KPS12J: Kruger Park + Battlefields + Drakensberg + Durban

Day 1

Arrive Johannesburg Airport and meet your Kruger Park safari host, who will introduce you to the beauty of the Eastern Transvaal on your scenic 3-hour drive to Hazyview. Check in to your luxury guesthouse for dinner and overnight.

[Or 45-minute transfer from Mpumalanga Airport]

Day 2

This morning your host will share with you the splendour of the Drakensberg Panorama Route as you drive through Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon in the world.

View Mac Mac Falls, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the panoramic views from God’s Window. If time permits, we also make a brief stop at the historic mining village of Pilgrim’s Rest.

Continue to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, where you have the unique opportunity of viewing wild lion, leopard, cheetah, eagles and vultures at close quarters. Animals found injured, poisoned or orphaned are given a second chance and released back into the wilds.

Check in to your luxury guesthouse for dinner and overnight.

Day 3

Today we enter the world famous Kruger National Park. Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary the size to Wales. Hopefully we will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before we reach camp.

The Kruger Park offers a choice of seven 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, with each camp having a restaurant and a small shop.

Check in, settle-in and relax in your outdoor bushveld surroundings before enjoying dinner (exact camp subject to availability at time of booking).

Days 4 and 5

As you will have the services of a 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.

Explore the vast Kruger Plains, which offer magnificent game viewing opportunities and the highest concentration of lion in the whole of Africa. Hopefully we will see at least one of the Big Five today - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino, before returning to camp at around 09h00 for breakfast.

The rest of the morning can be spent relaxing at camp, reading or bird watching, before setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive.

One game drive per day will be in an open-top game viewing vehicle operated by the Kruger Park (either early morning, late afternoon or evening), with all other game drives taken with your host in an air-conditioned minibus, as this is more comfortable in the heat of the day.

With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger Park, we hope to see giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals.

In the evening, enjoy the balmy weather and pristine stars of the Southern Sky and Milky Way, as you have never seen them before – including the spectacular Southern Cross.

[Note: Children <12 are not allowed on open top game drives. However they may enjoy unlimited game drives in your host’s vehicle]

Day 6

Today we leave the Kruger Park and travel 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.

We stop at the old mining town of Barberton and enjoy the hospitality of a local Transvaal hotel or guest farm for dinner and overnight. At this point bid farewell to your safari host and meet your battlefields guide. If you stay in a country guest farm, you may not have en-suite facilities this evening, but your accommodation will be very comfortable.

Day 7

This morning we complete our drive to Isandlwana, arguably South Africa’s most infamous battlefield situated in the heart of remote and rural Zululand.

On the way we visit a 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 Zulu accommodation, settle in an enjoy dinner whilst absorbing some of the fascinating history of this great conflict between Britain and the proud Zulu Kingdom. Then take time to view the pristine stars of the Southern Sky, including the distinctive Southern Cross.

Day 8

This morning we visit 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.

We 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

Day 9

Shortly after the conquest of Zululand, the British Army found itself at war again – this time the Anglo Boer War of 1899.

Today we transfer 3-hours through the beautiful KwaZulu Natal Midlands, stopping at the famous Spioenkop Battlefield – a moving experience where the most futile and bloodiest of four battles took place in vain efforts to relieve Ladysmith. Visit Mount Alice, site of General Buller’s camp, and consider the preliminary action at the Rangeworthy Hills, the Battle of Ntabamnyama, as we ponder the utter futility of war*

Continue to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains, recognised as a World Heritage site for their unspoilt natural beauty and vast collection of San Bushmen rock paintings. Known locally as the Barrier of Spears, this dramatic mountain range runs right down Southern Africa from the Great Rift Valley. Visit the Didima Rock Art Centre before checking in to your luxury mountain resort in the Champagne Valley.

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

*If you wish, there will be time to visit one or more of the following Boer War sites and museums on the way:

• Dundee: Talana Hill & Museum – site of the first battle of the war, where khaki was worn for the first time
• Ladysmith: Wagon Hill; Siege & Blockhouse Museums – site of one of the worst sieges in the history of the British army
• Elandslaagte – site of an infamous cavalry charge
• Lombardskop
• Vaalkrans

Recommended Reading:
Boer War – Thomas Pakenham

Days 10 to 11

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.

They 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.

Your resort has a swimming pool and luxury spa. It also caters for the following activities:

• Fly Fishing
• Horse Riding
• Golf: own 9-hole course (also an 18-hole championship course nearby)
• Tennis on floodlit courts
• Lawn Bowls
• Badminton
• Mountain Biking
• Table Tennis
• Darts and Pool

Each evening enjoy socialising with other guests over dinner.

Day 12

This morning your battlefields host will transfer you to the holiday city of Durban, with its wonderful natural harbour and reliably good holiday weather year-round.

We pass through Pietermaritzburg, the former colonial capital with its charming 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*

Continue 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.

In the late afternoon check in to your luxury city hotel situated on Durban’s Golden Mile. The hotel has its own swimming pool and offers splendid views over the warm Indian Ocean.

The casinos and nightlife of Durban are also within easy reach.

*If you wish, you can visit one or more of the following Boer War sites and museums on the way:

• Frere – Winston Churchill capture site
• Colenso – site of the famous “Saving of the Guns”
• Willow Grange – the last offensive battle fought by the Boers
• Estcourt –Fort Durnford

Day 13

Return transfer to Durban Airport.