South Africa

Specials / Self-drive / Family / Walking / Romance / General Tours
Horse Safaris / Camping Tours / Victoria Falls extension

Coastal Splendor and Kruger Wildlife

DAY 1 - SUNDAY
Scheduled South African Airways flight from New York / Atlanta to Cape Town via Johannesburg.

DAY 2 - MONDAY
Upon arrival in Cape Town today, our representative meets you and transfers you to the hotel.
Check in and spend the remainder of today at leisure.Protea Sea Point Hotel Accommodations in a standard room for 2 nights. Breakfast included.Sea Point has one or two small sandy coves but the coastline is mostly rocky with deep kelp seaweed beds. It has a couple of tidal pools. Nearby, closer to the Waterfront, is the famous square red and white lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses in the country.

DAY 3 - TUESDAY (B) CAPE PENINSULA TOUR
Depart this morning on a full day tour of the Cape Peninsula. Find out first hand why it's called the Fairest Cape. Enjoy a leisurely walk in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in the morning or afternoon. Travel past Sea Point and Camps Bay, past the famous beaches of Clifton and Llandudno towards Hout Bay (Optional Seal Island Cruise - time permitting). Drive along the Atlantic Seaboard. Pass through Noordhoek and Scarborough. After a lunch stop, continue to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Ride the funicular to the scenic viewing point where the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet. From here we drive along the Indian Ocean coastline, where we visit the beautiful Boulders Beach. Here guests have the option to sit among the famous colony of Jackass Penguins. Afterwards enjoy a short stop at the naval port of Simon's Town. Return to Cape Town late this afternoon.

DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY (B) MAGNIFICENT GARDEN ROUTE
This morning depart on your escorted tour. We're on the road by 08h00, travelling via the town of Montagu on Route 62 (South Africa's version of America's famous Route 66) to the pretty village of Barrydale where we stop for tea at the Country Pumpkin Restaurant. Then on to Oudtshoorn, known as the 'Feather Capital of the World' thanks to its huge ostrich industry. From there we go underground to marvel at the icy formations in the Cango Caves, regarded, for good reason, as one of South Africa's most spectacular natural wonders. We overnight in the Queens Hotel. Accommodations in a standard room for 1 night. Breakfast included.

DAY 5 - THURSDAY (B,D) OUDTSHOORN / KNYSNA
Enjoy a tour of an ostrich farm, and then drive via the spectacular Outeniqua Pass to the town of George. We get from there to Knysna in the best possible way - in a leather and wood-appointed compartment aboard the nostalgic steam train, the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe. When it's not running (between mid-May and mid-August) an ostrich farm lunch is offered as an alternative. Knysna lazes by a warm shallow lagoon, which ebbs and flows with tides that gush through the narrow rocky entrance at the Heads. The road climbing to the top of the eastern Head yields superb views (especially towards sunset) and you can watch yachts surf through the narrow ocean channel to the safety of their moorings. Drop back down to sea level and visit one of the waterside restaurants for the most luscious oysters you have ever eaten, straight from the lagoon hatchery. The Waterfront complex has more restaurants and shops, but the main street is the traditional place to stroll to look at the beautiful bird woodcarvings, for which Knysna is so famous. Knysna Log Inn Accommodations in a standard room for 2 nights. Breakfast included.

DAY 6 - FRIDAY (B,L)
Cruise on the vast Knysna Lagoon, then visit the Featherbed Nature Reserve. Enjoy an amazing view of the imposing sandstone 'Heads' which guard the sea entrance to Knysna's huge tidal lagoon, and the forests, marshes and pristine beaches surrounding it. After lunch spend the rest of the day discovering the joys of the town's many art galleries, craft shops and coffee bars.

DAY 7 - SATURDAY (B) PORT ELIZABETH / DURBAN
Arrive in Port Elizabeth mid-afternoon, after a drive through the glorious indigenous Tsitsikamma Forest. At Port Elizabeth Airport, check in for your onward flight to Durban. Upon arrival in Durban, our representative transfers you to the Golden Mile and your hotel. Check in at the Edward Hotel, and spend the remainder of the late afternoon, visiting the nearby craft markets. Durban is a major holiday resort with high rise hotels crowding each other for space along the 'Golden Mile' beachfront. The wide promenade is full of Zulu ladies selling hand-woven baskets and beautiful beadwork, while the men try to lure you into a rickshaw for a ride around town. These comfortable contraptions are brightly painted and decorated with tassels and mirrors while the puller adorns himself with a flamboyant headdress almost tall enough to topple him over backwards. Rickshaws are more commonly associated with India and it would not be out of place to call Durban the 'Curry Capital of South Africa' due to the high population of Asian Indians who originally came to labor in the sugar-cane fields.Edward Hotel Accommodations in a standard room for 1 night. Breakfast included.

