Great Adventure Trips

South Africa

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

Walking Tours

Hiking is one of our passions and there can be few better ways to enjoy the beauty of South Africa - the solitude of the mountains, the silence of the forests and the pleasures of the coastal trails – than during one of our many walking tours in South Africa. All our tours use comfortable lodges for overnight accommodation so that you only carry a day-pack whilst walking.

South Africa offers very varied walking, from classic mountain hikes, to coastal trails and even desert hikes. Unlike most of Africa, South Africa is quite mountainous. The country divides into two distinct regions: the vast interior highveld plateau, and the narrow coastal and 'lowveld' plain. The highveld is savannah grassland, whilst the lowveld of Mpumalanga, the Northern Province and KwaZulu-Natal is subtropical bushveld. Between the two lies a necklace of rugged mountains, the awesome Drakensberg. In the Cape, the Cape fynbos vegetation is separated from the Karoo semi-desert by the Outeniqua, Tsitsikamma and Cedarberg mountain ranges.

• For mountain scenery - the Western Cape and Natal Drakensberg offer the best choice. The Cape folded mountains stretch from the Cedarberg Wilderness area with its wild and dramatically coloured and weathered rocks through to the Hottentots Holland Mountains and the Swartberg to the Outeniqua and Langeberg peaks of the Garden Route.

• For coastal walking - the Garden Route offers superb coastal trails as do parts of the Overberg around Hermanus, and also Cape Point on the Cape Peninsula. Further to the east is the magnificent Wild Coast with its lush vegetation and African cultures.

• For something different - try the Richtersveld or Augrabies National Parks in the Northern Cape for dramatic desert scenery and rock formations.

The Climate and Hiking
The Western Cape has distinct seasons with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. If you are interested in full day walks, then you may like to avoid the high summer months of December, January and February. September to November and March to May are perfect walking months. However if you don’t mind starting early, walking is enjoyable throughout the summer on the Garden Route and Cape Peninsula. The eastern regions have humid, hot summers, especially in the subtropical areas of KwaZulu- Natal and Mpumalanga, whilst winters are sunny and dry with cold evenings. You can expect some rain and mist in the summer months but this is usually short-lived. The Natal Drakensberg is high mountain country and thus is cooler than the rest of Natal. You can expect snow on the mountains in winter.

Our Top Four Walking Areas

Garden Route
* Varied walking terrain; from high mountains, to indigenous forest and woodland, to coastal trails
* Easy to combine with the rest of your holiday
* Temperate climate

Drakensberg Mountains
* Superb mountain scenery, lush green in summer with spectacular waterfalls, woodland and crystal clear streams
* Range of walking trails from easy riverside walks to challenging mountain peaks
* Easy to combine with the cultural, wildlife and historical sights in KwaZulu-Natal

The Cedarberg
* The dramatically coloured and weathered mountain rocks of the Cedarberg Wilderness area are completely different from the softer undulating terrain of the Winelands to the south
* Only two hours from Cape Town and so easy to combine with Cape Town, the Winelands and the Kalahari to the north
* Great for the cooler months April to October
* Combine with the wild flower season from mid August to mid September

Cape Town
* Easy to incorporate walks with the rest of your holiday
* Superb mountain walking around Table Mountain itself, with wide variety of trails to suit all tastes
* Great coastal views