13 Day South African Explorer

Upon arrival into Cape Town, enjoy a private transfer to your hotel located in the popular Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The Commodore Hotel offers updated accommodation all within easy walking distance to all the eateries, entertainment and shopping that the V&A have to offer. Take the evening to relax after your flight and prepare for your first full day of touring tomorrow.

This morning you will be met by your local tour guide and depart for the scenic Garden Route. Travel along Sir Lowry’s Pass, with its magnificent views, to Grabouw and Elgin, a lush landscape surrounded by majestic mountains. Stop en route at a farmstall packed with locally produced products from the area.

Our journey continues to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. The area has largely been untouched and unexplored with its rugged coastline being the graveyard for many a ship.

The historic Cape Agulhas Lighthouse is considered the icon that signifies the tip of Africa. After this thrilling experience, we continue via historic Swellendam, the third oldest town in South Africa, to Mossel Bay, from where the Garden Route extends to the Storms River in the east.

After breakfast, we visit the Cape St Blaize Cave, the site of one of South Africa’s oldest archaeological excavations, known as the Cradle of Human Culture. We continue our journey to Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of the world and home to the spectacular limestone caverns of the Cango Caves. 

Take a guided tour of an Ostrich Farm and enjoy a wine tasting at a local wine estate in the scenic Schoemanshoek Valley before setting off on a tour of the 20 million year-old Cango Caves. One of the world’s great natural wonders, these caves have been sculpted by nature through the ages. Complete the day with an included dinner at your boutique guest house, dining on local specialities such as Ostrich Steak.

After breakfast, travel over the Outeniqua Pass to George, the sixth oldest town in South Africa and home to many historical landmarks including the Slave Tree and King Edward VII Library building, said to be the best example of Edwardian architecture in the town. 

Our tour continues via Wilderness, an attractive holiday resort, to Knysna, known as the oyster box of South Africa, nestling on the banks of a beautiful lagoon in the heart of the Garden Route. Journey into the magical Knysna Forests, the stamping ground of the elusive Knysna elephants. Discover the stories of the woodcutters who worked the forests, the elephants that were hunted to extinction and the discovery of gold. While there, be sure to also visit the Dalene Matthee Big Tree Memorial. This enormous Yellowwood tree has been growing for over 880 years and was named after Matthee, the best known author of four books on the Knysna Forest. Enjoy a delicious lunch, in the forest, of traditional cuisine and local treats at Totties Farm Kitchen.

Today you’ll have the opportunity to further explore the natural beauty of the Knysna area. Visit the Forest Legends Museum, the colourful Old Suzie steam engine and the stately Old Forester’s House, home of forester David Ernest Hutchins, who was the first person to manage the indigenous forest in a sustainable manner. 

Afterwards you’ll have the opportunity to visit Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, where you will be able to see a variety of primates, roaming free in the forest. This award-winning sanctuary is well known for its efforts to rehabilitate and free previously caged primates. Our visit here ensures that these already endangered species can survive and reproduce for a future reintroduction into the wild. 

Our tour continues to the famous Eastern Head for spectacular views of the Knysna Heads (weather permitting). Afterwards we’ll travel to Brenton on Sea, a breath-taking holiday location and a nature lover’s paradise with its unspoilt beaches and peaceful surroundings. Enjoy the remainder of the afternoon at your leisure to explore.

Today we travel to Plettenberg Bay, considered the jewel of the Garden Route, for a visit to the Birds of Eden sanctuary, the biggest single free flight aviary in the world. Developed to create a safe environment for free-flight African bird, our visit here today goes towards protecting these species into the future. 

We’ll then continue to Bloukrans Bridge, the highest single span arch bridge in the world. For the more adventurous, the Bloukrans Bridge is also home to the highest commercially operated bungy jump in the world! 

Our day ends with a visit to Tsitsikamma National Park and, should weather be permitting, Storms River Mouth. The Tsitsikamma National Park encompasses 80km of rocky coastline and is filled with spectacular landscapes including Fynbos-covered mountains and deep river gorges leading down to the sea.

Head eastwards along the Tsitsikamma Forest to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), affectionately known as the “friendly city”. Travel to Chief Dawid Stuurman Airport for an onward flight to Johannesburg, where you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is yours to relax.

Spend a full day exploring Soweto and its surrounds, where some of the watershed events in the struggle against apartheid occurred. The tour starts with a drive past the FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City and the venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final. It was also the site of Nelson Mandela’s first speech in Johannesburg after his release from prison in 1990. 

We’ll continue through Diepkloof, home to Soweto’s richest and then to Kliptown, where the Freedom Charter was officially adopted in 1955. Drive past the Regina Mundi Church that played a pivotal role in the township’s history of resistance against apartheid and then onto Vilakazi Street, the most famous street in Soweto, where two Nobel Prize winners once lived; Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. 

The afternoon will conclude with visits to the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum that commemorate the role of the country’s students in the struggle against apartheid and the prestigious Apartheid Museum, that covers the full history of the Apartheid era in South Africa.

Today is yours to enjoy at leisure. Continue to explore the sights of Johannesburg independently or join one of the available optional tours.

This morning you will be collected from your hotel and head east to enter the world famous Kruger National Park. Here you’ll find some of the best game viewing and wildlife opportunities in the world – and you’ll soon appreciate the challenges of managing this unique reserve. After an action packed afternoon game viewing in the Kruger Park, enjoy a dinner of authentic cuisine from the region around a cosy campfire at your lodge.

The day begins with early morning coffee or tea, followed by a thrilling open vehicle game safari through the Kruger National Park with pre-packed breakfast. Your guide will endeavour to spoil you with sightings of the “Big Five”, general game and prolific bird life. After your game drive, return to the lodge and take some time to relax and enjoy the resort facilities. 

This afternoon enjoy another thrilling game drive in your closed touring vehicle to pursue the Big Five and other rare and endangered species. Return to the lodge for another delicious dinner served outdoors by the light of a campfire.

Enjoy breakfast before setting out to explore the magnificent Panorama Route, one of the most scenic routes in the region, offering glorious views, spectacular landscapes, and exquisite waterfalls. Visit majestic sights including God’s Window, the Three Rondavels and Blyde River Canyon – the third largest canyon of its kind in the world. We’ll also visit Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the charming village of Graskop, one of the first gold mining camps in the country. 

For those who’d prefer to not join the Panorama Route tour, you’re welcome to take additional open vehicle game drives through Kruger National Park at your own expense.

This evening, return to your lodge for a delectable buffet Boma dinner, served under the light of the stars.

Enjoy breakfast before starting the return journey to Johannesburg. Our tour ends upon arrival into Johannesburg at OR Tambo International Airport (at approximately 2.30pm).