LPQ12C: Walking: Cape Town + Kruger + Vic Falls

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.

Alternatively choose one of the many local excursions such as a visit to Robben Island, the infamous prison home of Nelson Mandela, or simply relax on golden Camp’s Bay beach – the choice is yours!

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

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 6

Transfer to Cape Town Airport for your 2-hour flight to Mpumalanga.

You will be met at Mpumalanga Airport and transferred to your lodge, a scenic 2-hour drive. Enter the world famous Kruger National Park, where game-viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary. Hopefully we will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before we reach your walking lodge.

Check in to your luxury en-suite reed (Silver) or tented (Gold) camp overlooking the vast Kruger Plains. Settle-in and relax in your outdoor bushveld surroundings before enjoying your first game drive in an open-top game viewing vehicle to search for the Big 5 and so much more.

After your safari, relax and enjoy dinner under the stars, in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide!

Day 7

Awaken to fresh coffee and biscuits, to search for game in the early morning when game viewing conditions are at their best. Accompanied by two armed rangers, you have the unique opportunity of following elephant and rhino trails and observing game in their natural surroundings whilst on foot, a profoundly memorable experience!

Explore the vast Kruger Plains, which offer magnificent game viewing opportunities and one of the highest concentrations of lion in the whole of Africa. With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger Park, you can hope to see giraffe, kudu, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals. Hopefully we see more of the Big Five today - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino, before returning to camp for breakfast.

Walking Safaris also offer the opportunity to study the smaller animals, insects and trees of the park – as well as outstanding bird watching, with over 500 different bird species.

Early morning and late afternoon open-top game drives are also available each day, to allow you to venture further into the park than you could on foot. Each 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 years are not allowed on walking safaris

Day 8

If you have chosen the “Gold” walking safari, tonight you have two extra choices as to how you want to spend your last night in the bush:

Luxury Safari Lodge Option

This afternoon transfer to your Luxury Safari Lodge for a final night of pampering, including two included game drives and a delicious dinner in the outdoor Boma

Sleep-Out Option

Remain at your tented camp this morning and, weather permitting, this afternoon drive to your Sleep Out Camp. Built on an elevated wooden platform in trees overlooking a water trough, this will be a night to remember, as you become one with the African bush! Tucked into your bed high above the ground, be lulled to sleep by the sounds of nocturnal Africa. In the morning you will be transferred back to camp for breakfast.

Note: If you want the sleep-out option, this needs to be specified at time of booking

Day 9

After a final early morning safari, today you will be transferred overland to Johannesburg, a scenic 5-hour journey.

Check in to your Johannesburg airport hotel for overnight.

[Or fly 1-hour from Mpumalanga Airport]

Day 10

This morning take the free hotel shuttle to the airport for your 2-hour international flight to Livingstone, Zambia.

You will be met at Livingstone Airport and transferred to your hotel on the banks of the Zambezi River, near the mighty Victoria Falls.

Check in, settle-in and relax whilst you catch your first glimpses of the magnificent Smoke That Thunders first discovered by Dr. David Livingstone and still one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. The flow of water over the Victoria Falls is greatest during the wet months (February to June) but the falls are a magnificent sight at any time of year.

Days 11 and 12

Today explore on foot the mighty Victoria Falls situated close to your hotel and offering magnificent views.

Later relax by the swimming pool and enjoy the many pleasures of your hotel, or participate in one of the many local activities, such as a helicopter flight over the falls or an elephant-back safari.

Adrenalin seekers can participate in many adventure holiday activities, such as canoeing in the gentler rapids above the falls; white water rafting in the turbulent gorge below the falls (beware: grade 5); or bungi jumping from Victoria Falls Bridge! There is also an interesting local craft market.

On one afternoon enjoy a Sunset Cruise on the Zambesi River to see hippos, crocodiles and the abundant bird life.

Day 13

Return transfer to Livingstone Airport for your journey home.