Various arrivals into OR Tambo Airport – Johannesburg where you will be met and escorted to your hotel in Sandton - an affluent area situated within the metro of Johannesburg, Gauteng. The name comes from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sandown and Bryanston.
Time at leisure to meet all the participants and relax after your flights into South Africa.
DINNER: Local dinner on the Sandton Square, which is usually a hive of activity with locals and foreigners, congregating around the Nelson Mandela statue.
Breakfast at your hotel followed by a private road transfer with your guide to Sun City – approx. 2 hours by road.
The extraordinary Sun City Resort is internationally recognised as the ultimate African Experience. Well-known on the international golf circuit for the incomparable Nedbank Golf Challenge and famous for the Lost City, fabled to be the ruins of a glorious ancient civilisation, which celebrates and resurrects the legends of a mystical past in its glorious architecture and myriad entertainment features. Spend the afternoon at The Valley of the Waves or enjoy watersports on the resorts large lake.
DINNER: Evening to enjoy dinner in one of the many restaurants and then perhaps the casino and try your luck at gambling.
Overnight at the incomparable Palace of The Lost City
Breakfast and some time at leisure before your short transfer to your lodge in the Pilanesberg National Park. On arrival at the lodge, enjoy a welcome drink whilst luggage is distributed to your rooms.
Pilanesberg National Park is in the Bojanala Region of the North West Province, adjacent to Sun City. The Park, which covers some 55 000 hectare, is the fourth largest in southern Africa. This malaria- free park is perched on the eroded vestiges of an alkaline volcanic crater - one of only three such craters in the world. Pilanesberg exists within the transition zone between the dry Kalahari and wetter Lowveld vegetation, commonly referred to as "Bushveld". Unlike any other large park, unique overlaps of mammals, birds and vegetation occur because of this transition zone.
Late afternoon, depart on the safari game drive. During the drive, stop and enjoy sundowner drinks in the bush.
DINNER: Guests will be surprised with a private bush dinner this evening, with a Marimba band and energetic tribal dance show.
Engage in interactive drumming and busking with local dancers & singers from the surrounding community as fall asleep to the sounds of the African bush.
An early morning call from the Ranger will wake you before first light, enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and so begins the morning safari. The bush is already alive, the air filled with birdsong as the rising sunlight dances off beads of dew on spiders' webs. Nobody, not even the tracker who can read the bushveld like a book, knows what's in store. He will watch the road for spoor, leaning forward intently to find any print left by a predator during its hunt in the dark. Spend a few hours tracking the Big 5 as you watch the sun rise over the savanna grasslands.
Returning to the lodge enjoy a scrumptious breakfast, before departing by road for Johannesburg to board your 2 hour flight to Cape Town.
On arrival in Cape Town this evening embark on a private sunset cruise, while sipping a glass of sparkling wine. The Mirage 760 is the newest jewel in the Mother City’s crown. Look forward to experiencing thrill of the open water, the bliss of world-class luxury, and the awe-inspiring beauty of Cape Town at her finest.
DINNER: Enjoy a barbeque on board with a private DJ.
Overnight Waterfront Hotel.
European settlement in South Africa started in Cape Town, which is why it is still called the Mother City to this day. On your interactive inner city walking tour, visit Slave lodges, find wells that have watered generations of sailors and fruit trees that have staved of scurvy. Discover how our history has played a role in the development of the Company Gardens & Cape Town. Find the story behind statues and stolen marble pillars. Witness how the Rainbow nation was born….stroll the vibey streets and meet local inner city buskers, making their living entertaining passersby.
LUNCH: Local lunch followed by a quick 5 minute rotating ascent up Table Mountain via the cable car: Table Mountain is proud to be one of the official New7Wonders of Nature, and the only one to be located in an urban area, making it highly accessible. The mountain rises 3564ft above sea level and there are magnificent views from its distinctively flat-topped summit. On occasions, the heights are mantled by clouds and in summer, driven by the strong south-Easter wind, they tumble over its precipitous northern face to form a spectacular tablecloth.
Return to your overnight hotel.
DINNER: at local Waterfront restaurant, Harbour House.
Breakfast at your Hotel and departure for full day Cape Winelands excursion with your private guide & vehicle. The fertile green valleys of the Cape Winelands are surrounded by proud mountain ranges. Towns and villages have many historic homesteads and monuments & every so often fruit orchards can be seen, whose produce may be found in all corners of the world. It is the Mediterranean climate and winter rainfall of the region Cape that produces some of the best wines in the country, rich reds and sublime Sauvignon Blancs.
