South African Private Safaris & Self-drives | Southern African Tours
Safari Tour Company in Cape Town South Africa
OVERVIEW
This tour offer’s you an enormous diversity & 3 Game reserves in just 8 days! It includes whale watching in Hermanus (June to December), Penguins, Cape Agulhas, Mossel Bay & the Diaz museum. Knysna with it’s ancient forests and famous lagoon cruise. Plettenberg Bay (African St Tropes! ), Tsitsikamma NP, Oudtshoorn, A night in a Game Reserve in the Karoo which is the worlds largest succulent desert, hot springs, Cango caves, Ostrich Safari and the iconic Addo Park, famous for elephant and lion.
Tour Summary
- You’ll go to South Africa
- You’ll visit Cape Agulhas (Highlight), Knysna (Garden Route), Tsitsikamma NP (Garden Route), Addo Elephant NP, Little Karoo & Great Karoo
- This tour starts and ends in Cape Town – Getting there
Activities & Transportation
Activities: game drives, evening/night game drives & canoe/mokoro safaris
Game drives: open-sided 4×4 vehicle & self drive
Getting around: self drive
A transfer from and back to the airport (or hotel) is included
DAY BY DAY
Day 1
Cape Agulhas most southern tip of Africa
You leave the Cape and drive via the breathtaking Clarence Drive to Betty’s Bay where we visit the ”Stony point” penguin colony. Home to the rare African penguin.
A light lunch overlooking Walker Bay in Hermanus, a protected bay offering a privileged vantage point to view the Southern Right Whales.
Gansbaai is known for its dense population of great white sharks.
Elim, a village of white cottages with thatched roofs, was formed in 1824 by members of the Church of the Moravian Brethren.
Next is a visit to the tip of Africa where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Cape Agulhas describes in Portuguese the sharp rocks which threatened the route to India for navigators of old.
We then drive onto Arniston, a ”jewel” on the east coast, with it’s emerald sea and white sand dunes, a late afternoon swim or if low tide a short hike into the sea cave.
Dinner on the beach in a fisherman’s cottage in the authentic fisherman’s village, or an African barbecue, weather dependent.
- Main Destination:
- • Cape Agulhas
- Accommodation:
• Arniston Sea Cottages
- Mid-range guest house located in or near the park
- Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
Day 2
Knysna Garden Route
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, you 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 explorers. 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:
• River Tide Lodge
- Mid-range guest house located in or near Knysna
- Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
Day 3
Tsitsikamma National Park
Before leaving town you admire the view from “The Heads”, two cliffs that form a narrow passage at the entrance to the lagoon. You discover lush green coastal forests where once many elephants lived. A short drive brings you to the outskirts of Plettenberg Bay, a luxurious resort village. You 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 and a huge ”free flight” Bird sanctuary Experience a walk or ride with Elephants with panoramic views of the Outeniqua mountains and Knysna forest.
At the Tsitsikamma NP you can 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 canoeing with a professional operator. The evening is spent listening to the call of the fish eagle and huge swells crashing onto the rocks below which can cause the coastline to vibrate. Awesome!
- Main Destination:
- • Tsitsikamma National Park (Garden Route)
- Accommodation:
• Tsitsikamma National Park
- Mid-range chalet located in or near Knysna
- Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
Day 4
Addo Elephant National Park
Leaving the Tsitsikamma area you stop to admire the “Big Tree” an ancient yellow wood with impressive dimensions.
Later that morning you 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 you will encounter at the waterholes and many other mammals and no fewer than 400 bird species.
Later in the day you arrive at your guest house on a citrus farm on the banks of the Sunday’s River.
Enjoy a swim, relax or stroll around the gardens. PS The farm is home to the worlds longest zip line. Adrenalin all round?
Dinner- fabulous home cooked farm style.
- Main Destination:
- • Addo Elephant National Park
- Accommodation:
- • Happy Lands
• Mid-range guest house located in or near Knysna - Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
Day 5
Addo National Park & Schotia private game reserve
The morning will be spent visiting the Addo Park. Discover, Experience & Explore a world of diversity in one Park.
