"16 day South Africa Safari Tour"    

South Africa Safari Tour.                                  

An excellent guided tour for a couple, friends, family or a group who would like to see as much as possible of South Africa in only sixteen days. 

The tour start at at Johannesburg, includes the spectacular Panorama Route in Mpumalanga and the world famous Kruger National Park. We drive through the Kingdom of Swaziland to the World Heritage Site of St. Lucia Wetlands, take a boat trip on the lake, infested with hippos and crocodiles, experience Zulu culture, singing and dancing at Shakaland and overnight in Durban.

After a domestic flight to Port Elizabeth we visit the Addo Elephant Park and do the spectacular Garden Route, visiting the Cango Caves, a working ostrich farm and many, many more.

One of our highlights is a visit to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point in Africa and the place where two oceans meet.

In Cape Town we stay for three nights and explore the sights and sounds of the city as well as a day excursion to the winelands.

Itinerary: ( Please remember this tour can be changed to suit your travel needs. )

Day 1: Johannesburg – Mount Sheba Nature Reserve, Pilgrim’s Rest
Arrive at Johannesburg International Airport where you will be met by your driver/guide, or you will be picked up at your hotel. We leave the city behind us and head for the province of Mpumalanga via the coal mining towns of the Highveld until we reach the village of Lydenburg. Our destination is the luxury Mount Sheba Nature Reserve Hotel, where we are going to stay for the night. Mount Sheba Nature Reserve is unbelievable beautiful with a rain forest and several trails to worked out gold mines, waterfalls and spectacular scenery The dinner tonight is a set menu by their award winning chefs.  

Day 2: Mount Sheba Nature Reserve, Pilgrim’s Rest - Blydepoort.
After a sumptuous breakfast, we take a scenic mountain route and our first stop is the nearby mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest. This is a living museum as the entire town has been declared a national monument, taking the visitor back to the days of the gold rush in the 1870’s. We enjoy a beer in the old church, now a restored bar! We visit God’s Window, Pinnacle Rock, Blyde River Canyon and Bourke’s Luck Potholes for breathtaking scenery. We overnight at the Aventura Blydepoort Resort and dinner is at their restaurant.

Day 3 : Blydepoort – Kruger National Park .
We enter the Kruger National Park through the Orpen Gate and explore this world famous National Park, home to the Big Five and several other predators and antelope. We overnight in the central section of the Park in bungalows and enjoy dinner at the restaurant.

Day 4: Kruger National Park
Another full day’s game drive to the southern section of the Park where we stay at the Berg-en-Dal camp inside the Park. Dinner at their restaurant.

Day 5: Kruger National Park – Ezulwini Valley, Swaziland
We leave the Park through the Malelane Gate and enter the small kingdom of Swaziland at Jeppe’s Reef border post. Our destination is the lush Ezulwini Valley, holiday mecca of Swaziland. Enjoy the casino at the nearby Swazi Sun Hotel or spend hours at the huge craft market, adjoining our hotel. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 6: Swaziland – St. Lucia World Heritage Site
After breakfast we travel through interesting mountainous countryside and leave Swaziland at the Gelela border post. At Hluhluwe we take a quick turn off and enter the Hluhluwe – Umfolozi Park to look for black rhinos which are abundant in the Park. After two hours drive we are back on track again and stop at the St. Lucia Estuary for a sundowner cruise on the St. Lucia lake. We are bound to see crocodiles and hippo as well as water birds. Dinner and overnight at the Elephant Lake hotel or similar.

Day 7 : St Lucia – Shakaland, Eshowe
We travel south through scenic and tranquil landscape and turn off from the highway towards Eshowe. This will definitely be one of the highlights of our tour as we enter Shakaland, a village of the proud Zulu nation. We go on a cultural tour through the village, get involved in spear throwing, homebrew bear drinking, meet the medicine man and a lot more. In the evening we experience the song, tribal dances, drum beating and the traditional food of the Zulus. We overnight in one of the authentic Zulu huts, run by the Protea Hotel group.

Day 8: Shakaland, Eshowe – Durban
The previous day’s experience will still linger on as we travel through green sugar cane fields towards Durban. We book in at the Balmoral Hotel or similar on the beachfront. In the afternoon we visit the new Ushaka Marine World, offering a world of ocean activities, rides, oceanarium, amusement parks, displays and beach activities. Dinner at our hotel.

