Kruger, Zululand, Drakensberg Mountains, Garden Route - 11 Days - Departing MONDAYS and THURSDAYS - GOLD (SC-03-G) 
Kruger Park, Zululand, Drakensberg Mountains, Garden Route Tour, 11 Days., Country Wide Tours, S. Africa, Tel: +27 31 572 4227
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TOUR NAME : 11 Day Classical South African Highlights Guided Tour.
CODE : SC-03.
MEALS INCLUDED : Breakfasts and Dinners.
DEPARTURE : Mondays and Thursdays from Johannesburg and Tuesdays from Cape Town.
DURATION : 11 Days.
ROUTING : This package touches on all the main attractions of South Africa: Panoramic Route, Kurger National Park, Swaziland, Zululand, Drakensberg Mountains and the Garden Route.
SPECIAL NOTES : None.
MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS : None.
DRESS REQUIREMENTS : Comfortable casual and smart casual for the evenings.
Day 1 - Johannesburg – Dullstroom – Panoramic Route - Sabi.
Our first day on tour takes us from Johannesburg via Middelburg, Dullstroom and Ohrigstad to the magnificent Three Rondavels view site at the Blyde River Canyon. We travel further to marvel at scenic areas such as Bourke’s Luck Potholes (a walk down the hill to see this unique trick of nature is worth the experience), Lisbon Falls, God’s Window and the Pinnacle before a short visit to Pilgrim’s Rest, an early gold mining town declared a National Monument. Rich deposits of alluvial gold were found here at the end of the last century, hence the existence of the town deep in the mountains. We overnight in Sabie.
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Day 2 - Panoramic Route – Kruger National Park.
After an early breakfast, we do a pleasant walk through indigenous forest to see the Lone Creek Falls. Then we follow a scenic route to Hazyview and enter the Kruger National Park. We 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 3 - 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 for a visit to the Ngwenya glass factory where all the items are hand made from recycled glass. We drive through the capital, Mababane, and continue to Mhlambanyatsi where we overnight in the mountains at Foresters Arms.
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Day 4 - Swaziland – Zululand – Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Park.
Today starts with a visit to Swazi Candles in the Malkerns Valley to watch the locals hand-moulding a large variety of interesting candles. Then we traverse through the Ezulwini Valley and past the National Stadium and Buildings of Parliament to visit the well-known local craft market. We continue via Manzini, the country's industrial centre, and Big Bend with its large sugar plantations, to the South African border. We travel past Mkuze to Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Park and arrive mid afternoon for our overnight stop at Hilltop Camp. Before dinner we do a late afternoon/early night game drive on an open safari vehicle equipped with high-powered spotlights to search for the shy nocturnal animals in the oldest game reserve in Africa.
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Day 5 - Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Park – Lake St Lucia - Durban.
After an early breakfast we do our final game drive before travelling to the village of St Lucia. Here we cruise by boat on the famous St. Lucia Estuary, a paradise boasting 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 an unforgettable experience we travel to Durban where we overnight.
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Day 6 - Durban - Natal Midlands – Southern Drakensberg Mountains.
Drive inland to Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, for a brief city tour. Stop at the railway station where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off the train because of the colour of his skin, and see the waiting room where, in the silence of the night, he formulated his philosophy of passive resistance. Visit the Church of the Vow that was built as a result of the Battle of Blood River between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus in 1838. Continue to Howick where we visit the 100m high Falls, and stop at the monument erected on the spot where Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1961 . Continue through an area of gentle pastoral beauty called the Natal Midlands. We pass through grassy plains scattered with villages and lush farmlands where plump cattle and thoroughbred horses graze. Then further through Underberg, a picturesque little village situated in the foothills of the majestic Drakensberg Mountains. Our hotel is in the lap of the mountain with peaks towering up to 3400m above sea level. The afternoon is at your leisure to participate in some of the organised hikes into the mountain or explore the area on your own. Dinner and overnight are at our hotel.
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Day 7 - Southern Drakensberg Mountains - Sani Pass - Durban.
After breakfast we set off to Sani Pass, named after the primitive people who lived in the area millennia ago, on a four-wheel drive with hair raising bends and breathtaking views to the top of the mountain. Lunch is served at the top in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho some 3000m above sea level. We return early afternoon, change vehicles and drive back to Durban.
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Day 8 - Durban.
Durban is an intriguing cultural blend of East, West and Africa, which with its endless summer climate, effervescent and lukewarm ocean lined with golden beaches, offers a subtropical carnival atmosphere all year round. Our tour of this bustling metropolis boasting the busiest port in Africa and often called the cultural 'melting pot' of South Africa, includes a drive past the so-called Apartheid Beaches, the Golden Mile, the impressive developments at the new Point Waterfront area, and the city centre. We stop at the Indian Market where you can bargain for souvenirs and spices. Our last visit is to the Botanical Gardens. You have the option of being dropped off at the end of the tour at the Ushaka Marine world with its world-class aquarium, and many shops and restaurants. Return to your hotel with our bus or spend the rest of the afternoon here and take a taxi back to the hotel.
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Day 9 - Durban - Port Elizabeth – Garden Route.
We depart from Port Elizabeth, also called the 'Friendly City' along the N2 national route to the Storms River with the impressive Paul Sauer Bridge across the valley, towering 139 m above the river. Our next stop is at Tsitsikamma National Park (Khoisan for “The place of much water”) stretching over 100 km 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 also offers shopping opportunities of unusual locally made art and craft. Overnight at Fish Eagle Lodge or similar.
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Day 10 - Garden Route - Oudtshoorn.
We explore the lake areas, the Wilderness National Park and travel via the scenic Outeniqua 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 comprises an underground wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites. Overnight at La Plume Guest Lodge or similar.
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Day 11 - Oudtshoorn – Mossel Bay – Cape Town.
After an early start we visit an ostrich show farm for some unique experiences, including ostrich racing. Our route to Mossel Bay takes us over the Outeniqua Mountains via the 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 Bartholomeu Dias in 1488. After an early lunch we travel to Swellendam, Grabouw and over the Sir Lowry's Pass to Cape Town where we arrive late afternoon.
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