KPW12J: Archaeology + Astronomy + Kruger Park

Day 1

Arrive Johannesburg Airport and meet your South African holiday host, who will transfer you to your Sandton hotel conveniently situated opposite Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square, with its numerous lively outdoor restaurants and entertainment facilities.

Check in to your hotel, settle in and relax in your cosmopolitan surroundings.

Day 2

Discover the thriving city of Johannesburg today, with its complex history of gold mining and conflict.

Start with a guided visit to the sprawling township of Soweto, including a visit to the original home of Nelson Mandela. Visit significant memorials to the freedom struggle and the fascinating Apartheid Museum.

In the afternoon either visit Gold Reef City, a reconstructed gold mining village where you can see gold being poured and go down a gold mine, or the thriving centre of Newtown near the Nelson Mandela Bridge
(Note: Golf Reef City is closed on Mondays).

Day 3

Today your host will share with you some of South Africa’s greatest archaeological treasures as you visit the ancient Sterkfontein Wonder Caves that date back 3.5 billion years. Dr Broom found one of the first ape-men in these caves, which have since yielded many more treasures. Recognised as a World Heritage site, this is one of Africa’s greatest archaeology and palaeontology sites.

Continue to your Observatory hotel, check in and relax under clear blue skies. Weather permitting, tonight view the stars of the southern sky, including the spectacular Southern Cross and Milky Way through two large telescopes: a 16-inch Meade and 25-inch Newtonian, the largest privately-owned telescopes in South Africa.

Day 4

We continue north via Pretoria (now called Tshwane), the administrative capital of South Africa and renowned for its jacaranda trees that flower from September to November. We make a short stop at the impressive Voortrekker Monument and view the beautiful Union Buildings, the official residence of the State President designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

We continue driving northwards into Limpopo Province and the far Northern Transvaal, home of the gigantic and unusual baobab tree, a scenic journey of approximately 5 hours.

Check into your luxury guesthouse near Mapungubwe National Park, situated at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers and bordering Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Day 5

Start today with a guided tour of the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site. Over a thousand years ago Mapungubwe Hill (“the place of jackals”) was the centre of the largest kingdom in Southern Africa, populated by the Shona people and forerunner of the Great Zimbabwe civilisation. Its highly sophisticated people had a well-developed class system and traded gold, ivory, copper and exotic beads with China, India & Egypt. A small gold foil rhinoceros was found in a royal grave at this important archaeological site, as well as other artefacts from this advanced African civilisation, which flourished before colonialisation.

In the afternoon drive Mapungubwe National Park and the Limpopo River to view game. Alternatively track endangered wild dogs with researchers at Venetia Game Reserve; or view San Rock Paintings before returning to your guesthouse.

Day 6

Leaving Mapungubwe, we travel along the Limpopo River and past more gigantic baobab trees to the far northern sector of the Kruger Park, a drive of 3 to 4 hours.

Enter the world famous Kruger National Park at Pafuri gate and check in to the remote Punda Maria camp. 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.

Check in, settle-in and relax in your outdoor bushveld surroundings before enjoying dinner (possibly an outdoor barbeque).

Day 7

This morning enjoy an open-top safari ride, accompanied by a Kruger Park ranger, to the stone Thulamela Ruins – an ancient royal citadel where mysterious golden artefacts have been found. Dating back over 800-years, this historic site has been linked to Mapungubwe and is situated in the heart of leopard country.

Continue Crook’s Corner in the far northeast corner of the park – a favourite hiding place of ivory hunters, hence its name. Situated at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvha Rivers where three countries meet, look out over Zimbabwe and Mozambique and watch crocodiles laze on the nearby banks, before returning to camp.

The rest of the day 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 in this remote far northern sector of the Kruger National Park, renowned for its birding, plant life and large herds of elephants and buffalo.

Day 8

Today we transfer southwards through the park to your next 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: Letaba (most convenient for Masorini), Olifants, Satara, Skukuza, Lower Sabie, Pretoriuskop, and Berg-en-Dal (most convenient for Bushmen Paintings). Accommodation is in simple but comfortable thatched game park bungalows, with each camp having a restaurant and a small shop.

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 for breakfast.

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.

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

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

Day 9

During today’s safari drive, there is the opportunity of visiting another archaeological treasure - at Masorini Hill. This Iron Age site was occupied by the Phalaborwa tribe and offers a fine example of a specialised economy with a well-developed technology, manufacturing and trading iron artefacts.

With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger Park, we also hope to see giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals. Also more of the Big 5, before returning to camp.

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.

Day 10

After enjoying another morning of game viewing as we travel south though the park, today we leave the Kruger National Park through Orpen gate to enjoy the splendour of the Drakensberg Panorama Route.

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.

Check in to your luxury guesthouse in Hazyview for dinner and overnight.

Days 11 and 12

We re-enter the southern section of the Kruger Park today, to see San Bushmen rock paintings near Berg-n-Dal.

Accompanied by a Kruger Park ranger enjoy an open-top safari ride to the site, where you can see interesting examples of rock art paintings done by mobile hunter-gatherer San Bushmen who spending hours observing and painting the animals around them, particular the eland.

In the afternoon enjoy another game drive in the Kruger National Park with your host, before returning to camp.

Day 13

Return transfer to Johannesburg Airport.