Durban Holidays Durban Beach Safari Holidays Drakensberg South Africa

Horse Riding: Pongola + Safari + Thonga Beach
HHRU10J

10 NIGHTS
FROM $3,013
International flights quoted separately
Enjoy this superb luxury horseback "beach safari" in northern Zululand, which combines an exciting lodge-based riding holiday with a Big-5 safari, followed by time relaxing at a luxury eco lodge on a warm, secluded Indian Ocean beach where turtles nest & dolphins frolic in the waves. You can snorkel from the beach and scuba diving is outstanding. All riding levels welcome.
HIGHLIGHTS
Horseback Safari Beach South Africa Horseback Safari Beach Holiday Vacations Pongola Thonga Beach South Africa
• Zululand • Pongola • Horseback Safari • Lake Jozini
• Big-5 Game Reserve • Thonga Beach • Dolphins • Turtle Breeding
• Scuba Diving
Day 1
You will be met at Johannesburg Airport and transferred 6-hours to your riding lodge in Pongola in remote and beautiful northern Zululand.
 
Check into your lodge and enjoy a superb dinner.
Days 2 To 4
Today enjoy a riding safari in the pristine wilderness of Pakamisa Private Game Reserve.
 
Offering breathtaking views from the Pakamisa Mountain plateau over the valleys and plains of the Pongola River, this malaria free game reserve provides a superb opportunity for both beginners and advanced riders to enjoy close encounters with plains game - including giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, warthog, kudu, nyala, impala, bush buck, reedbuck, duiker and klipspringer. As there are no lions or elephants in Pakamisa, you can ride in the reserve with confidence. You can also hope to see baboon, vervet monkeys, caracal, genet and prolific bird life.
 
One horse ride per day is included in your package (horse riding weight limit 90kg) as well as one game drive, bush walk, archery or target shooting per day..
Day 5
Today depart from Pongola and travel 1.5-hours to your Private Game Reserve in Zululand, renowned for its outstanding wildlife.
 
After checking in to your game lodge, enjoy your first thrilling safari drive in an open-top game viewing vehicle accompanied by a lodge ranger. Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately and hopefully you will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe - as well as several of the Big 5 - before dining under the stars in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide!
Day 6
Rise at dawn to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day and enjoy a thrilling open-top game viewing safari with your lodge ranger in your Private Game Reserve which is home to all the Big Five - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino. Hope to see many interesting species before returning to your lodge for breakfast. Note: game drives are optional extras, if not included in your lodge package (see hotel details below).
 
The rest of the morning is free to relax by the lodge swimming pool, before setting out again in the late afternoon for another game drive. Hope to see cheetah, giraffe, hippo, kudu, crocodiles, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons and many other interesting animals. With over 500 different bird species, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed!
 
After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.
 
Children < 6 are not allowed on open top game drives
Day 7
After some final early morning game viewing, transfer 2-hours to your beach lodge pick-up point. Continue 1-hour on an open-top 4x4 vehicle through the coastal reserve to remote and unspoilt Sodwana Bay Marine Park in the heart of the protected St Lucia Wetlands.
 
Check into your beach lodge concealed in a canopy of indigenous coastal forest on the shores of the warm Indian Ocean and relax in subtropical surroundings, where monkeys and antelope roam free.
Days 8 To 10
Sodwana Bay Marine Park is a remote and unspoilt beach destination, with miles of untouched warm Indian Ocean beaches inhabited only by the loggerhead and leatherback turtles, which return to lay their eggs on the beaches from November to January each year.
 
With its wonderfully warm climate and outstanding snorkelling, spend lazy days by the swimming pool or on the beach surrounded by the highest naturally vegetated sand dunes in the world. Enjoy long walks on the beach, pamper yourself at the spa or enjoy a sundowner drives to Lake Sibaya where you may see hippos and crocodiles as well as abundant bird life.
 
Scuba Divers can explore the underwater treasures of the warm Mozambique Reef, the southern-most coral reef in the world whose canyons and caves are teeming with a huge variety of marine life including over 1,200 species of fish, turtles, bottle-nosed dolphins, moray eels, ribbon tail rays, mantas, butterfly fish, angelfish, sharks, migrating whales (April to July) and whale sharks (January to February).
 
Other optional activities include an Ocean Safari to search for dolphins and Deep Sea Fishing.
Day 11
Transfer 1-hour through the coastal reserve on an open-top 4x4 vehicle and 2-hours by road to Richards Bay Airport for your flight home.