The
Garden Route and South
Africa offers a long list of interesting
towns with lots to do. Most of these towns are included
in a Garden Route Tour. Remember
to let us know if there is a certain town you would
like to see during your Garden Route Tour
and we will do our best to include it in the tour.
- The Garden Route Taste
How to plan your first tour to
South Africa and The Garden
Route:
Sundays
from Johannesburg and Wednesdays or Thursdays from
Cape Town.
Depart from Johannesburg - Mpumalanga - Kruger National
Park - Swaziland - Zululand - St Lucia - Durban
- Port Elizabeth - Garden Route
- Oudtshoorn - end in Cape Town.
Johannesburg – Dullstroom – Panoramic Route
- Sabie
Our first day on tour takes us
from Johannesburg via Middelburg, Dullstroom and
Lydenburg to Pilgrim´s Rest, the early gold mining
town turned into a living museum. Rich deposits
of alluvial gold were found here at the end of the
19th century, hence the existence of the town deep
in the mountains. We continue to Sabie and overnight
in the Lone Creek River Lodge..
Panoramic Route – Private Game Reserve
We visit Lone Creek Falls and travel via Graskop
to marvel at scenic areas such as God’s Window,
Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon, and
some of the spectacular waterfalls in the area.
Finally we descend to the Lowveld via Abel Erasmus
pass and the Strijdom Tunnel to arrive at Mohlabetsi
in the Balule private game reserve.
This afternoon our encounter with Africa's
wildlife begins as we travel on an open vehicle
to search for the game. Enjoy a great dinner under
the stars tonight (weather permitting). Overnight
at Mohlabetsi.
Private Game Reserve – Kruger National Park
After an early morning hike, searching for the wild
on foot, and breakfast we enter the Kruger National
Park and spend the rest of day
in this magnificent reserve around 2 million ha
in extent. We overnight in the reserve
in one of the camps.
Kruger National Park - Swaziland
We rise early for a game drive
and return for breakfast in the camp. We spend the
rest of the morning in the reserve
and depart in the afternoon for the mountain Kingdom
of Swaziland. We visit the Ngwenya Glass Factory,
and travel via Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland, to Foresters
Arms, our hotel in the mountains at Mhlambanyatsi..
Swaziland – Zululand – Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
We visit the well-known Swazi Candles factory and
the big arts and crafts market in the Ezulwini
Valley and drive past the National Stadium
and the parliament buildings on our way to Manzini,
the country's industrial centre. We drive further
past Big Bend with the country's largest sugar plantations
to the South African border. We
continue to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park game reserve
and arrive late afternoon at our overnight stop
- Hilltop Camp. Here we join a late afternoon/early
night game drive on open safari vehicles equipped
with high powered spotlights to search for the shy
nocturnal animals.
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park – Lake St Lucia - Durban
After an early breakfast we do our final game drive
before travelling to the village of St Lucia. Here
we join a boat cruise on the famous Lake St Lucia,
a paradise with bird species such as fish eagle,
Goliath heron and many more. Your guide will show
you the world of the hippo and the crocodile and
the other mystic inhabitants of the "deep". After
this unforgettable experience we travel to Durban,
South Africa’s holiday mecca.
Durban
Durban is an intriguing cultural blend of East,
West and Africa, which with its
endless summer climate, effervescent and lukewarm
ocean lined with golden beaches, offers a subtropical
carnival atmosphere all year round. Our tour of
this bustling metropolis boasting the busiest port
in Africa and often called the cultural 'melting
pot' of South Africa, includes a drive past the
so-called Apartheid Beaches, the Golden Mile, the
impressive developments at the new Point Waterfront
area, and the city centre. We stop at the Indian
Market where you can bargain for souvenirs and spices.
Our last visit is to the Botanical Gardens.
You have the option of being dropped off at the
end of the tour at the Ushaka Marine
world with its world-class aquarium, and many shops
and restaurants. Return to your hotel with
our bus or spend the rest of the afternoon here
and take a taxi back to the hotel.
Durban - Port Elizabeth - Garden Route - Plettenberg
Bay/Knysna
An early transfer to the local airport for a flight
to Port Elizabeth where this leg of our tour begins.
Depart Port Elizabeth at 09h00. Our first stop is
Storms River with the impressive Paul Sauer Bridge
across the valley towering some 139 metres
above the river. We visit the Tsitsikamma National
Park (Khoisan for 'The place of
much water') stretching over 100 kilometres
of wild and rocky coastline characterised by massive
cliffs, narrow isolated beaches and shady indigenous
forests along the river valleys. Then we traverse
through magnificently scenic river valley passes
to Plettenberg Bay for a short visit. Continue to
Knysna. We join a sundowner cruise on the lagoon.
Overnight at Fish Eagle Lodge or similar.
Knysna - George - Oudtshoorn
Spend the morning in Knysna visiting the “Heads”
etc. Knysna also offers shopping opportunities of
unusual locally made art and craft, etc. This
afternoon we board the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe Train,
an antique steam train, to George, a unique way
to experience some of the most magical views on
the Garden Route and Wilderness
National Park.
We travel over the Outeniqua Mountains to the Little
Karoo and stay at luxury guest lodge on a working
ostrich farm. Overnight La Plume Guest Lodge.
Oudtshoorn - Cango Caves
- Ostrich Farm - Mossel Bay
We
visit an Ostrich Show Farm for some unique experiences
including ostrich racing. A ride on a back of an
ostrich is not for the fainthearted. We visit the
Cango Caves, regarded as one of South Africa's foremost
natural wonders. The fascinating calcite caves comprises
an underground wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites.
Visit Oudtshoorn, also called the "Feather Capital"
of the world, as over ninety percent of the world's
ostrich farms are found here. Continue to Mossel
Bay for overnight.
Mossel Bay - Hermanus - Cape Town
We visit arguably the oldest post office in Africa,
the Post Office Tree and the site of the first landfall,
made by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Dias
in 1488. Continue to Hermanus, the best place
in the World to spot Whales from land – (July to
Dec). After lunch depart for Cape Town
via the beautiful coastal route between Hermanus
and Gordon’s Bay, arriving late afternoon.
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