DPJ10D: Drakensberg + Safari + Durban + Cape Town

Day 1

Arrive Durban Airport and meet your Drakensberg safari host, who will transfer you 3-hours to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains, recognised as a World Heritage site for their unspoilt natural beauty and vast collection of San Bushmen rock art paintings.

We pass through Pietermaritzburg, with its charming colonial architecture and famous public schools. We also make a short stop at Howick Falls, which at 365 feet are the tallest in the country and visit the historic spot where Nelson Mandela was captured prior to his imprisonment on Robben Island.

Known locally as the Barrier of Spears, the dramatic Drakensberg Mountain range runs right down Southern Africa from the Great Rift Valley. Visit the Didima Bushman Rock Art Centre before checking in to your luxury mountain resort.

Once you are settled in bid farewell to your host, who will leave you to enjoy the many facilities of your resort.

Days 2 and 3

The Drakensberg Mountains 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 holidays – particularly raptors, but also sunbirds, waxbills and the numerous other species found in the grasslands, riverine scrub and natural forests.

Resorts in the Central Drakensberg have access to a 9-hole golf course, with an 18-hole championship course nearby.

You resort also has a swimming pool and caters for the following activities:

• Fly Fishing
• Horse Riding
• Tennis on floodlit courts
• Lawn Bowls
• Badminton
• Mountain Biking
• Table Tennis
• Darts and Pool

Each evening enjoy socialising with other guests over dinner.

Day 4

This morning your host will share with you the beauty of rural Zululand as you transfer to the famous Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park, a scenic drive of around 4-hours.

On the way we stop at an authentically reconstructed Zulu Village to experience Zulu life and culture, and stop at a self-help project to give you the opportunity of supporting the local community by purchasing one of their handmade products.

Check in to your luxury game lodge situated just outside the park, relax and settle in to your African bushveld surroundings. Then enjoy your first game drive in an open-top game-viewing vehicle into the vast Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park, hosted by a lodge ranger. We hope to see one or more of the Big 5, before relaxing with drinks around the campfire in the Boma and enjoying dinner, which is likely to include several interesting game dishes.

Day 5

Up early today for a 05h30 game drive in an open-top vehicle into the great Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park, hosted by your lodge ranger. This is one of South Africa’s most beautiful game parks and home to all the Big Five and the subcontinent’s largest population of endangered white and black rhino. We expect to see lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant, giraffe and many other interesting species.

Return to the lodge for a full breakfast at approx 09h30. The remainder of the morning is free to relax at the lodge or enjoy a guided walk on the lodge property with a ranger to view the smaller trees, insects and flora of the region. In the afternoon return to Hluhluwe iMfolozi for a full afternoon of game viewing with your host in his vehicle.

Whilst the sun sets over the park, enjoy sundowners in the scenic hills and in the evening dine in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide!

Day 6

After a leisurely breakfast, today we reluctantly leave Hluhluwe iMfolozi and enjoy a boat ride on the Lake St Lucia estuary to see hippos and crocodiles. Part of the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, this area has been declared a World Heritage Site because of its importance to marine conservation. With over 600 different bird species in the region, including flamingos and pelicans, it also offers one of the greatest bird watching experiences in the world.

Continue to your Beach Resort, situated 40-minutes north of Durban. Check in, settle in and relax on the shores of the warm Indian Ocean.

Day 7

KwaZulu Natal is South Africa’s favourite beach holiday destination, with its warm sweeping beaches and reliably good holiday weather all year round.

Ballito and Umhlanga are both popular beach resorts situated on the warm Indian Ocean, with everything you need to relax and unwind under sunny blue skies. The long golden beaches are magnificent and restaurants are of an extremely high standard. Wine and beer are also excellent and relatively inexpensive.

Your hotel is splendidly situated right on the beach, with its own swimming pool.

Water sports are nearby, as well as championship golf, horse riding, scuba diving and deep-sea fishing.

The casinos and nightlife of Durban are within easy reach, as well as several outstanding shopping malls. All you need for a wonderful beach holiday!

On one day, enjoy an included excursion to uShaka – South Africa’s newest and most exciting aquarium and entertainment complex situated in the old harbour area, which is being extensively re-developed. Here you have the opportunity of viewing the large indigenous sharks of the Indian Ocean and a wide variety of other sea creatures in a world-class aquarium setting. You also have the opportunity of interacting with dolphins, seals and penguins and the Water World offers fun for all ages. Interesting shops, numerous restaurants and a magnificent private beach with spectacular sweeping views will add more pleasure to your day.

Day 8

Return transfer to Durban Airport for your 2-hour flight to Cape Town.

You will be met at Cape Town Airport and transferred you to your luxury hotel conveniently situated near the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Check in and relax in your magnificent surroundings.

Day 9

Today is free for independent sightseeing in Cape Town.

You will be given a day pass for the convenient red Hop-On Hop-Off Bus, which stops at all Cape Town’s key sights and beaches. Start by ascending Table Mountain by cable car to enjoy one of the world’s most famous views. Continue to Camps Bay beach then explore the shops and many other attractions of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is also the centre of Cape Town’s nightlife.

Alternatively choose one of the many local excursions available, such as to the beautiful Stellenbosch Winelands or Robben Island, the infamous prison home of Nelson Mandela. Or simply relax on golden Camp’s Bay or Clifton beach – the choice is yours!

Day 10

This morning your host will collect you for a full day tour to the beautiful Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.

We start with a short boat trip from Hout Bay to view Cape Fur seals at Seal Island. We continue via spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive to Cape Point where we hope to see ostrich, baboons and perhaps even dolphins. On the return journey we pass through naval Simons Town, and stop to see its resident penguin colony at Boulders Beach.

We also make a short stop at the Living Hope HIV/AIDs craft centre, your opportunity to support this self-help scheme by purchasing some of their hand-made products, before returning to your hotel in the late afternoon.

Day 11

Return transfer to Cape Town Airport.