This tour can be customized for a minimum of 4 people
Tour Overview:
Time to sharpen your Big 5 spotting talents in the world famous Kruger National Park and iMfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserves. Whether you are travelling alone, with a partner or your family, more fun can be had at St Lucia Wetlands (iSimangaliso), whale watching, hippo and crocodile spotting from boats, or simply lazing on the beach of the warm Indian Ocean. For a "jaws" adventure, why not experience a shark cave dive in Gansbaai, when in the Cape! Hollywood film stars come here to do it. Catch a cable car ride up iconic Table Mountain. In subtropical Mpumalanga, you will be captivated by the 'green' Blyde River Canyon; one of the word's deepest. Culturally, you will connect with our vibrant Zulu and Ndebele Heritage, the Cape Malay people in Bo-Kaap and our ancient San Rock Art legacy in the Cedarberg Mountains in the Cape. You will be exposed to signmificant historical aspects of South Africa's battle for democracy, including Nelson Mandela's previous home and the infamous Robben Island.
Your Itinerary:
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Day 1 ( Mon - 21-July-2008 )
Morning transfer to Centurion Lake Hotel Pretoria (or similiar) where the tour starts. We can transfer you free of charge to this hotel from Oliver R Tambo (Johannesburg) International Airport, or you may choose to arrive here by making your own arrangements. After enjoying lunch at this hotel and meeting your tour guide for a pre-tour briefing, we will visit some sights in Pretoria. We will climb to the top of the impressive Voortrekker Monument, which is of great cultural and historical significance to the Afrikaaner people, and from which there is a tremendous view of the city. Then to the centre of Pretoria, Church Square, and the commanding Union Buildings high on a “koppie”( Afrikaans for hill. Lunch included.
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Day 2 ( Tue - 22-July-2008 )
The day starts with a hearty South African breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and then we will drive via the scenic Hartebeespoort Dam, which lies at the foot of the majestic 3,000 million year old Magaliesberg mountains, to the "Cradle of Mankind". This is an area where the fossil record shows the earliest traces of mankind and its apelike relatives. We will descend in to the Sterkfontein Caves where many of these fossils were found, and visit other sites of interest in the area. After lunch we will drive through to the “Ndebele Mapoch Village” to meet members of one of South Africa’s most artistically gifted peoples. Our visit here includes an evening meal and traditional entertainment and the income from our visit will contribute directly to the local community . This village is not a make believe tribal experience, but shows how people live now in South Africa, and how their traditions have adapted to modern life. Breakfast included.
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Day 3 ( Wed - 23-July-2008 )
An early breakfast and then we leave the Hotel for Johannesburg ( Egoli), the “City Of Gold”. Our first stop will be Vilakazi Street in Soweto, the famous township. This street is notable for the two Nobel Peace prize winners who dwelt here, Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu - both great heroes of the struggle against apartheid. We will visit Nelson Mandela’s house which is now a museum, and then the nearby the Hector Petersen Memorial and Museum and learn all about the 1976 Soweto student uprising. We will go from here to Gold Reef City where you will gain insight into Johannesburg’s history, built on the largest and richest gold bearing reef ever found anywhere in the world. Breakfast included.
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Day 4 ( Thu - 24-July-2008 )
Breakfast and another early start! Depart hotel for Mpumalanga, the province of the “rising sun” in a luxury, air conditioned coach. The drive down the escarpment to the lowveld, is beautifully scenic. Arrive at Shandon Lodge in the warm, subtropical city of Nelspruit , in time for lunch. Relax for the afternoon by the lodge's swimming pool, or explore Nelspruit. Breakfast included.
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Day 5 ( Fri - 25-July-2008 )
Depart for game drive in the Kruger National Park. Most of the day will be spent driving in South Africa's premier game park. We will be taken by an experienced game ranger, who knows where to find the best game viewing. We will return to Nelspruit in the late afternoon where you can avail of dinner at the lodge or go to one of the many restaurants in town. Breakfast included.
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Day 6 ( Sat - 26-July-2008 )
A day for astounding views and scenery! Following breakfast we depart for a drive through the “Panorama Route”. This route along the edge of the high escarpment affords astounding views of the "lowveld" and is a place of waterfalls,forests, plunging canyons, thrilling mountain passes and old gold mining villages. Don’t forget your camera! We will stop for lunch along the way, which is for your own account, but will be back for one last dinner at the lodge. Breakfast included.
