Collect your rental car at Phalaborwa airport (please contact us if you require flights from Johannesburg to Phalaborwa). Follow the Route Descriptions provided.
You will drive via Tzaneen, the beautiful, lush Modjadjiskloof and down the Kudus River Valley to Nahakwe Lodge where you will spend the next two nights.
OPTIONAL You will travel through various local villages, up towards the Cycad Reserve.The guides will take you on a walk through the reserve, giving you an amazing view of the magnificent cycads.
George’s Valley is ideal for adrenalin junkies who enjoy hair-raising thrills like doing a canopy tour over the forest. After you have completed the 11 slides marveling at the indigenous forests and gorges below, your can visit a local craft brewery or the organic cheese diary (depending on who is open on the day).
Nahakwe Lodge: Units – rooms with en-suite bathroom with shower and baths. Bedrooms have 2 x ¾ beds with blankets, bar fridge, tea & coffee facilities and TV in unit. Electricity 220V can charge any type of device. Central facilities include dining room, craft shop, pub & swimming pool. There is a walking trail around the property for exercise.
Phalaborwa to Nahakwe Lodge: Drive distance and time: 190 km / 2,5 hours
Today you will visit the Ribola Art Route. After breakfast, you travel to the village of Mbhokota where you will meet and experience a variety of experiences with different groups of local artists. You will have the opportunity to learn to make traditional Tsonga ‘batik-style’ cloths, as well as get a basic lesson in carving or making jewelry from recycled materials. In addition, there will be time to visit other artists in the area with different creative skills. This will be the best time on the whole trip for purchasing authentic arts made by the people you will meet.
Lunch will be had in a local diner and the last activity of the day will include a music extravaganza. At the end of the day you will head back to Nahakwe Lodge where you will have dinner before retiring for the night. (A local community host from the Ribola Art Route will spend the day with you, guiding, translating and enhancing your experience.)
Nahakwe – Ribola Art Route – Nahakwe: 100kms / 3 hours
Leave Nahakwe Lodge after breakfast, heading north along the famous Witvlag Road and past some of Venda’s most beautiful and sacred places. A local specialist guide will meet you so that you can go to the Sacred Forest and Lake Fundudzi, you will be introduced to and learn about the amazing local traditions and attractions. At mid-day, arrive in village of Makwarani where the local ladies will treat you to a traditional meal, cooked outdoors under a tree. After lunch the ladies will perform some of their traditional dances. Drive to Fundudzi Camp late afternoon, a light dinner will be served at the local tavern where the camp guides will take you to meet more of the locals.
Fundudzi Camp: Units Rondawels with 2x single beds with duvets and extra blankets. The rondawel has a simple en-suit with shower, flush toilet and basin. The light in the room is from portable solar lanterns. The communal area has a single unit to re-charge USB-charging devices. The camp is built on the side of a hill with stone steps between units. It is a natural ‘’keep fit circuit’’!
Nahakwe – Venda – Fundudzi: 200kms / 5 hours
Today you will have time to explore the village and sample a bier in the local tavern.
This morning you have the opportunity to further exploring this beautiful area of Venda. Maybe take a walk through the local village, or visits to some local crafters. The camp is above the magnificent Mukumbani tea Plantation and if it’s season, a fascinating visit to the plantation is an option. Arrive at Awelani Lodge in time to enjoy the swimming pool and take a leisurely walk amongst the baobab trees. It’s a beautiful place to get out of the vehicle and relax. Dinner is a braai (BBQ) in a cave.
Awelani Lodge: You will sleep in safari tents with en-suite ablutions. There will be 220V electricity to charge electronics. The Lodge communal area has a restaurant with pub, and a swimming pool.
Fundudzi Camp – Awelani: 100kms / 2 hours
Today has been dedicated to a full-day game drive in Kruger National Park. Awelani Lodge will provide breakfast and lunch packs so that you have the full day available to explore this fabulous, and relatively quiet part of Kruger. You’ll visit the Luvuvhu River Bridge, Pafuri Picnic Site and Crooks Corner. Spend part of the day quietly resting at the picnic site, watching the animal and bird movements in the river below.
Return to Awelani (which means “Place of Rest”) late afternoon for a quiet dinner in the dining room, and a second night.
Northern Kruger, allow 200kms / all day
Leave Awelani after breakfast and travel south. The first part of the trip will be through Kruger National Park – with great opportunities to see wild animals. Leave the park at Punda Maria Gate, and head south to Baleni Camp. On arrival in Baleni, check in and take a short drive to a local village where you will be welcomed to a local home, here you will be entertained by the Tsonga women dancing and offered a traditional meal.
Baleni Camp: You will sleep in a rondawel with 2 x ¾ beds with duvets & extra blankets. The en-suite facilities include a shower with solar-heated water, a flush loo and a basin. There is 12V lighting in the room with USB charging facilities.
Awelani – via Kruger’s Punda Maria – Baleni: 250kms / 4.5 hours
After a leisurely breakfast, join a local guide and walk to the dry riverbed to meet the salt harvesters at a traditional salt harvesting site. These Tsonga ladies will show you how they make the salt and offer you an opportunity to learn some of the skills involved. After spending time with them you will also visit Mkulu, the geothermal hotspring that is that is the source of the salt.
This morning will be dedicated to an opportunity to get a sense of the rhythm of the local environment and time to see local artisanal practices that are a key source of the economic activity in the area. Later you will head to Mtomeni, a camp in a Big 5 reserve.
On arrival at Mtomeni Camp you will be met by the camp team who will check you into your safari tent, this is followed by a compulsory briefing. The afternoon game drive will last until sunset. After the drive you will return to the camp and dinner will be served. Enjoy the evening, sitting around the campfire and listening to the sounds of the African bush. There is no light-pollution here so stargazing is highly recommended on a clear night.
Mtomeni facilities: Safari tent with en-suite ablutions. 2 x ¾ beds with duvets and additional blankets. Lighting 12V with USB-charging facilities. Entire camp is unfenced, and in a reserve.
Baleni – Mtomeni: 45kms / 1hour (plus game drive)
Your last full day will be spent at Mtomeni Camp. An early morning wake-up, a quick cup of coffee and set off on a morning walk starting at sunrise. The morning walk with the guide is an opportunity to get close to nature, the smells and sounds, and explore the world of the animals. The length of the walk will depend on interest and fitness, and you will return to camp mid- to late morning, in time for a large brunch. The middle of the day is the traditional quiet time in the bush. Animals are sleeping and bird watching from the camp is beautiful. It’s also your time to relax, and maybe even have an afternoon snooze. You will start the afternoon game drive mid-afternoon and returning at sunset. The second evening in camp is also spent around the fire.
After breakfast, leave Mtomeni and drive to Phalaborwa Airport, where you hand back your rental car.
Mtomeni – Phalaborwa: 55kms / 1 hour
