South African Private Safaris & Self-drives | Southern African Tours
Safari Tour Company in Cape Town South Africa
OVERVIEW
This safari tour is managed by some of the best safari guides in the business. Accommodation is lodge-style with mostly buffet meals. You visit the Blyde River Canyon along the Panoramic Route. The canyon is the 3rd largest and largest “green canyon” in the world. You spend 2 and a half days on safari in the Kruger Park in a specially adapted 4×4 safari vehicle. The Kruger is reputed to be the most ecologically diverse wildlife reserve in the world, and larger than Holland and Belgium combined.
South Africa  | |
| Start | Johannesburg (Day 1) |
| Day 1-2 | Kruger NP |
| Day 3 | Blyde River Canyon (Panorama Route) |
| Day 4 | Kruger NP |
| End | Johannesburg (Day 4) |
Activities & Transportation
- Activities: game drives, evening/night game drives & nature hikes/walks
- Game drives: open-sided 4×4 vehicle
- Getting around: minivan
- A transfer from and back to the airport is included
Day 1
Transfer from Johannesburg & sunset / night safari
You will be collected from your hotel or from OR Tambo International Airport between 6:30 am and 6:45 am, and from the airport’s shuttle and bus terminal between 6:45 and 7:00 am. We depart at 7:15 am. You can fly directly to the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport and be collected by your safari guide at no additional cost! We travel directly to our lodge in Hazyview and arrive between 11:30 am – 12:00 pm.
You have time to relax and enjoy a light lunch, thereafter dive into the pool or walk around the beautiful lodge and walking trail. We depart from the lodge at around 3:30 pm for a sunset/nocturnal safari in the Kruger National Park. The sun sets early in the winter months, which means you will have a longer night safari. In summer, you enjoy beautiful sunsets while on safari. Return to the lodge at around 8:00 pm for a lovely dinner and a good night’s rest, preparing for your full-day safari in the Kruger National Park.
Day 2
Full-day open vehicle safari in the Kruger National Park
All safaris start before sunrise, the best part of the day, not knowing what to expect. After a short drive, we enter the park gates. Your guide will know which areas are the best to find the wildlife, including the Big 5 and plains game. This is the finest time of the day to see predators.
The lodge will arrange breakfast packs and your guide will stop after about 3 hours for breakfast, a bathroom break and a chance to get a coffee. We then continue with your safari. Kruger offers a variety of ecozones and each one has a different range of wildlife. We visit rivers and watering holes as well as plains and bushveld regions.
We stop for lunch at a rest camp, where this meal will be for your own account. You have time to do some curio shopping or enjoy a cold beer! The guide will then continue with the safari heading towards the lodge. We arrive back between 3:30 – 4:30 pm, with enough time to relax, swim and have a great dinner.
- Main Destination:
- Kruger National Park
- Accommodation:
- Umbhaba Eco Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Full-day Panorama safari & Blyde River Canyon
Today we visit God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon (world’s 3rd largest canyon), Lisbon Waterfall, the 3 Rondawels and the town of Graskop.
God’s Window allows people a window from the escarpment and has a 1,300 m drop below. One can see as far as Kruger and beyond on a clear day. There is a fantastic short walk through a natural rainforest environment. Bourke’s Luck Potholes are a stunning natural formation created by water erosion over hundreds of years. The Bourke’s Luck Potholes have round carvings and holes of different sizes formed in the Truer River and Blyde River confluence in the red sandstone. Your guides will brief you on all the history of the region. You can use small footbridges and walk over the chasms, looking at the water flowing through the cracks and holes. There are also several small but beautiful waterfalls in the area. We spend about 1 hour here. It’s a great walk of about 1 km in total.
- Main Destination:
- Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (Panorama Route)
- Accommodation:
- Umbhaba Eco Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Morning safari and transfer back to Johannesburg
Depart for the Kruger before sunrise. Your guide will focus on animals you could not find on the first 2 safaris. Lion and leopard are most active in the early mornings. The Kruger Park has 158 mammal species and over 550 bird species, your safari guide will help you find as many as possible.
