Look for whales and native Cape flora before exploring the Little Karoo and the Garden Route. Next you fly north to safari in the Greater Kruger area before visiting Blyde River Canyon.
Your time in the Cape is your own. Visit Table Mountain, the penguins of Boulder’s Bay, nature reserves and botanical gardens, or experience cultural and historic sites, as well as, of course, sampling local wine. Drive along the coast, perhaps taking in marine mammals such as southern right whales at Hermanus before heading inland to the Little Karoo for a stark contrast in scenery and wildlife. Discover the birds, plants and vistas of the Swartberg Plateau before driving the Garden Route’s treasures, including Tsitsikamma National Park.
Fly on to Johannesburg and indulge in a safari in the Greater Kruger Area. Breaking the journey in the mountains of Mpumalanga en route, exploring the beautiful landscapes of Blyde River Canyon and the Three Rondavels.
Suggested Itinerary
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Day 1:
Depart UK, arriving the next day
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Days 2-4
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Arrive Cape Town; & explore
On arrival in Cape Town, pick up your hire car and let the adventure begin! Your time in the mother city is your own, and there are a plethora of natural, historical and cultural attractions to choose from. From Table Mountain to the African penguins of Boulder’s Beach, and from the Cape mountain zebra, chacma baboon and bontebok ridden slopes of Cape Point Nature Reserve, keep an eye out for wildlife.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens enables you to learn about the indigenous fynbos flora while looking out for endemic bird species that include orange-breasted sunbird and Cape sugarbird. For a further avian fix, visit Rondevlei Bird Reserve.
There’s also Robben Island, The Castle of Good Hope, beaches, the winelands, and so much more just waiting to be discovered.
Accommodation: The Winchester Boutique Hotel, 3-nights
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Day 5:
Drive to Swellendam, Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens, Hermanus
Leaving the Cape Peninsula behind this morning, choose your route east, perhaps following the spectacular coastline past another penguin colony, Betty’s Bay, and stopping for a flora fix at Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens.
At Hermanus, bird and botanise along the clifftops while watching for seabirds as well as southern right whales offshore between July and November. Continue through the Riviersonderend Mountains to your overnight stop in the town of Swellendam in the Overberg. Along the way, you may be fortunate enough to see pale chanting goshawk or blue crane, the national bird of South Africa.
Accommodation: Schoone Oordt Country House, 1-night
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Day 6:
Little Karoo
Starting with a leisurely drive over the Tradouw Pass to Barrydale, you spend the day exploring the semi-arid Little Karoo region. This area is overlooked by spectacular mountains and in the afternoon, search for Cape rockjumper and Verreaux’s eagle high up on the Swartberg Plateau, admiring the area’s unique flora and endless vistas as you go. Overnight in the ostrich capital of the world, at Oudtshoorn.
Accommodation: La Plume Boutique Hotel & Spa, 1-night
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Days 7-8
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Garden Route Self-Drive Adventure
Drive down through the evergreen forests of the Garden Route and its expansive national park. As you drive from the Little Karoo through Wilderness, stop for walks, or to go birding, and enjoy the beaches and viewpoints scattered along the coast. The backdrop of inland lakes, beautiful sweeping beaches and large estuarine mudflats are a wonder to behold.
Choices for your full day in the area include exploring the beaches of the Robberg Peninsula, Nature’s Valley, and Tsitsikamma National Park, where Narina trogon, Knysna turaco, lemon dove and Knysna woodpecker are just a few of the many forest birds you may seek. There are also marine mammal spotting opportunities (between July and November) from where indigenous forests meet the Indian Ocean.
Accommodation: Bitou River Lodge, 2-nights
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Day 9:
Fly Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg, drive to Dullstroom
Departing the Garden Route today, drive to Port Elizabeth, drop off your vehicle and fly to Johannesburg. There you're met and aided with picking up your next vehicle, before driving east across the highveld of Mpumalanga. Your overnight stop is situated in the countryside just outside Dullstroom, the quaint and charming fly-fishing capital of South Africa. Birds you may see here include southern bald ibis, Gurney’s sugarbird, wattled and blue cranes, Denham’s bustard and buff-streaked chat.
Accommodation: Walkersons Hotel & Spa, 1-night
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Days 10-13
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Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Area
With anticipation no doubt high, your safari is finally here. Crossing the Drakensberg Escarpment and dropping down into the savannah lowveld, make your way to Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, which shares an open border with mighty Kruger National Park, and prepare yourself for a Big Five quest. Here, join shared morning and afternoon vehicle safaris (with the option to potentially organise bush walks locally too), observing Africa’s most iconic mammals; lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino, as they rub shoulders with southern giraffe, plains zebra, blue wildebeest, impala, kudu, nyala, bushbuck and a plethora of other creatures. The bird life is superb, and arthropods, reptiles and amphibians are well represented. There’s even the Small Five to find; ant-lion, elephant shrew, buffalo weaver, leopard tortoise and rhinoceros beetle.
Accommodation: Baobab Ridge, 4-nights
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Day 14:
Drive to Dullstroom via the Panorama Route
Following a final morning safari, re-trace your steps towards Dullstroom today, driving the Panorama Route. Stop at numerous viewpoints including Blyde River Canyon, Three Rondavels, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and perhaps take in the historic village of Pilgrim’s Rest, or break for sustenance at Harry’s Pancakes in Graskop!
Accommodation: Walkersons Hotel & Spa, 1-night
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Day 15:
Drive to Johannesburg & fly UK
As your adventure draws to a close, spend a leisurely morning soaking up the serenity and scenery around you before driving to Johannesburg to commence your homeward or onward journey.
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Day 16:
Arrive UK
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