Now the third largest national park in South Africa, Addo Elephant National Park has expanded to conserve a wide range of biodiversity, landscapes, fauna and flora. This afternoon you safari at the beautiful Schotia private game reserve with a professional ranger in a 4×4.
Refreshments, tea, coffee and wood-fired baked rolls.
Second part of the safari is nocturnal which will allow you to discover those ”hidden” animals of the night.
A delicious dinner will be served in the “Boma”. The magic of the boma lies in the design, a type of enclosure with central glowing fireplace lending a mystical and earthy quality. Add lanterns and the overhead stars, magic! (included).
- Main Destination:
- • Addo Elephant National Park
- Accommodation:
• Happy Lands
- Mid-range guest house located in or near Knysna
- Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
Day 6
Baviaanskloof & Karoo
Just after Port Elizabeth you take Route 62, which winds between the sea and the Baviaanskloof, a ‘wilderness area’ by UNESCO for its floral diversity. The ever changing colors of the majestic mountains, canyons, scenic passes, waterfalls and quaint historical small towns offer a kaleidoscope of beauty.
Finally you arrive in De Rust an unexpected bohemian arty town at the entrance to the Karoo. Lunch at the Royal Hotel. Better still a spectacular drive to visit an impressive waterfall where you can plunge into the pool and picnic.You continue to Oudshoorn where you visit an ostrich farm and also view the “feather palaces”. This town is home to the world’s largest ostrich population.
You arrive at your guesthouse and enjoy a well deserved break whilst watching a Karoo sunset.
A hearty 3 course home cooked dinner at the farm’s restaurant awaits, time now to study the solar system, it’s well known that the Karoo offers the best star gazing in the Southern Hemisphere, if not the world!- Main Destination:
- • Little Karoo
- Accommodation:
• De Denne
- Luxury guest house located in or near Oudtshoorn
- Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
Day 7
Montagu and its folded Mountains
This morning an experienced and accredited Caves guide will take you on a tour of the “Cango Caves”, a series of underground tunnels and galleries with impressive limestone formations. (choose between a standard or adventure tour)
You continue on a most memorable journey, Route 62, to Montagu passing quaint villages and farms.
A charming small town founded in 1851 that has maintained old-world charm with fascinating Cape Dutch and Georgian architecture. This peaceful town is steeped in history and is famous for its awe inspiring rock formations, orchards, vineyards, local herbs and the healing hot mineral springs. Time permitting you can take a dip at the springs.
Thereafter you continue to the African Game Lodge, home to a number of species of wildlife. Situated in the heart of the Karoo where silence, tranquility and starry nights dominate. NB: Time permitting an optional nature drive, game drive and cheetah program visit is offered. Or this activity can be done the next morning.- Main Destination:
- • Great Karoo
- Accommodation:
• African Game Lodge
- Mid-range chalet located in or near Oudtshoorn
- Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
Day 8
To Cape Town via R62 and the Wine lands
If you didn’t do so yesterday you can start the day with an optional game drive in this wonderful Karoo wilderness? You travel to Cape Town via the Cape’s famous wine lands in the Breede River Valley. Your first stop is on the banks of the beautiful Breede river for a wine tasting.
Robertson, heart of Route 62 and wine route, has more than 50 registered wine cellars. Brilliant mauve jacarandas trees shade the streets.
Near Worcester you visit the Karoo National Botanical Gardens, famous for being the only true succulent garden in the Southern hemisphere.
You carry on through the mountainous Hex river valley passing through Africa’s longest tunnel.
On your way to Cape Town you pass by the Historical town of Paarl. The name is derived from ‘Parel’, Dutch for Pearl, when in 1657, a Dutch settler saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm.
The first French Huguenots settled here in 1666 and developed the wine making tradition still present today.- Main Destination:
- • Cape Town
- Accommodation:
- • No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
- Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
- Drinks not included
