KCH16M: Kruger Park + Battlefields + Berg + Garden Route + Cape Town

Day 1

Arrive Mpumalanga Airport, collect your hire car and drive 1-hour to the scenic Panorama Route.

Check in to your hotel for overnight.

Meal Plan: BB

Day 2

Today explore the splendour of the Drakensberg Panorama Route as you drive 2-hours through the green Blyde River Canyon, the third largest in the world. Enjoy the panoramic views from God’s Window. Other places of interest along the route include Mac Mac Falls, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and, time permitting, the historic mining village of Pilgrim’s Rest.

Continue 1-hour to the world famous Kruger National Park (gate fees for own account).  Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary the size of Wales. Hopefully see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before you reach your rest camp.

The Kruger National Park offers a choice of seven rest camps, each situated in a different section of the park with its own unique flora and fauna - Skukuza, Letaba, Olifants, Lower Sabie, Pretoriuskop, Satara and Berg-en-Dal. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable thatched game park bungalows on a bed only basis, with each camp having a restaurant and a small shop. Check in, settle in and relax in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide!

Meal Plan: SC

Day 3

Today is devoted to game viewing in the Kruger National Park. 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.

Explore the vast Kruger National Park, which offer magnificent game viewing opportunities and the highest concentration of lion in the whole of Africa. Hope to see several of the Big Five - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino - before returning to camp for breakfast (or buy provisions at camp and cook breakfast at a picnic spot such as Tshokwane).

The rest of the morning is free to relax by the swimming pool or enjoy bird watching at camp, before setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive.  With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger National Park, you can hope to see cheetah, giraffe, hippo, kudu, crocodiles, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals.  With over 500 different bird species including eagles, kingfishers, vultures and storks, 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.

Meal Plan: SC

Day 4

Enjoy some final early morning game viewing in the Kruger National Park before driving through the mountains and farmlands of the Eastern Transvaal towards the Zulu Battlefields – a scenic drive of 5 to 7 hours, depending upon how much game viewing you do whilst travelling through the park.

Check in to your local Transvaal hotel or guest farm for overnight. If you stay in a country guest farm you may not have en-suite facilities this evening, but your accommodation will be very comfortable.

Meal Plan: HB

Day 5

Continue 3-hours through rural Zululand to the remote battlefields at Isandlwana.

Check in to your Zulu Battlefields hotel and enjoy dinner whilst absorbing some of the fascinating history of this great conflict between Britain and the proud Zulu Kingdom.

Meal Plan: FB

Day 6

Today we recommend an optional guided tour to the poignant battlefield at Isandlwana, where in 1879 the mighty British army suffered the greatest defeat in its history following its controversial invasion of Zululand. See for yourself the events portrayed so passionately in the film Zulu Dawn, as the regiment was wiped out almost to a man by 25,000 Zulu warriors.

Continue to Fugitives Drift, where a handful of survivors fought valiantly to save the Queen’s colours and Rorkes Drift, where the following morning honour was restored as a small contingent of 100 British soldiers (many of them sick) held off over 4,000 Zulus earning no fewer than 11 Victoria Crosses – unforgettably brought to life by Michael Caine in the film Zulu.

Recommended Reading:
Brave Men’s Blood – Ian Knight

Meal Plan: FB           n.b. Entrance fees are not included and are payable locally.

Day 7

Drive 3-hours to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains.

Known locally as the Barrier of Spears the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains form the backbone of Southern Africa, running all the way down from the Great Rift Valley. If staying in the Central Drakensberg, we suggest making a short stop at Didima Bushman rock art interpretative centre, before checking into your mountain resort in this area of unspoilt natural beauty.

Meal Plan: HB

Days 8 & 9

Today is free to relax in the Drakensberg Mountains, which offer superlative scenery and fresh mountain air making it ideal for walking holidays at any level of fitness. Your hotel will organise guided walks each day – typically one short walk and one long walk, plus a walk to a San Bushmen painting.

The mountains also offer an outstanding location for bird watching – particularly raptors, but also sunbirds, waxbills and the numerous other species found in the grasslands, riverine scrub and natural forests.

Your hotel has a swimming pool and offers many activities in or near the resort including Golf; Horse Riding in the mountains; Fly Fishing for trout; Tennis; Lawn Bowls; Badminton; Mountain Biking; Table Tennis; Darts and Pool. Each evening enjoy socialising with other guests over dinner.

Meal Plan: HB

Day 10

Drive 3-hours through the beautiful Natal Midlands to drop off your hire car at Durban Airport for your onward flight.

Arrive Port Elizabeth Airport, collect your hire car and drive to your beachfront hotel overlooking the warm Indian Ocean. Check into your hotel and enjoy the wonderful beaches of this friendly city.

Meal Plan: BB

Day 11

Today drive 3-hours along the scenic Garden Route.

On the way we suggest viewing the giant yellowwood trees of the Tsitsikamma Forest and making a short detour to the Storms River Mouth, after crossing the dramatic Storms River Gorge. Check into your hotel and relax in this area of outstanding natural beauty.

Meal Plan: BB

Day 12

Today is free to explore the small town of Knysna and its beaches.

Many optional activities are available in the area, such as an Ocean Safari to search for dolphins and whales in season (July to November); Knysna Elephant Sanctuary; sailing; deep sea fishing; horse riding; mountain biking and championship golf. If you wish to explore further afield, you can visit Monkeyland & Birds of Eden near Plettenberg Bay and Storms River Mouth in Tsistikamma Forest.

Meal Plan: BB           n.b. Entrance fees are not included and are payable locally.

Day 13

Today drive 2-hours along the beautiful Garden Route, which stretches from Plettenberg Bay and Knysna through the Sedgefield Lakes to Wilderness. Continue through the spectacular Outeniqua Pass to Oudtshoorn.

Visit the famous Cango Caves – a vast series of underground halls and caverns formed over 20 million years ago in the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains. The caves, which extend for over 3 miles, contain spectacular stalagmites and stalactites and offer relatively easy access. Also enjoy a short visit to Cango Wildlife Ranch to see cheetah and crocodiles, before checking into your hotel for overnight.

Meal Plan: HB           n.b. Entrance fees are not included and are payable locally.

Day 14

Drive 2-hours along the scenic Route 62 through the arid Little Karoo to the beautiful city of Cape Town.

Check in to your hotel within sight of Table Mountain, settle in and relax in your magnificent surroundings.

Meal Plan: BB

Days 15 & 16

At leisure to explore the beautiful city of Cape Town.

Start by ascending Table Mountain by cable car and continue along the spectacular Cape Peninsula to Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, where you can view the penguin colony at Boulders Beach and perhaps even dolphins and whales in season (August to November).

Enjoy wine tasting in the renowned Stellenbosch Winelands; take the ferry to Robben Island to visit the infamous prison home of Nelson Mandela (advance booking essential in season); explore the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront or simply relax on golden Camps Bay beach – the choice is yours!

Meal Plan: BB           n.b. Entrance fees are not included and are payable locally.

Day 17

Drop off hire car at Cape Town Airport for your flight home.

WHAT IS INCLUDED:

• Accommodation and meals as specified
• Airport and ground transfers in air conditioned vehicles
• Activities specified, including transfers and entrance fees

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:

• Drinks & refreshments, unless specified
• Tips, telephone calls & other personal expenditure
• Visa fees in countries where these apply
• Airport departure taxes, where not included in the flight price
• International & domestic flights (quoted separately)