Arrive in Cape Town for 3 nights,
On arrival in Cape Town, you are met by our experienced walking guide and transferred to Taj Cape Town (if 4 people or more) or Kloof Street Hotel (if only 2 people) where you stay for 3 nights. In the afternoon you head into the city for a walking (orientation) tour of the city. Welcome Dinner at The Gold Restaurant.
Afternoon walking tour of the city
Cape Peninsula Walk
Today you enjoy a full day walking/sight seeing tour of the Cape Peninsula including two walks in the Cape of Good Hope National Park. You travel along the coastal road through the chic suburbs of Clifton, Camps Bay and onto the picturesque fishing community of Hout Bay. Next you enjoy a scenic drive along Chapman’s Peak as it hugs the cliffside and continue south to reach Cape Point in the Cape Peninsula National Park. Sir Francis Drake, the famous explorer, once called it “the fairest Cape that we saw in the whole circumference of the Globe.”.
Dinner is at leisure for your own account.
Table Mountain Hike
This morning you head up Table Mountain by cable car to enjoy a scenic walk along the edge of the mountain (2 hours) to Maclear’s Beacon, the summit of Table Mountain. An early picnic lunch is enjoyed on top of Table Mountain before returning by cable car to the city.
Alternatively you can opt to hike UP Table Mountain.
The afternoon is at leisure for you to enjoy some of the sights of Cape Town. There would be sufficient time to visit Robben Island (supplemental cost) by boat. Dinner is at leisure for your own account.
Head to the Winelands for 1 night
Today we enjoy a walk through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and also do a part of the contour path.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are one of the finest gardens in Africa, nestling on the lower slopes of Table Mountain. There are many paths winding through the gardens, where staff cultivate 6,000 of the 22,000 species of Southern African flowering plants in a setting of mountain streams, pools and rolling lawns.
Then we head to the Winelands where we enjoy a wine estate lunch, followed by some gentle touring and wine-tasting.
Dinner is at leisure for your own account.
Continue through the Overberg for 2 nights in Hermanus
This morning you can either opt for a morning at leisure. Or keen walkers can head to the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve where we enjoy a circular walk of approx 2½ hours.
Then we continue to the Hermanus region via the scenic coastal path. We visit the Harold Porter Botanical gardens, and the penguins at Stoney Point. We enjoy a light lunch en route.
Dinner is at leisure for your own account.
Morning or Full walk in Fernkloof Nature Reserve
Today you enjoy a wonderful full day walk in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure with time for whale-watching in season, from the coastal path or the Old Harbour, or shopping in the interesting arts and craft shops of Hermanus. Dinner is at leisure for your own account.
Drive to the Garden Route for overnight stay
Today you set off early to drive from Hermanus to Sedgefield on the Garden Route. We stop for a light lunch en route. Arriving in the early afternoon, you can enjoy a walk in the nature reserve (5km) or you may prefer to walk along the beach to Gerrickes Point. (Which option is best will depend on the tides/weather etc)
Storms River Walk in morning
Today you head to the Tsitsikamma National Park. Established in 1964, Tsitsikamma was South Africa’s first marine reserve and extends 5.5km out to sea. The Tsitsikamma is a kaleidoscope of sheer cliffs interspersed with secluded bays and deeply gorged ravines.
Enjoy a walk to Storms River mouth (and beyond up to a viewpoint on headland).
Enjoy lunch at the Storms River before heading to the Birds of Eden aviary (or Monkeyland) in the afternoon.
Morning boat cruise, Afternoon Robberg Nature Reserve walk
The quaint town of Knysna is set between the majestic Outeniqua Mountains and the rugged Southern Cape coastline. Built on the banks of a lagoon, the town is surrounded by indigenous forests. You enjoy a 1 to 1½ hour boat cruise on the lagoon before continuing to Robberg Nature Reserve for a picnic lunch and a stunning coastal walk. (You can choose between a very scenic 2.5 hour option. Or a much more intense 4+ hour option (fit walkers only, not afraid of heights).
Then you continue to your lodge in the Tsitiskamma region.
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Durban. On arrival, you are met and transferred to your hotel on the beach. The rest of the day is at leisure.
The following morning, you leave Durban and head for the Drakensberg Mountains stopping en route at the Valley of a 1000 Hills and/or Howick to enjoy your picnic lunch.
The Drakensberg Mountains consist of gigantic basalt peaks and buttresses, towering sandstone cliffs with hidden valleys, grassy slopes and pockets of indigenous forest supporting a rich diversity of plant life. It offers a superb range of mountain walking. You are staying for 3 nights at the Cathedral Peak Hotel, one of the most famous of the traditional Drakensberg mountain hotels.
Today you enjoy either a shorter 2-3 hour walk up the scenic Umhlambonja Valley or the steeper hike up Mountain Rock with a picnic lunch en route. Returning to the hotel in the early afternoon, the rest of the day is at leisure to enjoy some of the many sporting facilities that the hotel has to offer including horse-riding, tennis, bowls and a 9 hole golf course. Dinner is at the hotel
Umhlambonja Valley OR Mushroom Rock walk
Today you enjoy one of the loveliest walks in the Central Drakensberg up the Rainbow Gorge (5 to 6 hours)
Rainbow Gorge walk
Today you enjoy an optional 1-2 hour early morning walk prior to a late breakfast. We then depart to head to the Northern Drakensberg area. You visit the Didima rock art centre and the Zulu Weaving centre en route before continuing to the Cavern Hotel for two nights.
Today you enjoy one of the classic walks of the Drakensberg with a hike up Tugela Gorge.
The huge amphitheatre in the Royal Natal National Park, with its 500m high cliff-face is probably the most photographed feature of the Drakensberg Mountains. A walk along the nearby Tugela Gorge winds above the river, through valleys of Yellowwood trees and protea savannah. Interesting natural phenomena such as the Policeman’s Helmet, the Devil’s Tooth, the Toothpick and the Tugela waterfall make these walks an unforgettable experience.
This superb gorge walk follows a distinct path which winds gently up the valley on the slopes above the Tugela river with views of the top peaks. The path rises at a gentle rate through the Protea savannah and Afro-montane forest. The exact length of the walk depends on the fitness and inclination of the group as it is a linear walk. The shorter version takes about 4 to 5 hours and you turn around at the point where the gorge narrows and the going gets tougher
If you continue the path joins the river bed where the trail becomes rougher involving river crossings on stepping stones and boulder hopping. At the beginning of the main gorge, you have excellent views of the Inner and Outer Towers, Devil’s Tooth and its Toothpick. The longer hike will take approx 6 hours
This morning we enjoy an early morning hike (2 to 2½ hours) to Cannibal Caves to view some of the ancient rock art of the Bushmen people. This is an excellent finale to the holiday. You return to the hotel for a late breakfast and to freshen up before returning to Durban Airport for your onward travel arrangements
Note: You could be transferred to Johannesburg for an extra supplement (which would be a similar driving distance - approx 3.5 to 4 hours.)