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Day 7 ( Sun - 27-July-2008 )
Today we head for the Kingdom of the Zulu, South Africa’s famed warrior people. Enjoy one more breakfast in the beautiful, lowveld setting and we depart for the province of KwaZulu-Natal. After lunch in Barberton (for your own account), a historic gold mining town which had a stock exchange before Johannesburg existed, we journey on through a beautiful terrain of forests and mountains. After passing through Amsterdam, we reach Paulpietersburg a small town founded by the Afrikaaner farmers in the hills of Zululand. Relax here at the spa resort, where we will be staying, in the nine, hot and cold mineral spring pools and enjoy the wonderful, natural setting with exceptional birdlife. Breakfast and dinner included.
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Day 8 ( Mon - 28-July-2008 )
Today, we journey to a coastal subtropical region, to Seasands Lodge in the village of St Lucia on the edge of the St Lucia (iSimangaliso) Wetlands a World Heritage site. Here you will enjoy an African bush experience with a difference. As an optional activity before dinner, you can go kayaking on the lagoon with an experienced guide to introduce you to the wetland close up. Days 8 9,10,11 will be spent here in the St Lucia Wetlands area. Among the activities that are available here are whale watching and marine mammal spotting boat trips, Hippo and Crocodile viewing from a flat bottomed boat on the Lagoon, game drives, walks and horse riding in the coastal forest, snorkeling and swimming and surfing in the sea, and a visit to a Zulu cultural village. At this time of the year, the weather is generally dry and pleasantly warm but with no humidity, and therefore comfort is optimal. Breakfast and dinner are included.
Optional Activities:
Evening kayaking on the lagoon with experienced guide 2 1/2 hrs R250
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Day 9 ( Tue - 29-July-2008 )
Down to the seas, the always warm Indian Ocean. As an optional activity this morning, you can go on a boat launched from the beach with our well experienced crew out past the breakers, to see one of the world’s largest living creatures, the Southern Right Whale. At this time of the year they are to be seen in great numbers off our coasts. As you have to help launch the boat through the breakers you have to be reasonably fit. Those of you who do not wish to go on the whale watching boat can take the option of going on a more gently moving, flat bottomed boat on the lagoon and in to the mangroves, to see the hippos and the crocodiles and numerous other creatures and birdlife. Meanwhile ,those of you not going on either boat trip can remain on the beach relaxing, or exploring the village. Around noon we all travel to Dumazulu Village for lunch, and a truly unforgettable experience of Zulu culture. There is also a snake and crocodile park at Dumazulu. Breakfast and dinner are included today.
Optional Activities:
Boat Based Whale Watching and Marine Mammal Viewing St Lucia. R600 pp 2hrs.
Flat Bottomed Boat Hippo and Crocodile viewing on St Lucia Lagoon R130 pp 2hrs.
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Day 10 ( Wed - 30-July-2008 )
To the seas again after breakfast for a picnic lunch and day on the beach at beautiful Cape Vidal further up the coast, in the unique, forested coastal dune area of the St Lucia Wetlands Park. This secluded beach is in a game reserve, so we will be game spotting as we drive along. We will be hosted for the day by an experienced snorkelling and diving instructor who knows the marine and lagoon habitats. After a gorgeous day in the sun and at the sea, we will return to the lodge in time for dinner. Breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner included.
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Day 11 ( Thu - 31-July-2008 )
After breakfast we depart south along the coast for the city of Durban, stopping for lunch (which will be for your own account). At Durban airport we will board an afternoon flight to Cape Town, arriving there early evening. We will transfer to the four star Cape Hollow Boutique Hotel. Our stay here is on a bed and breakfast basis only. Breakfast included.
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Day 12 ( Fri - 01-August-2008 )
“Jaws” day for those who want to go shark cage diving, as an additional optional activity. You will be collected at 6.00am (sorry about the early start but it's necessary) by an experienced shark diving company. It’s a full day program of shark cage diving and whale watching and starts with breakfast (that is yours, not the shark's). The rest of the group will visit the very beautiful Harold Porter or Fernkloof Nature Reserve and also do some land based whale watching from Hermanus, or other suitable venue along the seashore. Breakfast included.
Optional Activities:
Shark Cage Diving Cape Town. R1350.00 pp. All equipment,breakfast, lunch,transport inc, for whole day.
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Day 13 ( Sat - 02-August-2008 )
After breakfast we leave to ascend Table Mountain by cable car. This is one of those things on many peoples' “ To Do Before I Die" lists. It is truly impossible to overrate the experience. The views of sea, city and mountainscape are magnificent. Here we can also offer you an interesting option. Ascend the mountain on foot with an experienced guide who has been taking tourists up for many years. You will meet the rest of the group on top and descend with them in the cable car. You need to be reasonably fit, (but not an athlete), and the guide is understanding and won’t rush you. After coming down and lunch, we will go and visit some of Cape Town’s central city sights, including Slave Lodge, which largely concerns the Dutch East India Company’s ( VOC’s) activities in South Africa and their involvement in the early European slave trade. Then, the SA National Museum which has many exhibits, but of particular interest are those of the the Middle and Late Stone Age, which includes the earliest known decorative items or jewelery ever found, and therefore represent the origins of human art. Breakfast included.
