Motorcycle Safari Exploration

Meet your tour guide at O. R. Tambo Airport Johannesburg (JNB) on arrival and transfer to your hotel in Centurion.  In the evening there is a short walk for a Welcome dinner, tour briefing, and formalities for the motorcycle rentals.

Today you visit Soweto, the largest township in South Africa.  Your tour includes all the major points of interest, such as Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (from the outside), Freedom Square, Hector Peterson Memorial and Nelson Mandela’s former home.  In many ways, the story of Soweto is the story of South Africa.  Our tour will take you deep into the township culture, so you can gain a personal experience of the diversity and rich history this part of Johannesburg has to offer.  

In the afternoon your motorcycles will be delivered to your hotel.

The hotel is very central for many excellent restaurants within walking distance.

Today you have an early start and leave behind the hustle and bustle of the city and head north.  Take the back roads for peace and quiet and enjoy the ride through the heart of Limpopo's beautiful Waterberg.  Please note the last 29km is a gravel road called Bakkerspas.

This weathered area is the first region in the north of South Africa identified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This is due to the astounding rock formations that were shaped over hundreds of millions of years ago.

Kololo is on the border of the renowned Welgevonden big-five reserve.  Although relatively small in size, at 3 000 hectares, Kololo has a big heart and has won considerable acclaim for its dedication to social development (for both its team of employees and the local community) and conservation.

Initiatives such as supporting school bursaries, educational programs and an orphans’ assistance program operated by the local Waterberg Welfare Society ensure that Kololo’s “people” are well cared for. It is equally committed to conservation, being an active participant in the Waterberg Conservancy advocating communication and collaboration among land owners towards sound environmental management. In addition, Kololo has launched a “Friends of Kololo Plant a Tree” program that encourages guests to buy an indigenous tree. For every tree purchased by guests, Kololo contributes one free of charge, helping to regenerate denuded areas of bush.

In the morning you need to be up before the birds for coffee and rusks before going on your safari drive in the Welgevonden reserve.

Breakfast is served when you return to the lodge and then some leisure time to relax.

After lunch you get to choose an activity for the afternoon, walking safari, horseback safari or Vaalwater Cultural visit.

In the evening a special bush braai where you sit around the fire with the bushveld sounds as backdrop and discuss the different adventures of the day.

Leaving early you have an early start for a long ride of about 4 hours to the lush forests of Magoebaskloof at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountain's northern tip.  Your hosts at Kololo will pack a light lunch for you to take with and enjoy at a look-out point.

Pockets of thick white mist lie in the hollows and folds of the mountains.  You will see magnificent forest trees and beautiful waterfalls.  The gentle burbling sound of streams tumbling down the mountain and ever-present birdsong is the default track.

The best forest birding in the country is on offer (more than 200 species).   The area is home to 600-year-old trees and visitors can spot butterflies floating by in dappled sunlight, samango and vervet monkeys, and duiker or bushbuck rustling through undergrowth. With luck, you might even spot a rooikat (caracal) padding along one of the dirt tracks that wind through pockets of dense vegetation.

You spend 2 nights in the magnificent eco lodge.

Tonight we have a traditional South African braai for dinner.

Day 6 you take a meandering drive through the forests to visit the Debengeni Falls and enjoy your picnic from your guesthouse.

In the afternoon you have some free time to relax or partake in one of many activities available locally.

In the evening we have dinner together.

Checkout after breakfast leave behind the tranquility of the forests for the next part of your adventure.  You take beautiful open roads through interesting little towns and wide-open bushveld in big sky country. 

You will arrive in Hoedspruit before lunch and have a free afternoon to spend time at the pool or try one of the many adventure activities in the area.

After breakfast you leave your bikes behind for the next 2 days and your private transfer takes you into Kruger National Park.

Umlani Bush Camp in the Timbavati private game reserve, which is part of the Greater Kruger National Park, offers cosy, rustic thatch-and-reed rondavels with a quiet, understated and simple level of luxury. The ethic here is one of authenticity—you won’t find air conditioning or enormous Victorian-style bathtubs. What you will find are outstanding levels of service and a brilliant team of staff, all of whom go out of their way to make a stay at Umlani a life-changing safari experience. Umlani is about changing lives for the better all round, with a youth leadership programme in Welverdiend Village, where the majority of its staff are based, opening doors for local youth to enter the hospitality industry.

Linked to the Wildlife College, this programme entices disadvantaged learners to visit the camp to gain insight into environmental issues and to find out about eco-tourism career opportunities. Umlani has an exemplary staff HIV/Aids programme and the provision of medical care to staff, which includes the right to visit traditional healers, embodying the FTTSA principle of respect for human and cultural rights.

During the day you can go on short walks with the ranger after breakfast, or lounge in the hammocks around the swimming pool sipping your favourite drink. Alternatively, laze away the day in our spacious bush bar and deck overlooking the riverbed and watering hole. For exclusive tranquillity there is a tree house about 2.5 kms from the camp overlooking a dam, where we can leave you for an hour or two with blankets and big comfortable pillows as well as a cooler box with drinks.

In the evening you will be treated to pre dinner drinks in the traditional boma around the fire, followed by one of Umlani's award winning meals in the candlelit dining room, or out in the open riverbed surrounded by flares and cauldron fires.

After your morning safari and breakfast you are taken back to Hoedspruit to collect your bikes.

Today is a very exciting day and you explore the Panorama Route and stopping at all the highlights including Three Rondawels (Blyde River Canyon), Mac Mac Falls, Bourke's Luck Potholes, Berlin Falls, Lisbon Falls, God's Window, Pinnacle and many more.

You stop in the small historical town of Graskop for lunch at Riders Rest and explore this little gem.

After lunch you continue and enjoy Long Tom Pass with the road sweeping smoothly through tight corners, sharp climbs and breathtaking views. 

Tonight you spend your last night on the road at the luxurious Walkersons and enjoy a sumptuous 4 course dinner.

Today you have a late start and after breakfast on the terrace overlooking the beautiful gardens and lake you continue through the scenic beauty of the Mpumalanga highlands.

You will be back in Johannesburg by lunchtime and the bike rental company will come and collect the bikes.

Tonight you enjoy your final dinner together and discuss the highs of the trip.

On this final morning, you can indulge in a scrumptious breakfast and then will be driven to OR Tambo International Airport for your flight home. This is unfortunately the end of your memorable Limpopo motorcycle safari.