OVERVIEW

You leave Cape Town and head for the spectacular Clarence Drive on our way to Betty’s Bay where you visit Africa’s largest penguin colony.
Next is the charming town of Hermanus known for the world’s best land-based whale watching spot between the months of June to December.
Your journey continues along the Southern Cape Coast with a stop in Elim, a 19th century Moravian Missionary village and here you find quaint cottages with thatched roofs.
You continue to the coastal village of Agulhas (the southernmost tip of the continent), where you have time to relax, hike or swim in the warmer Indian ocean. Fresh fish for dinner perhaps!

Please note that we will meet and greet you before your departure. I will go through your itinerary in detail, handing over information, vouchers, and detailed maps. We are available 24/7.

Main Destination:

Cape Agulhas (Highlight)

Accommodation:

South Point

• Mid-range guest house located inside the park

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinks not included

Cape Agulhas is the southernmost tip of Africa. Named by Portuguese navigators, who called it Cabo das Agulhas, which is Portuguese for “Cape of Needles”.
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.
Finally, you arrive in Knysna where you enjoy a sunset cruise on the iconic lagoon. A walk around the Waterfront then dinner (optional) there sampling the famous oysters perhaps!

4 hr 9 min (378,7 km) via N2.

Main Destination:

Knysna (Garden Route)

Accommodation:

Paradise Found

• Mid-range guest house located in or near Knysna

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinks not included

Before leaving town 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. View the famous Bloukrans bridge where bungee jumping is the highest in the world.
Various activities and experiences are available along the way. Like monkey land and a huge ”free flight” Bird sanctuary. 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.
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.

1 hr 20 min (97km) via N2.

Main Destination:

Tsitsikamma National Park (Garden Route)

Accommodation:

Storms River Mouth Rest Camp

• Budget self catering accommodation located inside Tsitsikamma NP

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinks not included

Leaving the Tsitsikamma area stop to admire the “Big Tree” an ancient yellow wood with impressive dimensions.

It’s a relatively short drive to the wonderful Addo Elephant NP, a diverse wildlife conservation park that is one of the country’s 19 national parks. It is famous for the “Big Seven”, “the Big Five” plus whales and sharks as the park now includes coastline! The park is renowned for the magnificent elephants you encounter at the waterholes. We safari drive in this naturally conserved big 5 park (But don’t forget the 450 bird species found here).

Experience watching the animals around the waterhole from your chalet. The waterhole is lit up and wildlife comes and goes all night.

Tonight you partake on a game drive with an experienced game ranger with unsurpassed knowledge of the African bush (included).

2 hr 41 min (219,0 km) via N2.

Main Destination:

Addo Elephant National Park

Accommodation:

Addo Rest Camp

• Mid-range chalet located inside Addo Elephant NP

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

At around 5 am this morning you begin an exciting sunrise game drive with a professional game ranger. He will enthrall you with stories of the African bush and point out the Big 5 and other rare and endangered species.

Please note these safari activities can only be operated by the parks board, therefore making it a special experience.

Back at camp for breakfast, a short rest perhaps, then continue your self-drive safari in the 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.

A potential afternoon/evening safari at Schotia private game reserve is available to you at our discounted rates.
A delicious dinner is served in the “Boma”. The magic of the boma lies in the design, an enclosure with a central glowing fireplace lending a mystical and earthy quality.
The second part of the safari is nocturnal, allowing you to discover those ”hidden” animals of the night.

Main Destination:

Addo Elephant National Park

Accommodation:

Addo Rest Camp

• Mid-range chalet located inside Addo Elephant NP

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

The Baviaanskloof, is associated with pristine nature, narrow gorges with flowing streams, steep mountain passes, vast plains with waving grasslands and views of unspoilt wilderness. Nature has taken its course over thousands of years to create what is today universally recognized as the Baviaanskloof World Heritage Site. Few other places in the world hold evidence of the footprint of human history spanning over a million years.

The narrow valley of the Baviaanskloof is just under 200 kilometers in length and bounded by two mountain ranges: the Baviaanskloof Mountains on the north and the Kouga mountains on the south side. The valley lies at a lower altitude than the Karoo in the north.

The rainfall of the Karoo thus filters through the mountains to the Baviaanskloof river. For this reason the valley is surprisingly lush and supports a wider variety of plant species than would have been otherwise expected.

2 hr 59 min (255 km) via N2 and R62. Addo National Park to Semane Lodge.

Main Destination:

Great Karoo (Region)

Accommodation:

Semane Lodge

• Mid-range self catering accommodation located in or near Great Karoo

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

After breakfast, take Route 62, which winds between sea and Kloof (ravine).
Finally, you arrive in De Rust an unexpected bohemian arty town at the entrance to the Karoo. There is a spectacular waterfall 10 min from here.

Continue to Oudshoorn, where you can tour an ostrich ranch and view the “feather palaces”. This town is home to the world’s largest ostrich population.
Arrive at your guesthouse and enjoy a well-deserved break whilst watching a Karoo sunset.
Then it is time to study the solar system, it’s well known that the Karoo offers the best stargazing in the Southern Hemisphere, if not the world!

2 hr 19 min (194 km) via R62. Semane lodge to Oudtshoorn.

Main Destination:

Little Karoo (Region)

Accommodation:

De Denne

• Luxury guest house located in or near Oudtshoorn

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinks not included

This morning an experienced Cave guide will take you on a tour of the Cango Caves, a series of underground tunnels & galleries with impressive limestone formations. (choose between a standard or adventure tour)
Proceed to the famous Route 62, with Barrydale as a convenient lunch stop with various interesting boutique curio shops. Continue to Montagu with its amazing landscapes, mountains and picturesque villages with historical homesteads. Along the Breede River Valley wine route, stop for a wine tasting on the banks of the Breede River at Viljoensdrift wine farm.

After passing Worster, drive through the Huguenot tunnel, Africa’s largest, which gives you an insight into the huge obstacle the first pioneers had, leaving the Cape for the interior. Paarl town was founded by the French Huguenots in the 17C and gets its name from the granite domes situated above the Berg River Valley. Finally, at around 18:00, you reach your destination, Cape Town.

4 hr 39 min (420 km) via R62 and N1.

Main Destination:

Karoo National Park

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinks not included