South Africa in a Nutshell (ITT)

Arrival in Cape Town, transfer to hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure.

A morning city tour of Cape Town: Situated below Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak and Lion’s Head, Cape Town offers a rich cultural and industrial heritage, grand splendour and an assurance of activity of excitement at the V&A Waterfront. Including all the `must-sees` of any Cape Town day tour, this option is a geographical and cultural extravaganza, showing you Cape Town, from its historical beginnings to the dazzling modern shopping malls of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. The tour commences with a tour of Table Mountain (weather permitting; cable car fee not included). In the city itself, we visit the Company Gardens, the S.A. Museum, the Castle of Good Hope and the vibrant and arty flea market, Greenmarket Square. We take a trip through the picturesque Bo-Kaap. Afternoon at leisure.

This delightful drive winds its way to the heart of the Cape Winelands, through superb mountain ranges, vineyards and Cape Dutch homesteads. Head off to the wine country and to the heart of South Africa's wine industry, Stellenbosch, boasting great beauty and culture that is steeped in South African history. Walk down the canal-lined avenues, in the shade of giant oak trees and beautifully preserved historic buildings. With the sheer vastness of wine estates on offer, we are truly spoilt for choice when we enjoy our first wine tasting of the day at the Waterford Estate or similar. Travel over the Helshoogte Pass to the town of Franschhoek, historically dating back to the 17th century when the French Huguenots arrived. This charming town, in a most picturesque valley, retains a French Huguenot style. We enjoy a wine tasting before stopping for lunch (cost of lunch not included in cost). Onward to Paarl, one of the Cape’s first farming districts. The town is set at the foot of the cluster of remarkable granite domes from which it takes its name. Our last stop for the day is at a wine estate on the Paarl wine route. We return to the bustle of city life after an enthralling day in the countryside, arriving back at the hotels at approximately 17:30.

A day at leisure in Cape Town.

Optional tour to Cape Point & Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens: this is an awe-inspiring tour to the towering headland known as Cape Point. Magnificent beaches, breathtaking views, historic and picturesque coastal villages are to be seen along the way. The Cape Peninsula is one of the world’s most scenic areas and stretches from the City centre to Cape Point. We travel along the Atlantic Seaboard via Sea Point, Clifton and Camps Bay, stopping at a Llandudno look-out point before continuing to Hout Bay, a quaint village and fishing harbour with magnificent mountain views and beach. Optional: Seal Island boat trip (seasonal, weather permitting) (not included in cost). On through Chapman’s Peak , one of the world’s most breath-taking coastal drives, to Cape Point and the Good Hope Nature Reserve, which has magnificent fynbos vegetation, birdlife, endemic antelope species and zebra, historic lighthouses and shipwrecks. Cape Point is perceived to be the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. After lunch at a nearby restaurant (not included in cost), we go on to historic Simon’s Town, a village with charming Victorian architecture, a naval base and a large penguin colony at the beautiful Boulders Beach. Boulders Penguin Colony (included in cost) is home to a growing colony of the vulnerable African Penguin. Wooden walkways allow visitors to view the penguins in their natural habitat and there is also a new information centre. We then make our way to visit the well-known Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The Garden is one of eight National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa’s six different biomes. When Kirstenbosch, the most famous of the gardens, was founded in 1913 to preserve the country's unique flora, it was the first botanical garden in the world with this ethos. The garden is world-renowned for the beauty and diversity of the Cape Flora it displays and for the magnificence of its setting against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Transfer to Cape Town’s International Airport, for flight to Johannesburg (cost of flight ticket not included in tour costs).

Arrival in Johannesburg, transfer to your Guesthouse.

We leave Johannesburg and drive eastwards via Witbank and Middelburg to Nelspruit, and enter the Kruger National Park in the southern end of the Park. Our encounter with the wildlife starts here. Tonight we arrive at our camp. Listen to the sounds of the African night, perhaps we can hear hyena or lion calls, and an orchestra of crickets and other nocturnal species will fill the night.

Today is completely devoted to wildlife viewing as we search for the 'Big 5’ as well as other animals. As we drive along we hope to see several varieties of mammals, birds and reptiles. Not knowing what will meet us around the next corner adds to the attraction of visiting Kruger Park. Your guide will give information about the species seen, and answer any questions you may have. We reach our camp at sunset. Some may want to take an optional night-drive in an open safari vehicle utilising high powered spotlights to find the nocturnal animals.

After a final safari drive and breakfast, we leave the park and drive via Klaserie and the Abel Erasmus Pass, to the Escarpment. See Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, God’s Window and the Pinnacle Rock. Travel to Sabie where we overnight.

The morning of the final day of this Kruger Safari, our first stop is at the Lone Creek falls before we visit the town of Pilgrim’s Rest, the museum. Take a walk through the main street and get carried away to the late nineteenth century when this little village was bustling with activity as a result of the alluvial gold found here.

Then we travel to Johannesburg arriving late afternoon, where the tour ENDS.