Intimate South Africa

Welcome to Africa! On arrival you will be met at the plane and escorted through immigration and customs and transferred to your hotel, the world famous Mount Nelson. Remainder of afternoon and evening is at your leisure.

This morning, you will be collected from your hotel for a full day discovery of Cape Town with your private guide, who will bring this beautiful city to life and also share with you all aspects of it, including the historic city center and urban rejuvenation taking place here, the Company Gardens and Houses of Parliament and the Castle, South Africa’s oldest building. We also visit the Malay Quarter with its brightly colored houses and cobbled streets, and then continue to Table Mountain, where we ascend the cableway and admire incredible views over the city and Table Bay (weather permitting).

Transfer by helicopter from the V&A Waterfront to the top of the Helshoogte Pass between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch where you will enjoy lunch. After lunch spend time exploring the Winelands with our Winelands specialist, where you will enjoy multiple wine tastings. Hotel return by 17:30, the remainder of the evening is at your leisure.

This morning you will be collected from the hotel and transferred to the V&A Waterfront in time to catch your ferry across to Robben Island. You will be joined by a local guide – someone who spent time on the island during the Apartheid years and thus able to give a personal and often moving account of time spent there.  You will also learn something about the island's most famous prisoner – Nelson Mandela – and see his cell where he spent nearly 27 years of his life. 

After lunch at the Waterfront (own account), we join a tour with Uthando, an umbrella charity organization which supports numerous community projects in the townships around Cape Town. The work being done is varied - from orphanages to old age homes to environmental projects - but it is in all cases humbling and remarkable what individuals are doing for the poorest parts of South African society. After this memorable day, transfer to your resort in Hout Bay.

Travel to the naval hamlet of Simon's Town, which is located on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula to embark on a sea kayaking experience from the Waterfront, where you can paddle past the civilian and Naval Harbour and out to Boulders Beach. After visiting the penguins you stop (time & tide permitting) on a lovely semi-private beach for refreshments, swimming and snorkeling (equipment provided). The double kayaks are very stable and perfect for those with no paddling experience.

During the whale season from July to December, the southern right whale frequents Cape Town's shores, which allows you the possibility of seeing them in their natural habitat.

Stop for lunch at a seaside restaurant (on own account) and then travel to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Cape Point is home to an array of fynbos, over 250 species of birds, buck, baboons and Cape mountain zebra. There are numerous picnic spots, paths and tidal pools on almost isolated beaches. The tour continues with a drive along the coast via Noordhoek, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Hout Bay and the Atlantic Seaboard back to your hotel.

Today you will have an early departure to Cape Town Airport where you will board your flight to Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa’s largest privately owned game reserve situated in the heart of the Northern Cape Province for a 3 night stay. A trip to Tswalu Kalahari promises a breathtaking, exclusive Kalahari experience.

The game-viewing opportunities provide a wonderful contrast to the game of eastern South Africa and have more in common with the game found in semi-arid areas such as Namibia. It is home to black-maned lion, black rhino, wild dog, cheetah, bat-eared foxes and meerkats, which can also be tracked on foot across silent red dunes. Drives in open-sided safari vehicles traverse the Kalahari wilderness and stop at the most scenic spots to allow visitors to enjoy an impressive sunset or splendid bush dinner.

Tracking cheetah or black rhino, bird-watching, star-gazing and exciting visits to the habituated meerkat dens of Tswalu are just some of the activities on offer.

If you want a break from game-related activities, book a hot air balloon ride over the dunes of the Kalahari or pamper yourself with the signature Sanctuary Tswalu Touch treatment at the Spa – where African instruments are used to begin and end your treatment to add an aurally African dimension to your whole experience.

Following your early morning game activity, transfer to the airstrip for your flight to Johannesburg. You will be privately transferred to your hotel, The Saxon Boutique Hotel, chosen for its peace and tranquility in the midst of this bustling city and also famous for being the location where Nelson Mandela wrote the final pages of his book "Walk to Freedom." The remainder of the evening is at your leisure.

Spend the morning on a private tour of two of Johannesburg’s most popular attractions, giving you an opportunity to take a closer look at South Africa’s turbulent past. Start with a drive across Johannesburg to the south of the city to visit the Apartheid Museum, where you embark on a historical voyage of discovery, an exploration of the past that examines the story of apartheid right up to the first democratic elections held in 1994. Then you continue to Soweto (South Western Township), the largest black residential area in South Africa. This tour shows you the major points of interest, such as the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Baragwanath taxi rank, Freedom Square, Hector Pieterson Memorial, and Nelson Mandela’s former home.

After your interesting morning, drop off at Johannesburg Airport for your Federal Air flight to Lion Sands in the Sabi Sands.

The Sabi Sands reserve is completely untouched and home to such a variety of wildlife that each and every day presents new and exciting interactions in an environment, where all levels of the ecosystem fight for their survival. This area has one of the highest densities of wildlife per square hectare, with regular and close sightings of some of Africa’s most elusive predators and big game are common. The Lion Sands guides are expertly trained to not only provide you with an encyclopedia of information on all aspects of the ecology, but are also well versed in being incredible hosts, passionate about making sure you highest expectations are met.

NOTE: There is an option here to spend a night in one of the luxury tree-houses. There is an extra charge as your original room will be held as well. Inquire about pricing and availability at time of booking – treehouses book up far in advance.

After your game drive this morning at Lion Sands, say goodbye to the African bush. Your Federal Air flight to Johannesburg will depart in time for your connecting flight home.