Enjoy a cycle between wine estates in Franschhoek as well as:
Stellenbosch, tree lined streets, historical architecture, alfresco cafés and good shopping
Franschhoek endless mountain vistas & quaint main street with pavement cafes & shops
Cape Dutch architecture & wine tasting on some of the finest Cape Wine Estates : Anthonij Rupert, Boschendal, Plaisir de Merle, Delaire, Ernie Els, Vrede en Lust
LUNCH: Leisurely picnic lunch on a wine estate with local wines – Boschendal Estate or similar.
Late afternoon, return to your overnight hotel.
DINNER: Blues Restaurant, Camps Bay overlooking the ocean.
GE Winelands Cycle
Boschendal Wine Tasting & Picnic Lunch
Breakfast at your hotel and departure for full day White Shark diving excursion with your private guide & vehicle (weather permitting – approx. 2.5 hours drive).
Few things compare to the adrenalin rush and exhilaration one gets from being face to face with a 3 m Great White, especially when they curiously cruise right up to the cage and eye you within kissing range! Before the trip guests meet at the Great White House in Kleinbaai where you will enjoy breakfast and register your wetsuit size. Guests receive a pre-trip safety briefing about what to expect during the trip and a biological background on great white sharks. Then take a 200m stroll down to the harbour to board Slashfin - travel time to Dyer Island is approximately 20 minutes, with the shallows being a short 10 minute ride (where we anchor depends on where the sharks are). On average, we anchor for 2 hours, but this depends on shark activity, conditions, as well as number of divers. Weather permitting, we take a quick trip through the infamous Shark Alley Lastly, a debrief in the Great White House and a celebratory beverage to toast the occasion!
Highlights:
Sole use charter boat - biggest & only boat with upper deck for great photography & surface viewing
No diving experience is required
All equipment & refreshments supplied on board Late afternoon return to your overnight hotel.
DINNER: Evening at leisure after an early start to the day
Depart your hotel for your morning walk in the townships and a chance to meet locals. Uthando (Love) South Africa is a unique and innovative Non Profit and Fair Trade in Tourism accredited company. The aim of Uthando is to raise funds and other forms of assistance for community development projects in South Africa. Authentic, uplifting, fun, inspirational, interactive and meaningful experiences for FIT travellers as well as groups of any size in the sprawling and impoverished townships of Cape Town. Uthando offers philanthropic cultural tours, visiting the projects that receive funding and other forms of assistance from Uthando and its benefactors. You will gain insight into the remarkable stories that make life in South Africa so interesting, dynamic and very importantly, inspiring. The tours are interactive, meeting the people at the projects, learning about their work and way of life, first hand.
Visit projects such as : Amy Biehl Foundation - Youth Development Hout Bay Music Project - Instruction of classical/ other music to underprivileged children.
LUNCH: Enjoy a local township shebeen (tavern) lunch and return to your overnight hotel in the late afternoon.
DINNER: Butcher Shop & Grill, Mouille Point
Lunch at a local Shebeen
Breakfast at your hotel. Scenic transfer in open top jeeps from your hotel to Millers Point, for your Power Boating activity.
Alternative: Transfer on Harley Davidson motorcycles
Round the Cape of Storms in a powerboat for a truly unique way to appreciate the stunning views and rugged, dramatic beauty of Cape Point. The group will hear stories of shipwrecks, sea life and ghost ships, all of which have made this peninsula notoriously famous.
Power boating: Approximately 1 hour 15 min including briefing (10 Pax per boat)
LUNCH: Disembark from your boats on the beach and enjoy a seafood lunch at Two Oceans Restaurant at Cape Point.
Optional: Heli flip back to your hotel after lunch .
Return to your hotel via Boulders Beach to see the resident penguins and the Naval town of Simonstown.
DINNER : Farewell dinner at Gold Restaurant with local music & entertainment
Adventure Works - Chauffeur Driven Jeeps
Breakfast at your Hotel.
Morning at leisure for some free time at the hotel or perhaps some last minute shopping (schedule may be changed depending on flight departure time).
Afternoon transfer to the Airport. Giltedge DMC to assist with all check-in formalities.
Flight departure.
*** FAREWELL TO THE MOTHER CITY ***
