25 day tour (High Lights Tour South Africa)
We travel with small groups (min. 4 and max. 12 persons), in a calm pace.
This specific tour combines wildlife, nature and local culture in one trip. For visitors who want to see the most important high lights of South Africa and Swaziland in 3 weeks time, without being in a rush on vacation. Stay in comfortable, small-scale 4* accommodations, often beautiful places are the key and make this trip very intermittently.
From the Big Five in the Kruger Park and Hluhluwe Umfolozi to hippos and crocodiles in Cape Vidal: on this trip you can see everything. We visit the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre, 1 of the projects we support in the Afrikaya Trust and often on National Geographic TV Channel.
You will stay in a treetop lodge and in Swaziland you will be staying in a beehive (traditional Swazi accommodation). At the south beach Coast of Durban the 4* lodge has magnificent ocean views, not to forget the wonderful site in central Drakensberg.
After flying from Durban to Port Elizabeth, we do Addo Elephant Park, visit a township an finally the Garden Route with Tsitsikamma National Park. The tour ends in world famous Cape Town, with visits to Table Mountain, Cape Point and a fine wine tour experience with luxury lunch on a wine estate. One day extra in Cape Town is to spend to your convenience.
Despite the variety of impressions, the travel distances are not too far.
The average travel speed gives a lot of free time, we do not need to travel each day from early morning till late. And yet we try to be early in the afternoon at our accommodation, so that we could be all equipped for the following day. We are staying at least 2 days everywhere, sometimes 3 nights.
(travelcode & number of persons)
Your journey to freedom
25 day tour (relax)
Day 1
Flight from any airport (on request) to Johannesburg. If you take a day flight, accommodation will be in Pretoria. If you arrive early in the morning, we can spend the day with a Soweto Tour in Johannesburg and / or a city tour through Pretoria. You stay in Pretoria (50 km).
4 * guest house, B&B
Day 2-3 Graskop - Panorama Route
Today, your journey continues to Graskop. We will stop in Dullstroom for a tasty trout lunch. We can arrange an elephant experience program with an elephant back ride. In and around Graskop many exciting activities can be undertaken: wild river rafting, canyoning, horse riding, and quad riding. Or how about the Big Swing, the highest in the world? Of course, for those who wants to quiet themselves down: a town visit (historic miners town of Pilgrim's Rest), trout fishing, mountain biking and hiking.
3* hotel or 2/3 bedroom family chalet along the canyon, B&B
Day 4-5 Hoedspruit - Moholoholo
The program is the famous Panorama Route along Blyde River Canyon (the second largest in the world!) with its many waterfalls, the Three Rondavels , beautiful views (God's Window) and spectacular rock formations in Bourke’s Luck Potholes.
Through this short ride you arrive at Hoedspruit where we will stay in a tree house in a nature reserve. Look for game from yourown viewing deck. You can enjoy the nature on a boat trip on Blyde River Canyon, or we can make a walk to the waterfall where you can enjoy a swim... In any case, you should visit Moholoholo Rehab Centre, known for it’s collection of big cats, lions and raptors and is regularly on National Geographic. It is a unique project where animals are collected, in order to rehabilitate them back into the wild. Here you can learn a lot about the nature of South Africa and the wildlife.
(family) treehouse, dinner - B&B
Day 6-7 Kruger National Park (Komatipoort)
Today, we will leave early and drive through the Kruger National Park towards Komatipoort (Croc River Gate), you will go in search of the Big Five: elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard.
The Kruger National Park is 19,000 square km in size. It is the most famous, largest and oldest African reserve with 138 species of mammals, 500 species of birds and over 100 species of reptiles.
The second day you will go on an open vehicle game drive with an experienced ranger and you will arrive late afternoon at the lodge, where the driver/guide will have arranged a braai (BBQ) or a traditional "potjie" for you, talk about your experiences of the day around a camp fire in the boma!
