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Adventure Travel in South Africa
South Africa is really a world in one country. Each of the nine
provinces has a very different attraction and offers their visitor
a variety of different experiences. From the wild and very large
Kruger National Park (which spans over two provinces in the North)
to the Western Cape, made famous by our mother city (the "Gate
Way to Africa"), nestled at the foot of Table Mountain. South
Africa's provinces show their differences in many ways. One, which
is not obvious at first, is the diverse cuisine on offer. Durban
has a very strong Indian influence, Cape Town dishes are influenced
by the Dutch and Malay people, while the Northern Provinces make
use of a lot of meat, particularly venison. Below are some of
Hallmark Adventure Travel Safari Options that ensure comfort,
unique client service and personal attention even as we show you
the highlights of South Africa combining in some of the itineraries
wildlife tours with cultural tourism and ecotourism.
GARDEN ROUTE FANTASY - HASA
230
Mondays & Thursdays at 8.30
am - 3 Nights
Day 1 Mon/Thur Garden
Route
Depart for the historic town of Stellenbosch for wine tasting
and a tour. After lunch in Franschhoeck continue via Grabouw and
Elgin to the coastal haven of Kleinmond.
Overnight: Beach House or similar.
Day 2 Tue/Fri Garden Route
Depart for Swellendam, and then over the Tradouw pass to Oudtshoorn.
Lunch at an Ostrich Farm and then visit the Crocodile Farm.
Overnight: Eight Bells Mountain Inn.
Day 3 Wed/Sat Garden Route
Drive to George and board the Outeniqua Choo-tjoe stream train
to Knysna. After lunch continue via primaeval forests to Plettenberg
Bay.
Overnight: Crescent country House.
Day 4 Thur/Sun Port Elizabeth
Travel via the Tsitsikamma forest, with lunch at the coastal park
and then on to Part Elizabeth for a brief city tour before arriving
at the airport at approximately 6.00pm.
CAPE TOWN – GARDEN ROUTE – CAPE
TOWN - HASA 232
Tuesday at 8.30 am - 3 Nights
Day 1 Tuesday Oudtshoorn
Depart heading East before reaching Worcester the ‘fruit
basket’ of the cape. Carry on to Swellendam and then the
Sandstone Folded Mountain ranges of Tradouw and Huis River Passes.
Then enter the ever-changing semi desert region of the little
karoo before reaching the Ostrich capital of Oudtshoorn.
Overnight: Queens Hotel – Oudsthoorn.
Day 2 Wed George
After breakfast visit the Cango Caves and then via Prince Alfred
in the great Karoo, Meiringspoort (weather permitting) through
Oudshoorn to the Garden Route via the Oueteniqua Mountains passing
the lake District before reaching Knysna.
Overnight: Knysna Quays Hotel.
Day 3 Thursday Knysna – George
After breakfast travel to the indigenous forest of the Tsitsikamma
and then via the passes of Bloukrans and Swartriver returning
via the millionaire’s playground of Plettenberg Bay to Mossel
Bay and the ‘Post Office Tree’ Continue to the hotel
situated at the edge of the estuary.
Overnight: Breede River Lodge Fort Beaufort.
Day 4 Friday Cape Town
The final day begins with the crossing of the Breede River by
ferry and travel the coastal route through the wheat fields of
the Overberg and the spectacular False Bay coastline back to Cape
Town arriving at a proximately 5.00 pm.
CITY – KRUGER NATIONAL PARK –
JOHANNESBURG - HASA 235
Daily from Cape Town - 4 Nights
Day 1 Sun City
Transfer from your Cape Town Hotel to the airport for the direct
flight to Sun City. On arrival you are transferred the short distance
to the magnificent Lost City complex. Enjoy the many leisure and
sporting activities on offer. Overnight: The palace Hotel.
Day 2 Sun City
This fantasy resort offers exceptional leisure facilities; enjoy
golf on one of two superb courses, or else play squash, tennis
bowls, ten-pin bowling, surf the waves or try the extreme excitement
of the waterslides-take in a Las Vegas style extravaganza show,
try your luck at the Casino, or relax in one of many excellent
bars that do not complex. Overnight: The Palace Hotel.
