South African Highlights
ESCORTED TOUR
This tour is a great introduction to South Africa. Depart Cape Town and travel through the celebrated Garden Route experiencing the warm hospitality, quirky towns and amazing scenery. Continue to Johannesburg for a historical insight into the country's apartheid struggle years and its liberation, a fascinating and heart-wrenching narrative, a story that needs to be told. A trip to South Africa would be incomplete without visiting the Kruger National Park.
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Your Itinerary
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Day 1-3
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Day 4-8
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Day 9
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Day 10-11
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Day 12
Day 1-3 : UK - Cape Town
On arrival in Cape Town you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
From humble beginnings as a trading route refreshment station to the home of South Africa’s Parliament, a walk through the city and its museums will enable you to trace the political history, culminating in a visit to Robben Island. Its most famous citizen, Nelson Mandela, was incarcerated here for 18 out of 27 years in captivity. An entire floral kingdom is found on the Cape Peninsula; this UNESCO World Heritage site is home to 1100 indigenous species of Fynbos. Magnificent displays of Proteas in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and spectacular views from the top of Table Mountain. Culinary delights, influenced by the multicultural population that have made Cape Town their home can be found in simple kitchens and 5-star restaurants. Complimented by fine wines from the surrounding wine making regions, each micro-climate creating a delectable experience for the palate. The Cape and all its delights will not disappoint.
Hotel: Portswood Hotel, 2 nights
Day 4-8 : Cape Town - Tsikamma
Day 4: Meet your local guide this morning and depart for the scenic Garden Route. Your destination today is Oudtshoorn, the 'ostrich feather capital'. Enjoy dinner at an ostrich farm, dining on local specialities such as ostrich steak. Hotel: La Plume Guest House or similar, 2 nights
Day 5: After a leisurely breakfast take a tour of the spectacular limestone caverns of the Cango Caves, one of the world’s great natural wonders, sculpted by nature through the ages. Afterwards enjoy a wine tasting at a local wine estate in the scenic Schoemanshoek Valley. Return to Oudtshoorn for a fun filled interactive guided tour at a working ostrich farm.
Day 6: Your journey today takes you to George, the sixth oldest town in South Africa, with many historical landmarks and through Wilderness, an attractive holiday resort, to Knysna nestling on the banks of a beautiful lagoon in the heart of the Garden Route. You will journey into the magical Knysna Forests (weather and road conditions dependent), the stamping ground of the elusive Knysna elephants. Travel through George to Knysna, known as the oyster box of South Africa, in the heart of the Garden Route. Hotel: Rex Hotel or similar, 2 nights
Day 7: A day exploring the Garden Route. Visit Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, where you will be able to see a variety of primates roaming free in the forest. The tour continues to the famous Eastern Head, where you will enjoy spectacular views of the Knysna Heads (weather permitting). Afterwards you’ll travel to Brenton on Sea, a breath-taking holiday location and a nature lover’s paradise with its unspoilt beaches and peaceful surroundings. The remainder of the afternoon will be at leisure.
Day 8:Travel to Plettenberg Bay to visit the Birds of Eden sanctuary, the biggest single free flight aviary in the world. Your journey continues to Bloukrans Bridge, the highest single span arch bridge in the world, visit Tsitsikamma National Park, 80 km of rocky coastline with spectacular sea and landscapes, a remote mountainous region with secluded valleys covered in mountain Fynbos and temperate high forests with deep river gorges leading down to the sea. Hotel: Tsitsikamma Village Inn or similar
Day 9 : Tsitskamma - Johannesburg
Head eastwards to Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), for an onward flight to Johannesburg**, where you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is yours to relax (unescorted). Hotel: Holiday Inn Sandton or similar, 3 nights
Day 10-11 : Kruger National Park
Day 10:Enjoy an early morning and a late afternoon game drive through the Kruger National Park. Your guide will endeavour to spoil you with sightings of the 'Big Five', general game and prolific bird life as you explore the magnificent expanses of the Kruger National Park, unrivalled in its diversity of flora and fauna.
Day 11: Mpumalanga Enjoy breakfast before setting out to explore the magnificent Panorama Route, one of the most scenic routes in the region, offering glorious views, spectacular landscapes, and exquisite waterfalls. Optional (own expense) open vehicle game drives are available, should you prefer not to join the Panorama Route tour.
Day 12 : Johannesburg-UK
Your final journey today takes you to Johannesburg. Arrive in Johannesburg airport, at approximately 2.30pm where the tour ends on arrival.