DAY 8 - SUNDAY (B,L,D) SHAKALAND AND HLUHLUWE
This morning meet your local guide and depart on a 2 night escorted tour. We travel north past rolling hills of lush sugarcane and the glittering waters of the Indian Ocean, to the heart of the Zulu Kingdom. Fittingly, our first stop is Shakaland, an authentic cultural village where Zulu dancers perform an ancient dance to the beating of African drums. Sample traditionally brewed Zulu beer and watch women craft clay pots and intricate Zulu beadwork. After a hearty lunch (included) we continue to the oldest proclaimed animal sanctuary in Africa, the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve, which is renowned for its efforts to save the white rhino population from extinction. Here we check into the magnificent Gazebo Game Lodge, before setting off on a short afternoon game drive. An evening game drive in an open safari vehicle (optional extra) may be booked at the reception. Gazebo Game Lodge Accommodations in a standard room for 2 nights. Dinner and Breakfast included.

DAY 9 - MONDAY (B,L,D) HLUHLUWE / UMFOLOZI PARK
Today the group gets to decide on the wake-up time, but is well advised not to opt for a lie-in because in the bush, it's the early birds who 'catch' the best game sightings! Maphumulo on the banks of the Hluhluwe River is a favorite hangout of the elephants of this reserve and it's not unusual to come across a herd of 20 here. After breakfast, your guide will obtain the makings of a bush lunch at the group's suggestion before we leave for the adjoining Umfolozi, home of the 'big cats'. Enjoy a traditional bush lunch, then head back to Gazebo Game Lodge for dinner and overnight. Again, a night game drive is an optional extra.

DAY 10 - TUESDAY (B,L) ST LUCIA WETLAND - WORLD HERITAGE SITE
After an early breakfast we leave for the St Lucia Wetlands, one of the most beautiful places on earth. The best way to savor this World Heritage Site is to take to the water: enjoy a two-hour motor launch cruise on the lake, looking out for the 800 hippos and 2000 crocodile, which inhabit this paradise. There's an excellent chance you'll also spot an African Fish Eagle or Goliath Heron. Lake St Lucia is the largest estuarine body of water in South Africa. Around this shallow lake a complex body of vleis (wetlands), pans, swamp forests and grasslands is found. The park, which extends roughly from Sodwana in the north to Mapelane in the south, represents no less than five different ecosystems. These include the lake itself, a marine conservation area, a wilderness area known as Mfabeni and Tewati, the reed and papyrus wetland of the Mkuze swamps and western shores and a fossil shoreline more than 25,000 years old. After lunch, we head back to Durban, arriving in the late afternoon. Check in at your hotel for overnight.Edward Hotel. Accommodations in a standard room for 1 night. Breakfast included.

DAY 11 - WEDNESDAY (B,D) DURBAN - KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
Spend the morning at leisure today, relaxing on the beautiful Durban beaches. Later today, you are transferred back to Durban Airport. Scheduled South African Airways flight from Durban to Kruger-Mpumalanga Upon your arrival at Kruger Airport, you will be met and transferred to Pretoriuskop Rest Camp, situated in the southern part of the World Famous Kruger National Park. This southern area of Kruger is very accessible and most visitors enter the park at one of the southern gates or visit a private reserve along the park borders. There is plenty of game to be found and fabulous colorful birds, some of which eat out of your hands at the picnic sites. But be watchful, as while you are feeding a bird, a vervet monkey might come up behind you and steal your sandwiches. There is a great diversity of habitats within Kruger National Park and it is well worth buying one of the guide books on sale at all the rest camp shops and elsewhere to enhance your game viewing experience. Check in at the rest camp this evening and spend the rest of your afternoon at leisure. This evening, dinner is served at the local Rest Camp Restaurant. Pretoriuskop Rest Camp Accommodations in a standard room for 2 nights. Dinner and Breakfast included.

DAY 12 - THURSDAY (B,D) KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
This morning depart on a game drive in the Kruger National Park. The Kruger National Park is one of the top wildlife parks in the world. It is home not only to the "big five", but to 507 bird species, 336 trees, 147 mammals, 114 reptiles, 49 fish and 34 amphibian species. The density of game in the park is startling and though you will find an even distribution along the park, certain animals do seem to prefer specific regions. Return to your camp at midday for a short siesta, during the hottest part of the day. Later this afternoon, depart once again on an open vehicle safari. This evening return to your camp, and freshen up before enjoying dinner at the Rest Camp Restaurant. Overnight at the Pretoriuskop Rest Camp on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.

DAY 13 - FRIDAY (B)
After breakfast this morning you will be met and transferred to Kruger Mpumalanga Airport. Scheduled South African Airways flight from Kruger-Mpumalanga to Johannesburg
Scheduled South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to New York / Atlanta.

DAY 14 - SATURDAY Arrival
End of arrangements

Price per person double occupancy:
February 1 - 28, 2005 - $3,542. single supp = $1601.
March 1 - May 31, 2005 - $3,602. single supp = $601.
June 1 - August 15, 2005 - $3,891. single supp = $601.
September 1 - September 30, 2005 - $3,854. single supp = $642.
October 1 - October 31, 2005 - $3,769. single supp = $642.
taxes are not included in above prices

Note: Travel must start and end between the dates shown.