No game drive is ever the same and the Kruger has a huge network of roads to choose from. Guides will drive in different areas of the park in different seasons, giving you the chance of more sightings. After breakfast and a coffee stop, you continue with the safari and return to the lodge at around 11 am where you say goodbye to your guide. There is enough time to freshen up before the journey back to Johannesburg.
You will be collected by the shuttle at around 11:30 am, and dropped off at your hotel in Johannesburg, or at OR Tambo International Airport. The arrival time is between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm.
- Main Destination:
- Kruger National Park
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Knysna Garden Route, Lagoon & Victoria Bay
Cape Agulhas is the southern most tip of Africa. Named by Portuguese navigators, who called it Cabo das Agulhas Portuguese for “Cape of Needles”. A great place for photographs. After a hearty breakfast, we travel to Mossel Bay (approximately three hours) which means “Bay of Mussels”. These mussel shells are the remains of meals testifying to the presence of the Khoi San, thousands of years ago. The first European to set foot in this sheltered bay was Bartholomew Diaz in 1488 and later Vasco De Gama. We visit an interesting museum featuring these exporers. Then onto Victoria Bay, a beautiful little seaside resort. Enjoy a swim in the Indian Ocean. The Wilderness is a charming village with a chain of natural freshwater lakes visible from the road on the way to Knysna
Lunch Finally we arrive in Knysna where you enjoy a sunset cruise on the iconic lagoon. A walk around the Waterfront then dinner there sampling the famous oysters perhaps!
Main Destination:
- Knysna (Garden Route)
Accommodation:
- Cuningham’s Island Guest House
- Mid-range guest house located in or near Knysna
Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 3
Tsitsikamma National Park & the greater Garden Route
Before leaving town we admire the view from “The Heads”, two cliffs that form a narrow passage at the entrance to the lagoon. We discover lush green coastal forests where once many elephants lived. A short drive brings us to the outskirts of Plettenberg Bay, a small luxurious resort town. We view the famous Bloukrans Bridge where bungee jumping is the highest in the world. Various activities and experiences are available alone the way. Like monkey land, Bird sanctuary under a huge mesh dome, free flight.
At the Tsitsikamma National Park we will walk in the indigenous forests and cross the mouth of the river on a suspension bridge. Beautiful scenery of the dramatic coastline. Time to relax, go diving or sea kayaking with a professional operator. Night is spent listening to the call of the fish eagle and huge swells crashing onto the rocks below.
Main Destination:
- Tsitsikamma National Park (Garden Route)
Accommodation:
- Storms River Mouth Rest Camp
- Mid-range self catering accommodation located inside Tsitsikamma NP
Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Non-alcoholic drinks
Day 4
Addo Elephant National Park & the Sunday River
Leaving the Tsitsikamma area we stop to admire the “Big Tree” an ancient tree yellow wood with impressive dimensions. Later that morning we arrive at the Addo National Park ready for our first game drive into this famous park. It is famous for the “Big Seven”, “the Big Five” plus whales and sharks! But especially the magnificent elephants we will encounter at the waterholes and many other mammals and no fewer than 400 bird species.
Later in the day we arrive at our guest house on a citrus farm on the banks of the Sunday’s River. Enjoy a swim, relax or stroll around the gardens. Tonight, enjoy a South African barbecue dinner made by your guide.
Main Destination:
- Addo Elephant National Park
- Best Time to Visit
- January to December (All year)
- High Season
- October to March (The park gets crowded)
- Best Weather
- Sep to Apr (Warmer nights and mornings)
- Wildlife in Addo Elephant NP
- Elephant Abundant
- Zebra
- Common Lion
- Occasional Buffalo
- Occasional Hyena
- Occasional Black Rhino Rare
Accommodation:
- Avoca River Cabins
- Mid-range self catering accommodation located just outside Addo Elephant NP
Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)
- Non-alcoholic drinks
I’m happy to say that our private guided safaris offer unbeatable value. We are owner/guides, which means you shall experience Africa with a dedicated and enthusiastic team. Call Craig +27 (0)820917983