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Day 3 Sabi Sands Game
Reserve
Mid-morning you are transferred to the Sun City airport for your
flight into Shukkuza (airport tax is payable directly on arrival)
in the heart of bushveld. Here you are met and taken through rural
villages to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve and Inyati Private Game
Lodge. You arrive in to freshen up before your afternoon game
viewing experience. Game activities are by open safari Vehicle
accompanied by your expert game ranger and shangaan tracker. Animals
that can be seen include the big five of lion, leopard, elephant,
rhino and Cape buffalo the reserve also abounds with many species
of antelope and exceptional birdlife. Returning to your lodge
after dark, dinner is experienced in the open air Boma. Overnight:Inyati
Lodge
Day 4 Sabi Sands Game
Reserve
Twice today you will head off into the bush in search of wildlife,
with enough quality time in between to enable you to completely
relax and enjoy your surroundings. Overnight: Inyati Lodge.
Day 5 Johannesburg
After a final game drive and a leisurely
breakfast you once again return to Shukuza airport for the flight
back to Johannesburg where the tour ends on arrival at Johannesburg
Airport.
NB: It is possible to package this itinerary
with any of the superb Private Game Lodges in the Sabi Sands region
of the Mpumalanga Bushveld.
The Best of South Africa -
HASA 239
A wonderful safari experience that covers
most of the attractions of South Africa taking you from one province
to the other so that within a span of three weeks you are able
see the 'real' South Africa in luxury; staying in some of the
top establishments in Southern Africa even as you enjoy the best
that Africa has to offer.
Day 1 Johannesburg (the
"Place of Gold")
We start our tour in Johannesburg (the "Place of Gold").
Our rendezvous is Gold Reef City, where we will get to know each
other and the other tour members. We believe that it is always
nice to start a tour with a good meal, so for that reason we have
chosen to stay the night in Gold Reef City. After lunch, we will
join a tour down a old gold mine and try to give you a glimpse
of how South Africa became a leading player in the gold industry.
The balance of the day will be spent viewing the many other attractions
that Gold Reef City has to offer. That night, after dinner, we
will give a brief overview of what you will see and experience
over the next 20 days.
Day 2 Mpumalanga Tour
Early the next morning we set off on our journey of discovery.
We head north towards the province of Mpumalanga. As we travel,
we stop at many of the great attractions, like the Voortrekker
Monument. Lunch will be served on the road as we make our way
to Pilgrim's Rest, where we will be spending the night. Pilgrim's
Rest is an old, restored gold mining village. The whole village
is one big museum, and offers visitors the opportunity to step
into the past.
Day 3, Kruger National
Park
and we are on the move again towards the world renowned Kruger
National Park, the largest national park in South Africa. Here
you will get to see the Big 5 amongst many other things. But before
we get there, we will stop at some breathtaking vistas, like God's
Window, the Potholes and many beautiful waterfalls. For dinner
you will be encouraged to try some venison which we will prepare
for you on a "braai" (South African barbeque, but far
better).
Day 4 Kruger National
Park
W e remain in Kruger, where we continue to amaze you with the
diversity of our land's fauna and flora. That night we will join
the park rangers on a night drive. You will experience a whole
new Africa as the bush comes alive and the predators come out
to hunt.
We begin Day 5 with an early morning game drive,
before leaving Kruger. Lunch is served on the road as we wind
our way around Swaziland and into Zululand. That night will be
spent in Piet Retief.
Day 6 St Lucia Wetlands/Hluhluwe
Umfolozi Game Reserve
On this day we head towards St Lucia wetlands, which has just
recently been proclaimed a world heritage site. You will enjoy
a boat cruise up the estuary to view amongst other things, the
largest hippo population in South Africa. Lake St Lucia and the
Indian Ocean lie back to back with only a narrow set of sand dunes
separating them. Later on that day we enter the Hluhluwe Umfolozi
game reserve, which has become famous for single handedly saving
the White and Black Rhino from certain extinction. Once again
we will join the rangers for a night drive.
Day 7 Durban
We head down the Indian Ocean coastline and stop at Richards Bay,
home to South Africa's largest harbor. Lunch will be served in
the harbor water front. We continue Southwards towards Durban,
where our first stop on the way in will be at the Natal Sharks
Board. This organization has become world leaders in their field.
They will share a short presentation with you, giving you an insight
into the Sharks Board and will probably give you a very different
view towards these amazing creatures. After the presentation we
will join them as they dissect a shark. Dinner that night will
have a very Indian flavor and weather permitting, we will take
a boat cruise through the harbor and then out to sea where Durban
lights will dazzle you.
