Kruger Park Swaziland Zululand Wild Coast Garden Route 12 Day Tour - Departing SUNDAYS - GOLD (SC-04-G) 

TOUR NAME : 12 Day South African Explorer Guided Tour.
CODE : SC-04.
MEALS INCLUDED : Breakfasts and Dinners.
DEPARTURE : Sundays from Johannesburg.
DURATION : 12 Days.
ROUTING : This package touches on all the main attractions of South Africa: Panoramic Route, Kurger National Park, Swaziland, Zululand, The Wild Coast and the Garden Route.
SPECIAL NOTES : None.
MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS : None.
DRESS REQUIREMENTS : Comfortable casual and smart casual for the evenings.

Day 1 - Johannesburg - Panoramic Route - Sabie.
Our first day on tour takes us from Johannesburg via Middelburg, Dullstroom and Robber’s Pass to Pilgrim´s Rest, the early gold mining town turned into a living museum. Rich deposits of alluvial gold were found here at the end of the 19th century, hence the existence of the town deep in the mountains. After exploring this quaint old town, we continue to Sabie where we have a pleasant walk through indigenous forest to visit Lone Creek Falls. Overnight at the Lone Creek River Lodge.

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Day 2 - Panoramic Route - Private Reserve.
We travel via Graskop to marvel at scenic areas such the Pinnacle, God’s Window, Lisbon Falls, Bourke's Luck Potholes (a walk down the hill to this unique trick of nature is worth the effort), and the magnificent Three Rondavels view site at the Blyde River Canyon. Finally we descend to the Lowveld via Abel Erasmus pass and the Strydom Tunnel to arrive at Mohlabetsi in the Balule private game reserve. This afternoon our encounter with Africa's wildlife begins as we travel on an open vehicle to search for the game. Enjoy a great dinner under the stars tonight. Overnight at Mohlabetsi.

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Day 3 - Private Reserve - Kruger National Park.
After an early morning hike, searching for the wild on foot, and breakfast, we enter the Kruger National Park and spend the rest of day in this magnificent reserve around 2 million ha in extent. We overnight in the reserve in chalets in one of the rest camps.

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Day 4 - Kruger National Park - Swaziland.
We rise early for a game drive and return for breakfast in the camp. We spend the rest of the morning in the reserve and depart in the afternoon for the mountain Kingdom of Swaziland. We travel via Piggs Peak through magnificent mountain scenery and visit the Ngwenya glass factory where all the products are hand made from recycled glass. We drive through Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland, before traveling to our overnight stop, the Foresters Arms Hotel, in the mountains just outside Mhlambanyatsi.

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Day 5 - Swaziland - Mbabane - South Africa - Zululand - Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Park.
This morning we have an early breakfast and then visit Swazi Candles in the Malkerns Valley where we watch the locals hand-moulding wax into a variety of interesting shapes. We continue through the Ezulwini Valley past the Houses of Parliament and the Independence Stadium to the well-known local craft market. Our route then takes us via Manzini, the country’s industrial centre, and Big Bend with its large sugar plantations to the South African border. We arrive at Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Game Reserve mid afternoon. We experience a late afternoon/early evening game drive in an open safari vehicle equipped with high powered spot lights to search for the shy nocturnal and other animals. Dinner is served after the completion of this exciting experience.

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Day 6 - Zululand - Hluhluwe - St Lucia - Durban.
After an early breakfast we do a final game drive in our vehicle before traveling to the village of St Lucia. Here we join a boat cruise on the estuary of the famous Lake St Lucia (proclaimed a World Heritage Site in 1999), a paradise with bird species such as fish eagle, Goliath heron and many more. Your skipper/guide will show you the world of the hippo and the crocodile and the other mystic inhabitants of the "deep". After this unforgettable experience we travel to Durban, the holiday Mecca of South Africa.

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Day 7 - Durban - Oribi Gorge - Wild Coast - Port St Johns.
The drive from Durban along the South Coast takes you through lush subtropical vegetation and numerous holiday villages dotted along the seaboard. We visit the scenic Oribi Gorge and some beautiful little beaches. Then we turn inland and enter the Eastern Cape Province, the former homeland of Transkei, and traverse over hilly grasslands dotted with Xhosa homesteads, through valleys and clear streams. Overnight at the Cremorne Lodge in Port St Johns.

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Day 8 - Port St Johns - Umtata - East London.
We travel from Port St Johns to Umtata, the capital of the former homeland. After a visit to the Nelson Mandela museum we travel further south to East London, the only river port in South Africa, and the place where a prehistoric coelacanth was caught in 1938. Overnight at Quarry Lake Inn.

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Day 9 - East London - Grahamstown - Addo Elephant Park - Port Elizabeth.
This morning's journey is along the coast and we enjoy the lush vegetation and rugged coastline. We visit Port Alfred, an outstanding holiday village situated on the Kowie river mouth and travel to Grahamstown. This small cathedral city is considered the art capital of South Africa and is steeped in history. At the Addo National Elephant Park game reserve we have an excellent chance of an encounter with these giants of the bush amongst other animals. This afternoon we reach Port Elizabeth, the fifth biggest city in the country, set on the shores of the Algoa Bay and also called the “Friendly City”. Overnight at Fifth Avenue Beach House.

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Day 10 - Port Elizabeth - Garden Route - Knysna.
We depart from Port Elizabeth, along the N2 national route to the Storms River with the impressive Paul Sauer Bridge across the valley towering some 139 metres above the river. Our next stop is at Tsitsikamma National Park (Khoisan for “The place of much water”) stretching more than 100 kilometers of wild and rocky coastline characterised by massive cliffs, narrow isolated beaches and shady indigenous forests along the river valleys. Now, truly in the famous Garden Route of the Cape, we traverse more magnificently scenic river valley passes to Knysna on the edge of the Knysna Lagoon with its entrance to the sea guarded by two promontories known as 'The Heads'. The area also falls within a National Park proclaimed to conserve the extraordinary natural beauty of the Lakeland and adjacent indigenous forests. Knysna offers shopping opportunities of unusual, locally made, art and craft, etc. Overnight at the Fish Eagle Lodge.

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Day 11 - Garden Route - Knysna - George - Oudtshoorn.
We explore the lake areas, the Wilderness National Park and travel via the scenic Montagu Pass to Oudsthoorn also known as the 'Feather Capital' of the world, as by far the largest concentration of ostrich farms in the world are found here. We visit the Cango Caves, regarded as one of South Africa's foremost natural wonders. The fascinating calcite caves comprise an underground wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites. Overnight at La Plume Guest Lodge.

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Day 12 - Oudtshoorn - Mossel Bay - Cape Town.
After an early start we visit to an ostrich show farm for some unique experiences, including ostrich racing. A ride on the back of an ostrich is not for the fainthearted. Our route to Mossel Bay takes us over the Outeniqua Mountains via Robinson's Pass. Here we visit arguably the oldest post office in Africa, the Post Office Tree, and the site of the first landfall, made by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz in 1488. After an early lunch we travel via Swellendam to Cape Town where we arrive late afternoon.