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 Wildlife
Scenery
How to plan your first tour to
South Africa and The Garden
Route:
Daily from Johannesburg or Cape Town.
Cape Town departure is just a reversal of the one
below. Contact us and we will gladly provide you
with an itinerary of the reversal tour!
The Kruger National
Park is one of South Africa's
main landmarks and offers an exciting wilderness
experience. The sight of elephant, lion, rhino,
leopard, buffalo, etc. in their natural habitat
is always a thrill. The park is
the second largest in South Africa
with a south to north span of more
than 380 kilometres and has a vast selection of
animal species. The evenings are particularly rewarding
when you hear the sounds of Africa
from the camps. We spend the first four days in
and around the park , return to
Johannesburg and fly to Port Elizabeth from where
we spend the next four days touring
through the famous Garden Route
en-route to Cape Town.
Depart from Johannesburg - Mpumalanga -
Kruger National Park - Port Elizabeth - Garden Route
- Oudtshoorn - end in Cape Town.
Pretoria – Kruger National Park
We drive eastwards via Witbank and Middelburg to
Nelspruit and enter the Kruger National Park in
the south. Our encounter with the wild life
starts here. Tonight we enter our camp for dinner
and overnight
Overnight Skukuza Camp.
Kruger National Park
Today is completely devoted to game viewing
as we search for the 'Big Five' amongst other animals.
We reach our camp at sunset for dinner and overnight.
Some may want to do a night drive in an open game
viewing vehicle utilising high powered spotlights
to find the nocturnal animals (optional).
Overnight Satara Camp.
Kruger
National Park – Panoramic Route – Hazyview
After a final game drive and breakfast, we
leave the park and drive via Klaserie and the Abel
Erasmus Pass to the Escarpment and visit Blyde River
Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes, God's Window and
the Pinnacle Rock. Travel via Graskop to
our hotel.
Overnight Lone Creek Hotel.
Pilgrim’s Rest – JNB - Port Elizabeth
Visit the Lone Creek Falls and then the national
heritage town of Pilgrim’s Rest. Take a walk through
the main street and get carried away to the late
nineteenth century when this little village was
bustling with activity as a result of the alluvial
gold found here. From here we return via Robber's
Pass to reach O R Tambo International
Airport (Johannesburg) late afternoon for your flight
to Port Elizabeth where we overnight at Fifth Avenue
Beach House.
Port Elizabeth – Garden Route
This morning we join the Garden Route
tour. Our first stop is Storms River
with the impressive Paul Sauer Bridge across the
valley towering some 139 m above the river. We
visit the Tsitsikamma National Park (Khoisan for
'The place of much water') stretching over 100
km 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.
Garden Route - 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 experience some of the most
magical views on the Garden Route
and Wilderness National Park and scenic viewpoints
along the way. We travel over the Outeniqua Mountains
to the Little Karoo where we visit the Cango Wildlife
Ranch and Valley of Ancients, an endangered species
breeding facility extraordinaire. Then travel
to our hotel. Overnight at La Plume Guest House.
Oudtshoorn - Mossel
Bay
After breakfast 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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