Optional Activities:
Walk up Table Mountain with guide ( must be more than 4 participants) R250 pp.
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Day 14 ( Sun - 03-August-2008 )
After breakfast,we leave for Cape Town’s Waterfront and the Robben Island Ferry to see the infamous island prison, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We should be back to the Waterfront by lunchtime and spend sometime at this venue, which has many attractions, including the world famous aquarium. Breakfast included.
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Day 15 ( Mon - 04-August-2008 )
After breakfast we will depart on a trip for wine lovers and adventure seekers, visiting first the town of Stellenbosch and the Spier award winning wine estate, and then the Rhebokskloof Wine Estate in Paarl. Both of these are situated in the Cape Winelands region and are immediately adjacent to Cape Town. At Rhebokskloof, there is horseriding, quad biking and mountain biking into the surrounding Nature Reserve. Lunch for your own account. Breakfast included.
Optional Activities:
Horse Riding R150/hr, Quadbiking R300/hr, Mountain Biking R100/hr, Winelands
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Day 16 ( Tue - 05-August-2008 )
After breakfast we shall start the day by visiting the Castle of Good Hope built by the VOC on Cape Town’s foreshore, and then walk to the Bo-Kaap with a local guide to visit Cape Town's oldest sub-culture, the Cape Malays, who live here in colourful,historical, turn of the eighteenth century dwellings, perched high on the mountainside overlooking Cape Town. We shall then drive south to Cape Point, stopping on the way at the picturesque fishing town of Hout Bay for lunch (your own account). Then, on to the dramatic cliff top coastal drive of Chapman’s Peak to Cape Point. After stopping at Cape Point, we will drive back along the other side of the Peninsula, past the naval port of Simonstown and then to Boulders Beach, for a stroll amongst its famous colony of African Penguins. Breakfast included
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Day 17 ( Wed - 06-August-2008 )
After breakfast we depart for the Pakhuis Pass in the Cedarberg Mountains for what is an unusual highlight of this tour. We will spend the afternoon on the Sevilla Trail, one of the best venues for viewing San Rock Art in South Africa. San Rock Art is a unique and remarkable feature of the South African landscape, and we will be visiting an area where some of these prehistoric Van Gogh’s and Monet’s adorned rock faces with their compositions. If we are lucky, we will also see another phenomenon, which is not usually seen by overseas visitors; the colourful and often astounding mass display of spring flowers, that occurs in this particular area at this time of the year. You must be prepared for a longish drive, but it is through a magnificent landscape. Packed lunch and breakfast included.
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Day 18 ( Thu - 07-August-2008 )
After seeing " the best of so many worlds" we think you will be feeling relaxed and fulfilled. Depart Hotel mid morning today for a drive to Cape Town International Airport and end of tour. If you wish to prolong your stay consult your Mmilo Tour Guide or our Tailormade Tours pages on our website. Breakfast included.
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Included in Price:
17 Nights Accommodation in predominantly 4 Star establishments.
1 Local Flight
17 Breakfasts,4 Dinners ,3 Lunches
Transport in Luxury, Air Conditioned Coach
Transfers.
Entrance Fees to Museums, Shows and Other Attractions ( except optional activities)
Qualified Tour Guide
Travel to and from South Africa excluded
Travel and Medical Insurance excluded
All Drinks excluded
All Optional Activities excluded
All passport and Visa fees excluded
Member discount:
10% discount for InfoHub customer. Request a free gift certificate.
Notes:
Airfare is included in the tour price.
The minimum tour price is based on an adult sharing a standard double room,and excludes optional activities. Optional activities are paid directly to the service provider on the day of the activity or to Mmilo Tours. The maximum price assumes that the person sharing standard accommodation will take part in at least one optional outdoor and adventure activity on every day when they are available. A single supplement is levied by all South African accommodation providers. Accommodation rates for children and the age definition for children also varies from one hotel/lodge to the next, and these will also be specified on request.
Price Includes:
- 17 Nights Accommodation in predominantly 4 Star Hotels/Lodges
- 1 Local Flight
- 17 Breakfasts, 4 Dinners ,3 Lunches
- Transport in Luxury Air Conditioned Coach
- Transfers
- Entrance Fees to Museums, Shows and Other Attractions (except optional activities)
- Qualified Tour Guide throughout the tour.
- 14% Value Added Tax
Also see tour packages in:
Africa
South Africa
National Parks
Archeology/History
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