A thrilling escorted tour, travelling from Durban to Johannesburg, via the Drakensberg, Hluhluwe Game Reserve, St. Lucia Wetlands, Enzulwini Valley, the Kruger National Park, Blyde River and Soweto.
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Pk (South Africa) Kruger NP (South Africa)
Activities:
Craft Tours, Cultural Tours, Game Drives, Hiking, Historical Tours, River Cruise, Rock Paintings, Sand Boarding, Snorkelling, Watersports, Wildlife Viewing
Day 1: Arrive in Durban transfer to uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains Arrive at Durban International Airport and meet your host, who will assist and guide you throughout your holiday experience. After collecting you bags, you will be transferred to the world renowned Drakensberg Mountains where you will book into your luxury lodge, situated on the foothills of this awe-inspiring mountain range.
After booking you in, you host will return to Durban. Relax and unwind in your beautiful surroundings.
Day 2: uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains The Drakensberg Mountain range was named after the similarity between its undulating peaks and that of a Dragons back (Draken is Dragon in Afrikaans, while Berg is Mountain) providing us with some of the most beautiful vistas in South Africa.
After breakfast, we spend our morning on foot taking part in a guided walk to San Bushmen Rock Art, here your local guide will explain the intricacy of bushmen art and their lifestyle. After returning to Camp, you will spend the mid day period at your leisure, where you will have the opportunity to take advantage of the Bushmen Rock Art Centre as well as several other activities.
In the afternoon you will get the opportunity to explore the area on foot with you choice of several hiking trails. In the evenings you will be treated to scrumptious dinner while enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the ‘berg’.
Day 3: Hluhluwe River Lodge After breakfast, and if time allows, a short early morning hike, we continue on our journey and head to the Hluhluwe River Lodge in northern Zululand. Your Holiday host will collect you and escort you to your new destination.
Check into your luxury lodge in Hluhluwe, settle down and relax before enjoying a late afternoon game drive in an open-top vehicle hosted by a local ranger in the vast Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park. This is one of South Africa’s most beautiful game parks and home to all of the Big Five while it is also home to the subcontinent’s largest population of endangered white and black rhino. The Game viewing opportunities should be plentiful.
After returning to the Lodge, you will be able to enjoy drinks around the campfire while your host entertains while preparing a mouth-watering dinner, which is likely to include several interesting local game dishes.
Day 4, 5 & 6: Hluhluwe River Lodge You will spend the next three days exploring both the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve and the World renowned Greater St Lucia Wetlands Reserve.
We will be up early everyday for a predawn game drive with a local ranger. Your guide will introduce you to the wonders of the bush, where he will impart his knowledge on Big Game animals, medicinal and edible plants, as well as pointing out a number of endemic bird species. We also hope to see lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant, giraffe and many other interesting species.
The remainder of the morning is free to relax by the lodge swimming pool. You will also have an option to venture to the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Rehabilitation Centre where you will get an opportunity to see conservation work in progress.
The first afternoon will be spent on a sun downer boat trip to view hippos and crocodiles, and more importantly to toast the African sun as sets over this spectacular setting. The second afternoon you will travel to Duma Zulu Cultural Village, where you will get the opportunity learn about the warrior culture of the Zulu Kingdom.
And on the 6th day you will depart on a full day tour of Sodwana Bay in the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Reserve. You will spend the day lazing on the beach, snorkelling and swimming in the sea and taking part in several optional activities including dune boarding, Scuba Diving and Horse Riding.
Whilst the sun sets over the park, enjoy sundowners in the scenic hills and in the evening dine in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide.
Day 7: Swaziland Today, you Holiday host will collect you for your onward journey. We travel northwards to the small mountain kingdom of Swaziland.
We travel through mountains and gorges to Enzulwini Valley, where we stop to experience a tour of a Swazi village, and local school. You will be hosted for the day by a local family who will introduce you to the life of a rural dweller in Africa, and get insight into their cultures and lifestyles of these lovely people.
We continue to Mololotje Nature Reserve, being entirely managed by the local Swazi community. Check into your hotel and enjoy warm Swazi hospitality, before relaxing in your chalet.
Day 8: Kruger National Park After breakfast, we head north and today we enter the world famous Kruger National Park. Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary the size of Wales. Hopefully we will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before we reach camp.
The Kruger National Park offers a choice of seven camps, each situated in a different section of the park with its own unique flora and fauna: Skukuza, Letaba, Olifants, Lower Sabie, Pretoriuskop, Satara and Berg-en-Dal.
Accommodation is in simple but comfortable thatched game park bungalows, with each camp having a restaurant and a small shop.
As you will have the services of your private host/guide throughout your safari, you will have the flexibility of discussing preferred routes and traveling times with him each day. However we recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (05h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day.
Check in, settle down and relax in your outdoor bushveld surroundings before enjoying dinner (exact camp subject to availability at time of booking).
Days 9 & 10: Kruger National Park Explore the vast Kruger plains, which offer magnificent game viewing opportunities and the highest concentration of lion in the whole of Africa. Hopefully we will see at least one of the Big Five today - lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino, before returning to camp for breakfast.
The rest of the morning can be spent relaxing at camp, reading or bird watching, before setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive.
One game drive per day will be in an open-top game viewing vehicle operated by the Kruger National Park (either early morning, late afternoon or evening), with all other game drives taken with your host in an air-conditioned minibus, as this is more comfortable in the heat of the day. There will also be opportunity to explore the area by foot with experienced trails rangers either on your first or second morning.
With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger National Park, we hope to see giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals.
In the evening, enjoy the balmy weather and pristine stars of the southern sky and Milky Way, as you have never seen them before – including the spectacular Southern Cross.
Day 11: Blyde River Canyon This morning your host will share with you the splendor of the Drakensberg Panorama Route as you drive through Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon in the world.
You will also stop off at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, where you have the unique opportunity of viewing wild lion, leopard, cheetah, eagles and vultures at close quarters. Animals found injured, poisoned or orphaned are given a second chance and released back into the wilds.
View Mac Mac Falls, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the panoramic views from God’s Window. If time permits, we will also make a brief stop at the historic mining village of Pilgrim’s Rest.
Check into your luxury guesthouse for dinner and overnight.
Day 12: Johannesburg – Tour Ends Our final day will include a short tour of the historical and vibrant township of Soweto. We will have the opportunity to mingle with locals, see important historical sites and visit an African Shebeen (Pub). After which and time permitting, we will head into Johannesburg for some last minute curio shopping before your host transfers you to the destination of your choice.
Want to be more independent? Let us know! We can offer this tour as completely self drive!________________________________________________________________________________________
What Is Included:
• All airport and ground transfers in air-conditioned vehicles • Accommodation on a Dinner, bed and breakfast basis • Activities specified in itinerary, including transfers and entrance charges
What Is Not Included:
• International & domestic flights • Lunches (unless specified) • Drinks & refreshments • Tips for porters and restaurants • Telephone calls, laundry & other incidental personal expenditure • Visa fees, in countries where these apply
