Cape Town Holidays Cape Town Safari Cape Town Vacations Cape Town Hotels Cape Town South Africa

Kalahari + Augrabies Falls + Cape Town
APB7U

7 NIGHTS
FROM $2,107
International flights quoted separately
Explore the unique Kalahari with your own private driver/guide, combining the desert adapted wildlife of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, home of the Bushman, with the granite Augrabies Falls ("the place of great noise"). Complete your holiday relaxing in beautiful Cape Town. Outstanding for wildlife photography & astronomy. Less 10% for 4+ pax.
HIGHLIGHTS
Kgalagadi Safari Kgalagadi National Park South Africa Safari Holidays Vacations Rest Camps Augrabies Falls
• Whale Watching • Boulders Beach Penguins
Day 1
You will be met at Upington Airport by your guide and travel 3-hours to the vast and arid Kalahari Desert, one of the world’s last unspoilt ecosystems and one of Africa’s greatest wilderness areas. In this land of far horizons, marvel at the gigantic nests of the sociable weaverbirds set high in camel thorn trees and stop to examine some of the amazing succulent desert plants which have adapted to survive in such harsh conditions.
  
The malaria-free Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a visionary 3.7-million hectare joint venture between South African and Botswana. There are several rest camps, with accommodation in simple but comfortable air-conditioned chalets and tents. Your guide has an allowance to cover your breakfast & dinner every day you are in the park.
Day 2
Today is devoted to game viewing, as we explore the vast Kgalagadi National Park. As you will have the services of an experienced private driver/guide throughout your safari, you will have the flexibility of discussing preferred routings and travelling times with him each day. However we recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (05h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day. Because of the heat, all game drives will be in an air-conditioned vehicle with your guide.
 
Wildlife is plentiful in the red sand dunes and semi-desert of this vast game sanctuary, which is twice the size of the Kruger National Park. Of the many species of mammals and reptiles that have successfully adapted to the harsh desert conditions, the most famous is the black-maned Kalahari lion. Kgalagadi is also renowned for the magnificent oryx, cheetah and leopards - which are more easily seen in the sparse vegetation. You will see some of Africa’s most unusual animals in the Kalahari and many of the “great cats” – lion, cheetah and leopard – but the vegetation does not support elephants, rhino or buffalo.
 
We hope to see some big cats before returning to camp for breakfast. The rest of the morning can be spent relaxing at camp, reading or bird watching, before enjoying a picnic lunch (included) and setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive.
 
We should see large herds of antelope including springbok, eland and blue wildebeest. We also hope to see the brown and spotted hyena, black-backed jackals, curious meerkats, yellow mongoose, porcupines, honey badgers, bat-eared foxes, Cape foxes, African wild cats and many other interesting animals. Bird life is also prolific, with over 260 species, including 20 different raptors.
Day 3
Today is devoted to game viewing in the vast Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Note: game drives are optional extras, if not included in your lodge package (see hotel details below).
 
Up early today for an exciting dawn open-top game drive, when game viewing conditions are at their best. Kgaladagi is home to several amazing wildlife species that have successfully adapted to the harsh desert conditions – including the black-maned lion, the magnificent horned oryx and the springbok. The Kalahari is also superb for viewing leopard and cheetah, which are more easily seen in the sparse vegetation and sand dunes.
 
Return to the lodge for breakfast, then relax by the swimming pool or pamper yourself at the spa. There is also the opportunity to learn more about the culture of the fascinating Bushmen who first conquered the great Kalahari and to enjoy a walking trail. You will see some of Africa’s most unusual animals in the Kalahari and many of the “great cats” – lion, cheetah and leopard – but  the vegetation does not support elephants, rhino or buffalo.
 
In the afternoon enjoy another open-top safari drive, tracking game in one of the world's last great wilderness areas and in the evening view the magnificently clear stars of the southern sky.
Day 4
After some final game viewing in Kgalagadi National Park today we travel south for 4-hours through Bushmanland to Augrabies Falls. On the way enjoy a picnic lunch (included) and stop at a Bushmen craft stall to give you the opportunity of supporting the community by buying one of their hand-made products.
  
At Augrabies Falls - “the Place of Great Noise” - the mighty Orange River dramatically crashes over the rim of a granite canyon during the summer flood, to plunge 270 ft into the gorge below, forming South Africa’s largest waterfall and the sixth largest in the world. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable air-conditioned chalets, with your guide having an allowance to purchase breakfast and dinner at the camp restaurant.
 
Check in and and view Augrabies Falls on foot, where conditions for photography are excellent.  
Day 5
Transfer 2-hours to Upington Airport for your onward flight.

You will be met at Cape Town Airport and transferred to your hotel in this beautiful city, within sight of Table Mountain.
 
Check in and relax in your magnificent surroundings.
Day 6
Today is free for independent sightseeing in Cape Town.
 
We recommend you purchase an optional day pass for the red route of the convenient Hop-Off Bus, which stops at all Cape Town’s key sights and beaches. Start by ascending Table Mountain by cable car (optional) to enjoy one of the world’s most famous views. Continue to Camps Bay beach and then explore the shops and many other attractions of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is also the centre of Cape Town’s nightlife.
Day 7
Today we recommend an optional full day tour to the beautiful Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, where two oceans meet and where you may see see baboons, ostrich and perhaps even dolphins or whales in season (July/November).
  
Your tour travels through Hout Bay and along spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive (when open) to the Cape Point, returning via Simons Town, Fish Hoek, Constantia and Kirstenbosch Gardens. This is a scenic tour of the whole Cape Peninsula, with the optional opportunity of visiting the penguin colony at Boulders Beach.
Day 8
Transfer to Cape Town Airport for your flight home.