LPJ7D: Walking: Drakensberg Mountains + Safari

Day 1

Arrive Durban Airport and meet your walking holiday 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.

Known locally as the Barrier of Spears, the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains run right down the spine of Southern Africa from the Great Rift Valley.

Pass through Pietermaritzburg, with its charming colonial architecture and famous public schools and make a short stop at Howick Falls, which at 365 feet are the tallest in the country. Time permitting, you can visit the historic spot where Nelson Mandela was captured prior to his imprisonment on Robben Island and, if you are staying in the Champagne Valley, also visit the Didima Bushman Rock Art Centre.

After you have checked in to your luxury mountain resort, your host will return to Durban.

Days 2 to 5

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.

On one day there is the optional opportunity to walk the Mont-Aux Sources trail – the highlight of any hiking holiday in the Drakensberg Mountains – with a private walking guide. Rise early to drive 1.5 hours through Olivershoek Pass and past Sterkfontein Dam and hydroelectric scheme to the car park at the foot of the Sentinel buttress. This trail takes you around the back of the mountains to Mont-Aux-Sources, where suddenly the Tugela Falls drops over 3,000 feet to create the second highest waterfall in the world.

From the top of the Amphitheatre you can view KwaZulu Natal thousands of feet below – a memory that will last a lifetime, but only achievable in good walking conditions. If you are not fit enough for this trail, another local trail can be substituted in discussion with your guide.

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 and southern Drakensberg have access to a 9-hole golf course, with an 18-hole championship course nearby.

Note: Hiking in the mountains can be dangerous and all sensible hiking precautions need to be taken, including suitable footwear and windcheaters, sun screen, hats, raincoats and water bottles. Conditions can change quickly in the mountains and you need to be properly prepared for this particular hike.

Your resort has a swimming pool and caters for the following additional 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 6

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 7

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 8

Time permitting, today we enjoy a boat ride on the great 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.

Return transfer to Durban Airport.