• Days 5 Days and 4 Nights • Min/Max Participants Two / Seven • Departure Monday – Waterfront Hotels at 08h00 • Accommodation Upper 3 and 4 Star hotels and private lodges • Flights - No flights required. • Vehicle Luxury Touring Sedan / Luxury Microbus • Driver/Guide Services of THETA registered driver/guide throughout tour. Game drives with experienced rangers. • Languages Available English - German. Other language guides available on request, booked on a private basis.
Highlights at a Glance • Route 62 • Cango Caves • Oudtshoorn • Ostrich Farm • Outeniqua Pass • Knysna • Wilderness • Mossel Bay • Safari • Waenhuiskrans • Cape Agulhas • Hermanus False Bay • Cape Town • Reptile and Cheetah Breeding Centre
Itinerary
Day 1 - Route 62 - Cango Caves - Oudtshoorn Depart Cape Town travelling along South Africa’s longest wine route, Route 62. En route, pass through Worcester, Montagu and Robertson. Visit the towns of Barrydale and Calitzdorp, where the true diversity of landscapes is highlighted by the ever-changing semi-desert areas. Afternoon tour of the Cango Caves. Dinner and overnight in Oudtshoorn.
Hlangana Country Lodge or similar - dinner, bed and breakfast basis
Day 2 - Ostrich Farm - Outeniqua Pass - Knysna After breakfast, visit a local ostrich farm. Depart Oudtshoorn and travel via the Outeniqua Pass to George, Wilderness and Knysna. Dinner and overnight in Knysna, South Africa’s oyster capital.
Protea Hotel Knysna Quays or similar - dinner, bed and breakfast basis
Day 3 - Mossel Bay - Safari After breakfast, depart on a scenic drive through Wilderness via Dolphin Point to historic Mossel Bay. Send a postcard to friends or relatives from the famous Post Office Tree before visiting the Diaz and Maritime Museums with their relics of famous explorers. Afternoon game drive in a private game reserve, set against the backdrop of the Langeberg Mountain Range. Dinner in an African Boma (weather permitting).
Garden Route Game Lodge - dinner, bed and breakfast basis + 2 game viewing activities
Day 4 - Safari - Reptile and cheetah breeding centre – Waenhuiskrans An early morning game drive followed by breakfast and an informative tour of the lodge’s Reptile Centre and Cheetah Breeding Centre. Continue via Swellendam to your hotel at Waenhuiskrans, set in the beauty of white limestone cliffs, giant sand dunes, pristine beaches, stunning nature reserves and the aquamarine waters of the Indian Ocean. Dinner included.
The Arniston Hotel or similar - dinner, bed and breakfast basis
Day 5 - Cape Agulhas – Hermanus – False Bay – Cape Town After breakfast, visit Cape Agulhas (southern most tip of Africa). Continue to Hermanus, which is famed for being the best land based whale-watching site in the world (seasonal). Our journey back to Cape Town continues via the spectacular coastal drive along False Bay, with its panoramic views of Cape Point and Table Mountain.
The tour ends with drop off at your Cape Town hotel or Cape Town International Airport.
ZAR 10 560.00 per person sharing ZAR 1 920.00 single supplement
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The safari experience was great, everything worked out perfectly. The flight, lodge and staff were great and it was a fantastic week.
The only thing I would comment on is the communication regarding the flight to Sabi Sands, which was actually scheduled 20 minutes earlier than you had indicated to us. Luckily, and despite multiple traffic jams, we made it on time.
Otherwise I can only summarize that we enjoyed the trip very much and all the organization was smooth. I would have no troubles recommending the operator to friends planning a trip to South Africa.
I had been on safari before, but this was the better experience.
Tour Operators Reply:
I've spoken to the charter company and they said that they only decided to depart earlier once all the guests were there. If guests are arriving off flights or self-drive to connect on the charter, they will leave on the scheduled time, but if all are there and they have an earlier time slot from the runway, they can depart!
Andreas would not of been left behind, they would of waited until their scheduled take off time.
Where do I start! Firstly Leanne was an absolute gem to deal with. Being in Australia I was a little hesitant dealing with an overseas agent at first but Leanne was so fantastic all my fears were put to rest very quickly. Every email was answered promptly and no question too tedious for her to answer. We organised our entire 3 week trip (half in Botswana & half in Zambia) with Leanne and it didn’t disappoint on any level.
