Du Cap au parc Kruger et au Lesotho - voyage aller-retour aventureux - "OVERLAND"

Meet us at your centrally located hotel to start this tour for Cape Town's most famous icon: Table Mountain by the Aerial Cableway to take in the natural beauty and stunning views. The first botanical garden in the world to be established (in 1913) to protect local flora, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in the UNESCO-listed Cape Floral Kingdom follows. Lunch is at the famous Jonkershuis Cape Malay restaurant. Visiting Groot Constantia, we taste their export quality wines. From here we pass Fish Hoek and Boulders Beach near Simon’s Town, home to one of the few land-based penguin colonies in the world.  Choose one of the popular restaurants in the area for dinner. We overnight at Simon’s Town Quayside Hotel (or similar).

First visit is Cape Point, part of the Table Mountain National Park and home to an abundance of flora and fauna, and ascend the viewpoint with the Flying Dutchman Funicular. Driving in the direction of Stellenbosch, we visit the Spier Wine Farm for chocolate and wine tasting on the banks of the Spier dam.  We overnight at the Windsor Hotel in Hermanus (or similar) where you have dinner. Cape Town to Hermanus. 2,5-hour drive

Starting our journey to the Garden Route, we go to the town of Oudtshoorn with Route 62. This route delivers an unforgettable South African travelling experience, making of life-long memories. (Lunch en-route) After visiting the Cango Caves for a Heritage Tour, we head down the scenic Outeniqua Pass and onto the green forests and beaches of the Garden Route. Overnight is at the Wilderness Hotel (or similar)

After breakfast you drive through the town of Knysna and view the famous Heads from the 

viewpoint. You then go to the town of Plettenberg Bay, where you can take a boat ride for an Eco Adventure excursion of 1,5 hours at Ocean Blue Adventures. Depending on the season you can see dolphins, whales, etc. Alternative activities are available if weather doesn't permit like a tree canopy zipline tour. You go to the Storms River Suspension Bridge that hangs over the red-brown waters of the Storms River Mouth, it spans 77 metres and remains one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Tsitsikamma National Park. A short drive takes us to the ±1000-year-old Big Tree in the Tsitsikama forest. Our last stop for the day is at Jeffreys Bay, home to the best right hand surf break in the world! Overnight at Surf's up Accommodation@Supertubes (or similar).

From here we go to the Addo Elephant National Park while being on the look out for Humpback Whales at Nelson Mandela Bay, (Algoa Bay) between the months of August and December. Addo Elephant National Park conserve a wide range of biodiversity, landscapes, fauna and flora. It is home to all of Africa's Big 7: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, rhino, the Southern right whale and the great white shark. A night game drive follows dinner at their restaurant: "Cattle Baron is famous for its steaks, the signature dish is chateaubriand, a fillet flambéed with brandy and served with mushroom sauce and béarnaise sauce." Overnight is here in a cottage.

Leaving the Addo National Park, we head North to the spectacular Wild Coast town of Kei Mouth, where you can have an optional cruise on the Great Kei, watch Fish Eagles feed and see cycads growing in the wild. It is a bird watchers paradise! You can have an optional Wild Coast Horseback Adventure or you can just relax on the spectacular Kei Mouth's sandy beaches. Overnight at Neptunes Cove, Kei Mouth (or similar). 

We leave the Addo National Park and head North from Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay) to the spectacular Wild Coast along the roads of the Transkei, and see how the Xhosa people still live in their traditional rondawel huts, with farm animals grazing by the side of the road against the backdrop of the Drakensberg in the distance! We veer off the N2 to “The Hole in the Wall”, one of South Africa's most famous tourist attractions. (Lunch en-route not included)  The locals call this "izi Khaleni" which means place of thunder. During certain seasons and water conditions, the waves clap in such a way that the concussion can be heard throughout the valley. If you want to have a real authentic traditional experience, sleep in a rural rondawel (hut) of a traditional Xhosa village if available at the time. You also have the choice to stay at the Hole-in-the-Wall Hotel.

Spend another day at “The Hole in the Wall”, at a spectacular beach in the area, do a hike along the coast, explore Coffee Bay and mingle with the locals during a traditional Xhosa village experience. (https://mg.co.za/article/2019-04-23-mini-guide-to-coffee-bay-eastern-cape ) You can choose just to relax the entire day. No or little driving.