Day 8 Drakensberg Mountains
We continue inland towards the Drakensberg, which is South Africa's
largest mountain range. Before we get there, we will travel through
"the valley of a thousand hills" and attend a raptor
display, let you dance with the Zulus and visit a crocodile farm.
That night will be spent in the awesome Drakensberg mountains,
and if time allows we will venture up to view some Bushmen paintings
(rock art). While in the Drakensberg, one simply has to sample
the area's trout for supper.
Day 9 The Diamond Mines
of Kimberly
Our journey takes us through the Orange Free State and into the
the Northern Cape, where our destination is Kimberly. This city
is known for its diamond mining. We will visit the "groot
gat" (Afrikaans for big hole) where diamonds where mined
using an open pit system. The pit eventually got so big that it
is now visible from space.
Day 10 The Karoo
W we set off through the Karoo, known for its flat landscape and
vegetation, and some of the best lamb you will ever eat. It is
believed that the lamb is so good there because their diet consist
of the very aromatic "fynbos" (fine bush) in the area.
Day 11 The Winelands of
Cape Town
We arrive at the Mother city, but before entering Cape Town we
will visit some of the world's best wine farms. We will ramble
along some of the area's beautiful mountain passes. That night
we will treat you to the best the ocean has to offer, prepared
a la Cape!
Day 11 The Table Mountain/V&A
Waterfront/Robin Island
The next day we travel up Table Mountain by cable car, to be rewarded
by unsurpassed views of Cape Town and the ocean. From there it's
off to Signal Hill and lunch in Hout Bay, before returning to
the V&A Waterfront. The afternoon is spent at leisure, before
we sail off into the sunset for a sundowner cruise around Robin
Island. This old prison camp island became famous for housing
our former state president, Nelson Mandela, for a part of his
detention.
Day 13 Langebaan
We head up the west coast to Langebaan. We will endeavor to arrange
dinner on the beach at the "Strandloper" (the beach
comber). This rustic, open air restaurant will delight you with
its setting and many (I think it was 9) courses of traditional
and seafood fare offered.
Day 14 Cape Town and Boulders
Penguin
we return to Cape Town and visit some of the smaller towns in
the area, like Simons town, Fishhoek and a beach called Boulders,
home to a protected penguin colony.
Day 15 Whaling town of
Hermanus/Cape Aghulas/De Hoop Nature reserve
We continue up the east coast to visit places like the old whaling
town of Hermanus, which has become famous in this latter day for
its whale watching. Other attractions are Cape Aghulas, which
is the most southern tip of Africa, where the warm Indian Ocean
meets with the cold Atlantic Ocean. That night will be spent in
De Hoop Nature reserve, which is located on the coast and offers
some great views.
Day 16 Garden Route
We start our journey back to our starting point. This day is full
of attractions ranging from Mossel Bay, Robinson pass, Cango caves
and a visit to one of Oudtshoorn's Ostrich farms. For dinner we
can highly recommend the ostrich, or crocodile which is also bred
in the area.
Day 16 George/Knysa
The next day we travel back to the coast and down the Outeniqua
Pass to the town of George. Then off to Knysa to visit some the
area's oyster and mussel farms. Sundowners are served overlooking
the Knysa Heads, where the Knysa lagoon enters the sea.
Day 18 Tsitsikamma National
Park
A short drive takes us to the Tsitsikamma National Park, where
you will enjoy some free time. The park is known for its large
coastal forests, rolling down to the coast line. The Storms River
enters the Indian Ocean just in front of our accommodation for
the night and there are several short walks that can be enjoyed,
including a suspended bridge over the Storms river.
Day 19 Port Elizabeth/Grahamstown/Hogsback
From here we continue north traveling through towns like Port
Elizabeth and Grahamstown. That night we will spend in a little
town called the Hogsback, which gets its name from three mountains
that resemble their name sake. This area was the inspiration for
Tolkien to write books like "Lord of the Rings" and
the "Hobbit".
Day 20 Orange Free State/Bloemfontein
On this day we travel back into the Orange Free State, where we
plan to stay the night in Bloemfontein. To get there we travel
through the Stormberg Mountains, along the Penhoek pass.
Day 21 Johannesburg
Finally we return to our starting point, having completed a figure
of eight on our travels. We will enjoy our last meal of the tour,
and after lunch we will be happy to take you to the airport or
to a hotel of your choice in Johannesburg.
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