The Botswana Explorer - what a trip! Every expectation was surpassed. The tents had all the comforts of home, comfortable beds, feather pillows, showers, flushing toilets!!! Yet the noises of Botswana were right outside and didn’t we get to experience them. The food was to die for, what was produced for us by the chef using only the open fire was amazing and delicious. August was a great time of year to visit as it was warm but not too hot and the evening/early mornings were cool but not too cold.
What a fantastic time my husband and I had on this tip. A wonderful group (we only had 5 with ages ranging from 16 to 68, we are somewhere in the middle!) to travel with and KD “THE BEST GUIDE IN BOTSWANA”. If by chance you book this trip and KD picks you up at Maun airport know you are in for a treat. He not only has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Botswana & its flora and fauna he is very knowledgeable on almost everything African. There was not one animal, bird, insect or plant we asked about he didn’t know about.
The animals were amazing! - Lions, leopards, elephants, various antelopes, hippo, hyena, zebra, giraffe, warthogs, buffalo, baboons, monkeys vultures, eagles, numerous beautiful birds & storks too many to mention here. Over 1500 photos and 7 hrs of video should give you an idea of the quality of the sightings.
Memories of Leopard and Hyena wandering through camp, each day dawning a brand new experience as no two days were ever the same, the endless blue skies, the exquisite sunsets, the gazillion stars each evening, the awesome company and the campfire chats, these memories will be with us forever. Thank you so much.
I can whole heartily recommend both this trip and the operator.
The tour operator did a first class job in advising and arranging the safari for my son and me. Leanne was professional and prompt in all her correspondence. Her advice on accommodations was honest and correct. More than anything else she believes in customer service. Our bags were lost by British Airways. Leanne knew that we had no phone. She called the airlines and worked on finding our bags that is a customer friendly person.
I have already told my friends that if they ever want to go to Africa they need to contact Leanne
Our guide, Ike Magalakwe, was outstanding. Besides being articulate and pleasant, he was full of information about the region and its animals. He was himself a very good photographer. This resulted in a good exchange of what constitutes excellent animal photos and the best approaches to obtain them. He also continually placed us in excellent positions for good lighting that maximized animals features. On a trip like this safari, this is important.
The accommodation were very good as were the meals. I am sure that we have never camped in such luxury. Having the night background noises of hippos, hyenas and other animals was serenade each evening. The other couple from Sweden, were friendly, compatible companions with many overlapping interests. It was a pleasure to have them in the group.
We enjoyed each game reserve, each was different in its own right. We expected to see many herd animals and lions and were not disappointed . The giraffes, impalas, zebras and other antelope species were abundant. The lions were plentiful. We observed at least a dozen prides &/or young male groups. One thing we were pleasantly surprised to see were a number of leopards and cheetahs.
An unexpected highlight of the trip occurred when we drove to Serondala. At Kasane Ike took us to a local school. Arriving, he had my granddaughter accompany a young man & girl who took her into the school. Ike explained to us that he knew Sara's birthday was the end of July and there was something special for her. The school had a cultural singing & dance group that presented shows at lodges for tourists. . They gave us a private performance on the school grounds and included my granddaughter dressed in the tribal costume. While somewhat hesitant at first, she was thrilled by the experience and participated in dancing and trying to sing.
At the Matesi Water Lodge, there was a second surprise event. When we walked into our cabin, Valaree was greeted with a rose pedals and candle display on the bath area floor. Rose pedals welcomed us and invited her to enjoy a bubble bath. The bath was already drawn and the bubbles rose about half a meter above the tub. Needless to say she enjoyed soaking in their luxury after a week of quick showers..
The Matesi Water Lodge is exceptionally nice. It has a beautiful site overlooking the Zambsi River that makes for a relaxing background to good dining and conversation. We had previously visited Victoria falls on the Zambia side but the view is more extensive from Zimbabwe. Everyone had fun bartering in the market before returning to the Lodge. On the way back to the lodge we again encountered a small groups of male lions and an elephant dominating the track to the lodge.
Again it was a great trip, enjoyed by all. I am sure that our grandchildren will remember it.
