Platinum Tours International - Patterson Group - 2018 March South Africa & Victoria Falls Safari - Patterson Group (Bev)

Depart from Atlanta on Delta Flight DL 200 at 7:16 PM for Johannesburg, South Africa.

Arrive at the Johannesburg Airport at 4:30 PM. Go through passport control and customs, and check in for your flight, SA 367 departing at 19:30 to Cape Town. Upon arrival at the Cape Town Airport at 21:35, be met by your private driver/guide, Wayne, and be transferred to your hotel in Cape Town, the Commodore Hotel, conveniently located on the famous Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Check into your Deluxe Rooms for 3 nights on Bed & Breakfast basis.

After breakfast, your private driver/guide will meet you at your hotel at 8:00 AM and depart for the day exploring Cape Town. Visit Table Mountain via the Cable Car (weather permitting), the World’s new Seventh Wonder, or visit Signal Hill (if weather does not allow visit to Table Mountain’s summit). Visit Jewel Africa for a diamond cutting demonstration. You will also find exquisitely unique hand crafted jewelry pieces, authentic African craft, décor and gift items. Have a City Tour and see some of the highlights of this beautiful Mother City including Bo-Kaap or “Malay Quarter”, a living cultural museum and District Six. Your guide will recommend one of the local restaurants for lunch (not included). Time permitting you may visit Dragana Studios.

This afternoon at 3:00 pm you will be taken on a tour of Robben Island. The cost of this tour is not included in the package but Ntaba African Safaris will assist in booking those tickets which need to be pre-booked. Should the tour be cancelled due to weather, the money will be refunded back to your credit card. Before dinner, meet with guest speaker, Christo Brand, who was Nelson Mandela’s prison warden. Dinner is on your OWN account. A Dinner Transfer has been included and Ntaba African Safaris will make a dinner reservation at a restaurant agreed upon.

After breakfast, depart from your hotel and travel along the beautiful coast. Visit Original T-Bag Designs in Hout Bay, a local community project. Continue travelling along the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive. Visit Cape Point, the most south-western point of the African Continent. Take the Funicular to the top of the mountain and enjoy the beautiful view of the ocean and the surrounding area. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant overlooking False Bay, the Saveur Restaurant (meal included, drinks on own account).

After lunch, visit the local African Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach. On your way back to town, stop in Simons Town, South Africa’s Naval Base, to visit the statue of “Just Nuisance” and hear the story about this legend. Your guide will drop you off at your hotel.

Enjoy a dinner at the Quaterdeck witha guest speaker (not included). A Dinner Transfer is included.

After an early breakfast, your driver/guide will pick you up from your hotel at 7:30 AM to transfer you to the Cape Town Airport. Check in for your Flight SA1241 departing at 09:10 AM to Hoedspruit in the Greater Kruger Park. Upon arrival at the Hoedspruit Airport at 12:30 PM, be met and transferred to the Jackalberry Lodge in the Thornybush Private Game Reserve. Check into your suites for 3 nights. Enjoy lunch and your first game drive that afternoon. You will have the chance to see the Big 5 – elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard.

A typical day in the Game Reserve:

Each morning, expect an early wake-up call. Gather for refreshments before heading out at first light. The “big cats” may still be around after their night of hunting. Game drives are conducted in open game vehicles with your skilled ranger and tracker to find the animals of Africa for you to admire. Between your morning and afternoon game drives, have some free time go on a guided walking safari, to relax or be treated at the Spa located at the Thornybush Game Lodge in the same private game reserve. Late afternoon, convene for high tea, before departing for the day’s second African Bush Safari. Enjoy a sundowner drink along the way, get out of the vehicle to stretch your legs, and watch the sun set. Return to the lodge for dinner.