4* (family) thatched chalet, dinner-B&B
Day 8-9 Swaziland
Today we will leave for Swaziland. At Matsamo Cultural Village, you should not miss the show with Swazi dancing and traditional music, where you can learn more about the Swazi culture.
Mlilwane Wildlife Reserve, where you spend 2 nights, is a special park without land predators, so you can walk around or mountainbike freely. You can also spend horseback riding in search of antelope species, zebra, hippos and crocodiles! Or just enjoy the sun, the calm and the antelopes and warthogs that scurry around the beehives, the traditional Swazi huts.
beehive, dinner (buffet) - B&B
Day 10-11 Saint Lucia - Hluhluwe Umfolozi
Today we go to St. Lucia in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, now iSimangaliso Wetland Park. On the way we visit a candle factory and market and the local market in Manzini.
A night game drive through Cape Vidal game park is optional. You may see a hippo grazing and other nocturnal animals such as hyenas, wild dogs and cheetahs.
The next morning you drive through National Park Hluhluwe Umfolozi, this is a park with rolling hills and acacia trees, known for his black and white rhinos, lions and elephants herds. Saint Lucia is a cosy little town with supermarket and shops, where you can spend the evenings in one of the many restaurants and bars.
4* lodge within walking distance of restaurants, B&B
Day 12-13 Drakensberg
We start the day with a boat safari on the estuary, which gives you almost guaranteed hippos families, crocodile and fish Eagle, but also many other colorful and rare birds such as the giant king fisher.
Then we will drive, stop over in Howick with the amazing Howick Falls, to the Drakensberg, where we stay in the magnificent Cathedral Peak. You can spend your days free with (mainly) walking, enjoy the prospects and wild Elk Antelope (inter alia), the rock art centre, tennis and much more.
Both evenings is the dinner included.
4* lodge, dinner B&B
Day 14-15 Amanzimtoti (Durban)
Drive to Amanzimtoti. The afternoon you spend walking along the beach or laze on the beautiful deck of the lodge.
You can also visit Durban, UShaka World, the largest marine park in Africa, with a beautiful aquarium, snorkel reef, shark diving tank and much more. Visit Victoria Market, famous for its Indian curry spices and souvenirs. At night we will braai on the viewing deck of the lodge, while on the deck listening to the sounds of the ocean.
4 * lodge overlooking the ocean, B&B - 1 dinner
Day 16-17-18 Port Elizabeth - Addo Elephant Park
We take a flight to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape in the early morning. With the shuttle service to the cosy hotel with an excellent sea view again. The afternoon is free to spend.
The next day, we go on a cultural tour in a township, and visit the local school or one of the many churches on sundays.
We visit Addo Elephant Park, where you get so close to the elephants, that you can almost touch them...
4* lodge by the sea, B&B
Day 19-20 Mossel Bay - Tsitsikamma National Park
Today we travel to Mossel Bay, Western Cape, to the famous Garden Route. Visit the Tsitsikamma National Park with its stunning sea views, walk to Storms River Mouth and admire the various species of trees.
We stay in a beautiful **** hotel right at the sea.
We visit Oudtshoorn with ostrich Breeding farms, the Cheetah Project or visit the Cango Caves.
4* hotel at the sea, B&B
Day 21-22-23-24 Cape Town
We leave for a longer journey, to beautiful Cape Town, with world reknowned Table mountain. On the road, we will stop several times, including the famous Hermanus (whale spotting from the land in July-November) to lunch. We are staying at a 4* guest house in Cape Town Centre, at walking distance of many restaurants.
From Cape Town, we do a wine tour (Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Paarl) with the appropriate wine tasting and a luxury lunch at one of the famous wine goods.
The Cape Tour includes a boat trip to a robben island (to view robs), the scenic route of Chapman's Peak, Cape of Good Hope/Cape National Park and Boulders Beach with its African penguins.
4* guest house in the Centre, B&B
Day 25
Flight Back Home from Cape Town