Meander to South Africa's best kept secrets and experience Lesotho

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 an African cuisine restaurant. Visiting the first winery in the country: Groot Constantia and taste their export quality wines and learn more about wine making on the cellar tour. From here you go to Boulders Beach near Simon’s Town, home to one of the few land-based penguin colonies in the world. We choose one of the numerous restaurants in the vicinity to have dinner, and overnight at Simon’s Town Quayside Hotel (or similar).

First visit is Cape Point where the two oceans meet, and part of the Table Mountain National Park. You ascend the viewpoint with the Flying Dutchman Funicular. Drive along the scenic Chapman’s Peak drive and then picture the colourful houses at Bo-Kaap, formerly known as the Malay Quarter. Head out to Stellenbosch and visit the Spier Wine Farm for chocolate and wine tasting on the banks of the Spier dam. We go to the Vergenoegd wine farm for a duck parade show. You leave for Hermanus, home to the world’s best whale-watching when in season and overnight at the Windsor Hotel (or similar) where you have dinner. 2,5-hour drive

Starting our journey to the Garden Route, we meander to the town of Oudtshoorn with Route 62. This route delivers an unforgettable South African travelling experience. Along the way there are sweet small towns to explore, home-baked farmstall goodies to taste and plenty of wineries, also Ronnie's Sex Shop, which had visitors from all over the world, judging by the graffiti on its wall.

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 at the Wilderness Hotel (or similar). 

A short drive through Knysna to Plettenberg Bay enable you to do a boat ride where you can see Whales, Dolphins or Seals, depending on the season. The excursion is 1,5 to 2 hours. This is followed by the 50 min. walk to the suspension bridge that hangs over the red-brown waters of the Storms River Mouth, one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Tsitsikamma region, and then a walk to the "Big Tree" in the 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). 3-hour drive 

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, having won several awards for the Best Steakhouse in South Africa. The signature dish is chateaubriand, a fillet flambéed with brandy and served with mushroom sauce and béarnaise sauce." Overnight is here in a cottage.

2-hour drive

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). 4-hour drive

You drive 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. 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 (separate sleeping and ablution huts) of a traditional Xhosa village and taste a home-cooked meal. You also have the choice to stay at the 3 star Hole-in-the-Wall Hotel.  4,5-hour drive

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. If you want to have a real authentic traditional experience, sleep in a rural rondawel (separate sleeping and ablution huts) of a traditional Xhosa village and taste a home-cooked meal. You also have the choice to stay at the 3 star Hole-in-the-Wall Hotel.  

After a relaxed and visiting some of the most beautiful and unspoiled beaches in the world, we 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) 5,5-hour drive.

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). 3,5-hour drive

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. You will be dropped off at your hotel or the OR Tambo airport from here. 4,5-hour drive

(Accommodation not included)