After your morning game drive and breakfast, be transferred to the Hoedspruit Airport to check in for your flight to Johannesburg, Flight SA 1228 departing at 13:55. Upon arrival in Johannesburg at 14:55, your private guide, Wayne, will meet you at Arrivals. Be transferred to the Michelangelo Hotel located on Nelson Mandela Square at Sandton City. Check into your Superior Rooms for 3 nights on Bed & Breakfast basis. Dinner can be enjoyed at one of the many restaurants in Sandton City adjacent to the hotel (not included).

After breakfast, your Johannesburg private driver/guide will meet you in the foyer of your hotel. Depart for a full-day tour of Soweto and Johannesburg. You will start your day by visiting the Apartheid Museum which is a multimedia experience, with documentary film snippets, texts, sound clips and live accounts, recapturing life in the dark days of South Africa.

Have lunch at a local restaurant (on own account).

Proceed to Soweto for a comprehensive tour. Drive past the Baragwanath Hospital and the Baragwanath Taxi Rank. Next, pass the Freedom Towers and the University Campus. Drive through urban areas of Soweto to see different styles of homes found there, as well as an informal settlement. Visit Freedom Square and the informal trading market. Drive to Vilakazi Street to visit the Nelson Mandela House which is now a museum. Visit the Hector Peterson Museum, where you start to unravel the cause of the devastating riots. On your way out of Soweto, drive past the largest stadium in Africa, Soccer City. This magnificent stadium is now nicknamed “The Calabash” for its resemblance to the African Pot.

Time permitting, drive through Downtown Johannesburg past the Chamber of Mines & Diamond House Buildings and make a short stop at Chancellor House that once housed the law firm of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo and is a national heritage site. Visit Newtown and drive across Mandela Bridge into Braamfontein and past the University of Witwatersrand.

Return you to your hotel. Dinner is on your own account.  A  dinner reservation has been made at The Marble Restaurant for 07:00 pm.

After breakfast, your private driver/guide will meet you in the foyer of your hotel. Depart for a full-day tour. Start by visiting the Cradle of Humankind. Visit the Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng, the official visitor center of the Cradle of Humankind.

Have lunch at a local restaurant (on own account).

Next, travel to Pretoria, the Administrative Capital of South Africa. Visit the Paul Kruger Statue in Church Square and Paul Kruger House. Also visit the Union Buildings, South Africa's "White House". This will be a day filled with South African history.

Return to your hotel for dinner (on own account) and overnight.

After breakfast, check out and be picked up at 8:00 AM for your transfer to the Johannesburg Airport to check in for your flight from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, Flight SA40 departing at 10:50 AM. Be sure to have your $30.00 in cash to pay for your visa when you arrive at the Victoria Falls Airport at 12:25 PM. Be met at the Victoria Falls Airport and be transferred to the Victoria Falls Safari Club to check into your Club Rooms for 2 nights. You can order a light lunch at the Lodge (not included).

In the afternoon, be transferred to the Zambezi River for an unforgettable luxury Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi Royal. Enjoy the abundant wild life and bird life and the beautiful sunset scenes. Wine and savory refreshments will be served along the way.

Return to the Club for Dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, tour the spectacular Victoria Falls. Visit the local craft market. Next visit the Lookout Point and Café where you will enjoy lunch (the meal is included; drinks are on your own account). The afternoon is open to enjoy at leisure, either participating in some extra optional activities, visiting the local shops to buy souvenirs to take home, or relaxing at the lodge around the pool.

Afternoon teas and pastries are served from 15:30 to 16:30 and Sundowner cocktails and canapes are served from 17:30 to 18:30. During your stay in Victoria Falls, meet with a local historian who will tell you the story of David Livingstone and the Victoria Falls.

At 7pm, be transferred to the Boma for an enjoyable evening with a traditional Dinner and live entertainment. Return to the Club for overnight.

Enjoy breakfast, check out and be picked up from the Club at 10:25 AM to be transferred to the airport to check in for your flight, SA41 departing at 13:25 to Johannesburg. Upon arrival in Johannesburg at 15:05, check in for your Delta flight, DL201 departing at 7:50 PM to Atlanta, arriving the following day.

Arrive into Atlanta at 06:45am.