Had a fabulous time.Leann could not have been more accommodating as I changed my mind and itinerary on a number of occasions and she even arranged for us to be upgraded to a Honeymoon suite for our stay at Elephant plains which coincided with our Anniversary.
Would highly recommend her services and will use them again on our next trip to southern Africa
6
Client:
Jennifer Melly - from United Kingdom
Trip:
currently unavailable
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
The South African safari holiday could not have been better.
Our guide was extremely knowledgable and not only did we see the “Big 5 “ but also many other exciting and interesting animals and birds.
Truly an educational and enjoyable holiday. We cannot wait to go again!
First and foremost, our vacation in Africa was superlative, overshadowing all other trips! There's also absolutely no doubt that the planning, bookings and hand-holding were the key to our ultimate enjoyment and satisfaction. Starting with our initial meeting in Joburg, which was most gracious, informative, responsive and helpful.
Joburg Since this was just a transitional accommodation, they were quite acceptable - very clean, courteous and friendly staff and very good breakfast. And the airline travel you booked was well-planned with all necessary documents included in our package. (We had no problems, even with changes in Vic Falls.)
Camp Okavonga EXCELLENT accommodations! The entire staff was extremely hospitable and the en-suite tent accommodations exceeded our expectations. Meals were very tasty, original and plentiful. It was fun to experience some of the indigenous game recipes, although I kept thinking of the shrinking wildlife overall. The walks were exhilarating and educational; the scenery and wildlife were amazing. In retrospect, David and I enjoyed this Camp the most because of the management and staff. Their love for what they do, where they live, each other and Africa was contagious. We just can't say enough good things about Camp Okavonga.
Camp Savute The accommodations were actually more luxurious than Camp Okavonga and we definitely saw more wildlife. Hearing and seeing prowling wild cats was indescribable. The meals were very good and the staff was friendly and accommodating. Our guide was awesome and we were thoroughly satisfied with the excursions.
Victoria Falls I'm so sorry for all the inconvenience we put you through!! David and I were quite satisfied with the accommodations - it's a marvelous, grand hotel. As I recall, Trudi wanted to add the extra night on and then it was Brett and Trudi who changed their minds almost the moment we checked in, wanting to eliminate the extra night's stay. At any rate, it was nice to have time to catch our breadths, re-live the adventures from the two previous camps and plan ahead. The Falls were well worth adding to our trip. While being in Zimbabwe when the economy totally collapsed was an historical adventure, it was so very, very sad to see the horrendous effects on the people. It was heart-breaking.
We were all extremely impressed with the outstanding conservation efforts in Botswana and South Africa; and equally saddened by the lack of conservation and repression in Zimbabwe.
9
Client:
Tracey Menzies - from United Kingdom
Trip:
currently unavailable
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
We have just returned from a fabulous holiday in Namibia. From the moment we were met at Windhoek by Maxwe were confident that we were being looked after by experienced professionals.
Our pilot Nigel was superb - totally professional in his approach to his job but excellent company out with the plane on the various drives etc. We were also fortunate that our fellow travellers (from USA and Germany) along with the other pilot Philip shared a similar sense of humour and our group dynamics worked well.
The highlight of the trip without a doubt was the opportunity to climb the magnificent dunes at Sossessuvlei. The view from the top into Dead Vlei was definitely a "Kodak moment". For me, the safari was what a holiday is all about - a balance between relaxation and activity with someone else having to make decisions about where to go next! Our days were filled from end to end.
I was very impressed withthe camps we stayed at were excellent. All in all, a fabulous trip. This is the most we have EVER spent on a holiday (by a long way) but I definitely feel we had value for money.
The organisational skills and recommendations throughout from Leanne were most helpful and appreciated. She responded quickly and efficiently to any queries we had. We would have no hesitation in recommending them to our friends.
Regards
Tracey
10
Client:
Steve Brynes - from United States
Trip:
currently unavailable
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
I just returned from my trip (a great one) to Botswana yesterday and wanted to tell you what an excellent experience I had.
It was a pleasure dealing with Leanne---she was responsive to my safari needs, prompt and professional in the many messages we exchanged. And it was an added bonus to have her deliver the travel documents at JNB.
I would not hesitate to refer others to Leanne and this safari company.