Breakfast follows the drive to the town of Underberg, situated at the foot of the 1,904 m Hlogoma Peak (place of echoes) in the foothills of the southern Drakensberg which is located in the the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage Park next to Lesotho. We book into our guest house and get ready for a day tour into Lesotho on the next day. We stay at the Sani Window B&B. (or similar)

You start a Lesotho Tour (approximately 9 hours) with a 4x4 via Sani Pass to experience an adventure of climbing to a height of 2874 metres above sea level. You will stop at breath taking view sites along the Sani Pass and pass two border posts. Enjoy lunch at the highest Pub in Africa at The Sani Mountain Lodge and continue into a living Basotho village, where you will learn more about Lesotho and its people - the hardy mountainous Basotho folk. On your return to Underberg, you stay at the Sani Window B&B. (or similar)

Leaving Underberg, we head to Howick to visit the Mandela Capture Site. From here we take the road North on the Midlands Meander and visit some of the craft shops at the Thokozisa Lifestyle Centre. Once at the Champagne Valley area at the Drakensberg, you get the option to do a Canopy Tour, a helicopter flight over the main Drakensberg escarpment or to attend a Drakensberg Boys Choir concert if available on a Wednesday. Spend the night at the Monks Cowl Resort (or similar).

Breakfast follows the drive back to Johannesburg where you will visit the Apartheid Museum and Gold Reef City, an amusement park located on an old gold mine which closed in 1971. The park is themed around the gold rush that started in 1886 on the Witwatersrand, the buildings on the park are designed to mimic the same period and you can learn how Johannesburg came to be, how gold was discovered on the reef and descend 75 meters underground. Spend the night at a Gold Reef City Hotel (or similar)

We will begin the journey and drive through some of the most scenic areas of the Eastern part of South Africa. We visit Pinnacle Rock and then to experience the amazing view from God’s Window (Wonder View). We then visit the Berlin Falls, where numerous local arts and crafts are for sale. (Lunch en-route, restaurants available) From here we visit Bourke’s Luck Potholes, and then head the Blyde River Canyon, where we overnight in a chalet at the resort: Forever Blyde Canyon (or similar).

 We leave after breakfast to take a boat trip on the Blyde Dam. An interpretation tour will take us to the Kadishi Tufa waterfall and the Three Rondawels. An abundance of wildlife will keep you distracted while learning more about the natural history of the Blyde Canyon. Completing this we head to the heart of the Kruger National Park through the Orpen gate, watching game as we head to the Satara Rest Camp (or similar, like Letaba or Olifants), which is situated in an excellent game viewing areas, with the bush relatively open and the animals plentiful and diverse. Satara is well wooded and the bird-life is prolific. At night the clink of fruit bats is fused with the chirping of cicadas and crickets. The calls of owls and nightjars add to the symphony that is punctuated intermittently by the whoop of hyena, the screech of jackal and the roars of lion. Once at your camp, you will have a popular 3 hour sunset game drive in an open safari vehicle where the amazing African sunsets can be seen, and return at night while viewing some nocturnal species, then dinner at the restaurant. Overnight in a bungalow.

Starting the game drive in our own vehicle early after coffee, you explore every possible opportunity to view the spectacular wildlife scenery. We take the best scenic routes and drive to the south of Kruger Park to get more opportunities to see the Big 5. Chances are excellent to spot a variety of some of the animals: Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Wild dog, Spotted hyena, Elephant, Burchell's zebra, Hippopotamus, Warthog, Giraffe, Buffalo, Eland, Roan antelope, Sable antelope, Greater kudu, etc. You overnight at the Lower Sabie camp (or similar, like Skukuza or Berg en Dal). 

You have to choice to do an optional activity like a sunset game drive, game drive to a bush braai or a night game drive.

You have the opportunity to do an optional early morning guided walk, depending on the time to be back at the airport. After having breakfast at the restaurant, we do a game drive as we travel out of the park and then start the 4-5 hour journey back to Johannesburg with another scenic route. (Lunch en-route)

­ [You now have the option to go on to Cape Town, doing 2 more days of touring. Please request a quote for these extra 2 days:

Day 17: Leaving your Jozi hotel, we drive to the capital city of South Africa’s Northern Cape Province on our way to Cape Town. It’s known for its 19th-century diamond mines, like the deep, hand-dug Big Hole. Nearby, the Kimberley Mine Museum is a re-creation of the town in its heyday, and displays jewellery and uncut diamonds where we take a tour, and stay over at the Barney Barnato B&B.

Day 18: Leaving after breakfast, we drive to Cape Town for the entire day through the semi desert region of the Karoo.]