LPM12C: Walking: Cape Town + Garden Route + Addo Safari

Day 1

Arrive Cape Town Airport and meet your walking holiday host, who will transfer you to your luxury hotel conveniently situated near the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Check in and relax in your magnificent surroundings.

Day 2

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 at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, continuing through the historic city centre to Camps Bay beach. Alight at points of interest along the way and explore Cape Town independently.

Later explore the shops and many other attractions of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is also the centre of Cape Town’s nightlife.

Day 3

Today your guide will collect you for a 6-hour walking trail of Table Mountain.

A variety of trails are available, depending upon your level of fitness, and this can be discussed and agreed with your guide. Starting from Kirstenbosch Gardens, renowned for its fynbos and protea, walk up Skeleton Gorge and return either via the cableway or down Nursery Ravine.

Marvel at the pristine beauty of these mountains, whilst enjoying on foot one of the world’s most famous views!

Day 4

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 5

Another day of leisure in Cape Town.

Choose one of the many local excursions available such as a visit to Robben Island, the infamous prison home of Nelson Mandela.

Several local walking trails are available, including walking up Lions Head, or simply relax on golden Camp’s Bay beach – the choice is yours!

Day 6

Enjoy a full day tour to the Stellenbosch Winelands today, travelling through the scenic Franschhoek Valley where a handful of French Huguenot refugees started South Africa’s now famous wine industry.

Visit the historic town of Stellenbosch and several different Wine Estates of your choice – sampling as you go! Enjoy a picnic lunch at a wine estate, before visiting a cheetah breeding project and another Wine Estate on the way home.

Alternatively you may choose to walk at Jonkershoek in the Stellenbosch Winelands, where you have the option of the 3-hour waterfall trail or 6-hour panorama trail – both with stunning views. Afterwards, your guide will stop at a Wine Estate to enable to you to sample some quality wines.

Day 7

This morning your host will introduce you to the dramatic and contrasting beauty of South Africa on your scenic 5-hour drive to the Garden Route.

We travel the spectacular Route 62 to Oudtshoorn in the arid Little Karoo. During our journey we enjoy some wine tasting at two Wine Estates, one renowned for its port and the other for its wine.

On arrival in Oudtshoorn we visit an Ostrich Farm to view these huge flightless birds in their natural surroundings, before checking in to your luxury guesthouse for overnight and dinner.

Day 8

Visit the world-renowned Cango Caves today – 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.

We continue through the Outeniqua Pass to George and follow the spectacular coastal route from Wilderness via the Sedgefield Lakes and Goukamma Nature Reserve to Knysna.

Check in to your luxury hotel in Knysna and settle in to your beautiful surroundings.

Day 9

This morning we visit Featherbed Nature Reserve, situated on the Western Head – one of two magnificent sandstone cliffs guarding the entrance to the vast Knysna lagoon. This spectacular nature reserve is only accessible by ferry, followed by a short trailer ride to the top of the reserve, which offers panoramic views. Most visitors choose to return on foot via a 1-mile Guided Nature Walk through natural coastal forest onto the cliffs, through caves and along a scenic coastal path. A seafood buffet lunch is then served under the old Milkwood trees.

The remainder of the afternoon and evening are free to explore Knysna on foot. This lively town is famous for its oysters, which are grown in the lagoon. It also offers good shopping opportunities and many interesting craft shops in the town.

Day 10

Today enjoy a guided walk around the beautiful Robberg Peninsula at Plettenberg Bay, where dolphins and seals are often seen, as well as whales in season (July to November).

Plettenberg Bay is South Africa’s playground for the rich and famous, as it is set on a spectacular bay framed by beautiful mountains.

You may set the pace of your walk, which can be from 3 to 5 hours, stopping along the way. This is one of the most beautiful walks along the Garden Route.

Day 11

Depart for Addo this morning, a scenic drive of around 3 hours. On the way we stop at Plettenberg Bay, South Africa’s playground for the rich and famous. Schools of dolphins are regularly seen here in the warm Indian Ocean and whales may be seen in season (July to November).

We also stop to view the giant yellowwoods of Tsitsikamma Forest, before crossing the dramatic Storms River Gorge.

On arrival at the malaria-free Addo Elephant Park, enjoy an open-top safari game drive to view these magnificent animals which once roamed free in this area and were saved from extinction by this national park, which has also preserved the rare Cape buffalo and the flying dung beetle.

In the late afternoon check in to your luxury hotel and watch the bird life, before enjoying a candlelit dinner on the scenic sundowner deck.

Day 12

This morning return to Addo Elephant Park for another game drive in your host’s vehicle, or alternatively choose to relax by the swimming pool at your lodge.

In the afternoon you will be collected for your second open-top safari game drive to a neighbouring Private Game Reserve, to focus on tracking lion which are most active in the evenings. You will spend 5-hours in this malaria-free private game reserve tracking these nocturnal hunters, but also expect to see giraffe, hippo, rhino, ostrich, antelope, wildebeest and much more.

Enjoy an African-style buffet dinner, before your return transfer to your lodge.

Day 13

Return transfer to Port Elizabeth Airport (45 minutes).