Day 9: Durban – Port Elizabeth – Addo Elephant Park
After an early breakfast we leave for Durban Airport to take a domestic flight to Port Elizabeth. On arrival we depart for the Addo Elephant Park near Addo. We book into our chalets on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis and go for a full afternoon game drive in the Elephant Park. Overnight inside the Park.

Day 10: Addo – Knysna
Today we start our Garden Route Tour with a visit to the Storms River Bridge, stretch our legs at the Storms River Mouth for a walk to the swing bridge over the river, visit the 800 year old Big Tree in the Tsitsikamma Forest, stop at the highest bungee jumping site in the world and end our day at the Log-Inn Hotel, Knysna. Dinner, bed and breakfast.  

Day 11: Knysna – Mossel Bay
Beautiful scenery awaits us as we travel from Knysna across the Outiniqua Mountains to Oudshoorn. Our first stop is the world famous Cango Caves. A specialist guide will show us the hidden wonders inside the caves. No crawling! Then onto a working ostrich farm where you can even try to ride on one of those large birds. We cross the mountains again with another mountain pass to end up in Mossel Bay. We stop at the age old Post Office Tree where sailors in the old days left post for homebound ships in a shoe. Overnight with dinner at the Point Hotel.  

Day 12: Mossel Bay – Cape Agulhas
From Mossel Bay we travel to Swellendam to take a look at a masterpiece of Cape Dutch architecture, the Drosdy, built in 1747. We leave the highway and drive through countryside with wheat planted farms as far as the eye can see. Our destination is Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa and also the place where the two oceans, the Indian and the Atlantic, meet. A marker and inscription shows the exact location. Overnight and dinner at the Agulhas Lodge.

Day 13: Cape Agulhas – Cape Town
An off the beaten track takes us to Hermanus. During the whale season, July – November, we are sure to see giant whales coming to this region to give birth. The most dramatic and scenic route to Cape Town starts at Rooi Els and ends at Gordons Bay. We will stop along the way so that you can capture the sights with your camera. In Cape Town we book in at the 3 star Cape Town Ritz Hotel on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis for three nights. We spend the rest of the day at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront for shopping.  

Day 14: Cape Town
Experience with us a scenic drive through Sea Point, the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay to Hout Bay where a trip to Seal Island can be arranged. The spectacular Chapman’s Peak drive is breathtaking and will lead us to Cape Point – The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, undoubtedly one of the Cape’s biggest attractions. Situated at the most southern point of the Cape Peninsula,it is noted for its abundant floral diversity. The reserve has a spectacular coastline, with Cape Point boasting the highest sea cliffs in South Africa. A funicular takes visitors up to the highest vantage point – or you may decide to walk. A visit to a penguin colony at Boulders is to follow. We then proceed to Simons Town, the Constantia wine valley to Table Mountain. Table Mountain has become over the centuries one of South Africa’s best known landmarks. The famous flat top is approximately 3 km wide and its highest point 1 086m above sea level. The summit can be reached by a cable car with a revolving floor for panoramic views.  

Day 15: Cape Town Winelands
Today we are going to explore the Cape Winelands. We take the highway to Paarl – meaning ‘pearl’. The town was named after a massive granite rock that glows like a pearl in the sunlight. Stop at KWV wine emporium for a cellar tour with wine tasting. Paarl is renowned for its exquisite, world class red wines because of the granite content in the soil. On our way to Franschhoek we taste cheese and wine at Boschendal, visit the Franschhoek village and the Hugenot Memorial. This ‘French corner’ was so named after the French Hugenots who settled here in 1680. Our next stop is the historical town of Stellenbosch via the Helshoogte mountain pass. A tour of Stellenbosch, free time to walk and an informal wine tasting in the area awaits you. Return transfer to our hotel.

Day 16: Cape Town – Home
Transfer to Cape Town Airport for your flight home.

Online  Safari Tour Request Form.

Included in the price: Accommodation as per itinerary, breakfasts and dinners.

Entrance fees to all excursions

Services of a driver/guide and a new group B vehicle

Accommodation, meals of driver/guide.

Air tickets Durban – Port Elizabeth

Not included: Expenditures of a personal nature

All drinks: alcoholic or soft

Bottled water

Tips