•If you arrived prior to this tour, your rental car will be delivered to your Durban hotel after breakfast.
•If you arrive at the airport today, collect your rental car at the airport.
•If continuing with after module 1 (Johannesburg to Durban), you already have your car.
Travel via Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, to Howick where you can visit the museum and the fascinating monument at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site. From there you travel via the scenic Midlands Meander Route, Winterton and Bergville to the Northern Drakensberg with lovely hiking possibilities in the fresh mountain air. You overnight in the area of the Royal Natal National Park.
Accommodation, Meals as indicated
Car hire Group C with unlimited kms and inclusive insurance
Today you have the opportunity to go on a guided hike in the Royal Natal National Park towards the Amphitheatre, which you might already know from coffee table books or calendar pictures.
You continue over the Oliviershoek Pass (1 740m) and along the Sterkfontein Dam to the scenic Golden Gate Highlands National Park with its reddish rock formations. From there your journey takes you to the quaint artistic village of Clarens with its craft shops and interesting local folk in pubs and coffee shops.
Today, after breakfast you travel to the border of the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho along the scenic Highland route. After clearing formalities, you continue to your luxury Mountain Lodge set beautiful surroundings, where an upgrade to a sumptuous suite awaits you.
Partake in various outdoor activities offered by the lodge, or just relax on the deck with mountain vistas, enjoy some wellness or learn about the benefits for the local community, who part own the business, the proud traditions and life of the Basotho people, and their King.
After breakfast, you drive to the capital of Lesotho, Maseru, and cross back into South Africa, then taking the main road to Bloemfontein (The city of roses), before heading in a south-westerly direction to the border of the provinces Free State and Eastern Cape.
Your hotel has a wonderful setting overlooking South Africa's largest dam, the Gariep Dam, which is located in a gorge at the entrance to the Ruigte Valley. The prime purpose of the Gariep Dam (Gariep being the Khoi Khoi name for "River"), is for irrigation, domestic and industrial use and for power generation.
Today is an early departure for the journey into the Great Karoo, a semi desert region of unique character. Along the way you may spot some indigenous animals at home here, such as Meerkat, a variety of buck and ostriches. The hardy Nguni cattle and sheep are farmed here. A taste of lamb will convince you of this highly regarded delicacy, as the sheep live off the arid desert shrubs.
If arriving in Graaff Reinet early enough, the Museum highlighting days gone by, close to the hotel, is well worth a visit. Enjoy the accommodation upgrade to the excellent and historic Drostdy Hotel, also with its highly regarded restaurant!
After a delicious breakfast you continue south west on the N9 admiring the desolate semi-desert landscapes, until you get closer to the coast, where you head for De Rust, a quaint country village well worth a stop. Thereafter you traverse the amazing Meiringspoort gorge, with steep cliffs on both sides, with the road crossing the river some 27 times. Then onwards to Prince Albert, a small village with some interesting highlights, as besides its vineyards, the nearby Swartberg mountain, irrigation canals, quaint shops and excellent restaurants, it even features a theatre – here in the middle of nowhere! Enjoy a hearty dinner and good bottle of local wine at Gallery Cafe nearby, after relaxing at your Lodge’s poolside in the attractive garden.
Today you traverse the historic Swartberg pass (1575 m) on an untarred road, leaving the Great Karoo, and entering the Little Karoo on the other side. From here you continue westwards towards the vineyards of Robertson, once you re-join Route 62. Pass through scenic countryside with many farms and villages, until you reach the wine producing region of Robertson. Taste some local wines, and enjoy a relaxing dinner.
You depart Robertson and continue towards Stellenbosch, the second oldest in South Africa. Stellenbosch has many beautiful historic buildings in the unique Cape Dutch architectural style introduced by the first settlers of the Cape in the mid 17th century. Take a stroll down historic Dorp street, visit “Oom Samie se Winkel”, a trading store of old with a large amount of interesting things to look at, taste, and buy.
There is so much to do in the scenic Winelands region! Why not visit Franschhoek, the so called culinary capital of South Africa, the Huguenot Monument and Museum or the Franschhoek Motor Museum on its outskirts. You can also enjoy a magnificent view from the Taal Monument on a hill behind Paarl, enjoy some cheese or olive oil tasting or learn about the early settlers in the Stellenbosch Museum . A wine tram and wine bus takes visitors to a number of vineyards on different routes, so that the award winning wines of South Africa's can be enjoyed without having to worry about driving.
Today you will continue to Cape Town, a short hour’s drive. But why not make a full day out of it. This scenic road trip first takes you over the Hellshoogte and Franschhoek Passes via the fertile fruit growing region of Elgin to Hermanus. Here you can stop for lunch and between the months of about June to November, look out for whales in Walker Bay. Thereafter you drive via Betty's Bay
Cape Town with its singularly beautiful location, at the foot of the approx. 1,085 m high Table Mountain, offers a myriad of interesting attractions dating back to the original Cape Colony as a supply station for passing ships. Make use of the first opportunity to take the optional cableway trip to the top of Table Mountain. Visit the bustling Waterfront, the old “Kasteel” (castle), houses of Parliament with Company Gardens (where the vegetables for the original colony were grown), and don’t miss out on the District 6 Museum and Bo-Kaap, where the slaves were housed in days gone by. Overnight close to city centre below Table Mountain.
Today you should definitely go on a day tour around the Cape Peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope. Drive through Seapoint and Clifton to attractive Hout Bay. Then take the famous (if not closed due to weather) Chapman’s Peak Drive to Cape Point, the Cape of Storms. On the way back you could stop a Boulders Beach with its penguins and at the Groot Constantia wine estate – one of the oldest in the country – as well as at the Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens. In the evening you could optionally try out one of the restaurants at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.
After a leisurely breakfast, some last minute shopping, or even time for a Robben Island Tour if you’re flying in the evening (the boats for the half-day tour leave twice daily from the Waterfront) you drive to the airport, drop off your rental car and leave on your homeward journey.
