain, you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel, where the remainder of the day is yours to relax or explore the city (unescorted).
Continue your journey of discovery, by joining a full day tour of the Cape Peninsula. Drive through Sea Point, the seaside village of Hout Bay and then to Cape Point where (by tradition) it is said that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Return to Cape Town through the historic naval base of Simon’s Town and Muizenberg to visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a centre for the preservation of the region’s unique flora.
Overnight in Cape Town.
Enjoy a full day at leisure. Perhaps join a sightseeing tour to Table Mountain (own account) or simply explore the city. Although a small city, Cape Town is packed with sightseeing attractions, excellent bars, cafes and restaurants as well as colourful craft markets. There is also the Two Oceans Aquarium, Robben Island or alternatively relax on one of Cape Town’s many beaches.
Travel through the picturesque Hex River Valley, surrounded by magnificent mountains. This area is considered to be the biggest producer of table grapes in South Africa. Continue to Matjiesfontein, where a part of the local hotel served as a convalescent hospital for British officers during the Anglo-Boer War. The entire village was declared a National Heritage Site in 1975 and is today a charming, beautifully restored throwback to the late Victorian era. The journey continues to Prince Albert, another delightful village, dating back to 1762. The town is known for its sun-ripened fresh and dried fruit, vineyards, olives and local cheese.
After breakfast we have the opportunity to sample some of the locally produced olives before travelling through the spectacular Meiringspoort Pass and Waterfall, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with breathtaking rock formations and jaw-dropping beauty. The winding road takes us through the Swartberg Mountains to the quaint Little Karoo village of De Rust. Continue to Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of the world and home to the spectacular limestone caverns of the Cango Caves. Enjoy a wine tasting at a local wine estate before setting off on a tour of the Cango Caves, one of the world’s great natural wonders, sculpted by nature through the ages. In the afternoon, visit an Ostrich Farm for a guided tour.
Overnight in Oudtshoorn.
After breakfast, travel over the Outeniqua Pass to George, the sixth oldest town in South Africa, with many historical landmarks such as the Slave Tree and King Edward VII Library building; said to be the best example of Edwardian architecture in the town. The tour travels via Wilderness, an attractive holiday resort to Knysna, known as the oyster box of South Africa, nestling on the banks of a beautiful lagoon in the heart of the Garden Route. Enjoy a lagoon cruise to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, where you can take a trailer ride to the top of the Western Head to enjoy panoramic views of the town and lagoon, returning for lunch under the milkwood trees. The afternoon is at leisure to further explore this charming town set around a natural harbour lagoon.
Overnight in Knysna.
Today you’ll have the opportunity to explore the natural beauty of the Knysna area. Your journey will include a visit to the Garden of Eden, set in the lush, green, indigenous Knysna forest. The major attraction is the forest itself, beautiful yellow wood trees, thick green foliage and streams. Afterwards you’ll have the opportunity to visit Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, where you will be able to see a variety of primates, roaming free in the forest. The sanctuary is well known for its efforts to rehabilitate and free previously caged primates. The tour continues to the famous Eastern Head, where you will enjoy spectacular views of the Knysna Heads (weather permitting). Afterwards you’ll travel to Brenton on Sea, a breathtaking holiday location and a nature lover’s paradise with its unspoilt beaches and peaceful surroundings. The remainder of the afternoon will be at leisure.
Overnight in Knysna.
After breakfast, you’ll be transferred (unescorted, driver only) to Port Elizabeth. You’ll head eastwards along the Tsitsikamma Forest to Port Elizabeth, known as the “friendly city” with a wonderful climate. The tour ends on arrival in Port Elizabeth.
Guests may disembark, on request, at Port Elizabeth Airport.
