Groups...

Guided trip : 4 min - 9 max.
Age mini: 12 years.

Accommodations...

This is essentially a camping trip with few nights in B&Bs.

Transport...

4x4 specially made for this kind of trip.

Meals...

Cooked by the team, excpoet in cities where they are taken in restaurants.

Difficulty and comfort...

This tour is accessible to most people (children over 12 years old). A reasonable level of fitness and physical health is necessary for the hiking activities we offer.

Conditions...

What is included...

Accommodation, mentioned meals, 4x4 transport, mentioned activities, equipment (except sleeping bag),tour guide.

What is not included…

International flights, extra meals, park fees (to be paid to the guide at the entrance: 73 euros per person), drinks, personal shopping, extra optional activities, tips.

Day by day

Day 1: Cape Town

Your guide will welcome you at Cape Town airport and transfer you into town in time for lunch. If the weather permits, we can climb Table Mountain in the afternoon (or for an easier ascent, you are welcome to take the cable car, at your own expense). Later we visit the picturesque Waterfront. Dinner in town. Overnight in a guesthouse.

Day 2: Cape Peninsula

Our day is dedicated to visiting the Cape Peninsula, including the seal colony in Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak drive, the Boulders’ penguin colony and finally the awe-inspiring Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Meals are for your own account. We overnight at the same guesthouse.

Day 3: Cederberg Mountains…

Morning departure towards the north of the Cederberg.
This mountain range separates the “Mediterranean” region of the Cape from the semi desert biome of Tankwa Karoo.
In the afternoon, paths lead us to the discovery of Bushmen rock paintings! The Cederberg Mountains have long been a shelter for the Bushmen (also called Khoisan) due to their remote location. Evidence of their presence are scattered around the mountains. Camping in the Cederberg

Day 4: Cederberg Mountains…

Afternoon hike across the most untouched part of the massif. The landscape consists of fragmented and surrealistically shaped rocks, covered with a mixture of Cape and Karoo vegetation.
These mountains are home to the Cape leopard, scientifically believed to be a smaller sub species of the leopard. The other great predator of the area is the Verreaux’s eagle easily spotted flying over the cliffs, searching for his favourite prey, the daman.

At mid day we reach a small remote village of about a hundred “coloured” people who have been living there for generations over the past two hundred years. We have lunch and visit the village before we hit the road. Camping in the Cederberg.

Day 5: Orange River…

Departure to the Orange River, natural border of South Africa and Namibia. We sleep in a small camp by the River. Swimming possibilities.

Day 6-8: Canoe trip down the Orange River…

We embark on our double kneeling canoes for a 3 day canoeing trip down the Orange River. We paddle slowly, and enjoy the austere and arid scenery. Every night, we bivouac along the river and immerse into the serenity of the area.

Day 9: On our way to the Namib - Seriem…

Our vehicle collects us on the Namibian side to continue our journey towards the north.
We arrive in the evening at Sesriem, our camp for two nights.

Day 10: Sossusvlei...

The entire day is spent in the Namib park. The Namib desert is the oldest desert in the world. It is believed to have maintained arid or semi-arid conditions for 80 million years.

You will discover the magnificent red-orange sand dunes of Sossusvlei. At the bottom of the dunes are the Vlei (pans). The most famous one is Dead vlei with its dead trees at the bottom of Big Daddy Dune.

Watching the sun rise over the dunes is a unique experience before breakfast.
Then we head towards Sossusvlei and walk to Dead vlei. After lunch, climbing up a dune will reward us with a beautiful sunset. We camp at the same place.

Day 11: Namib-Naukluft...

Today we enjoy our last sun rise over the dunes of the Namib (2 hour hike possibility). Then, departure to the Naukflut Park where we will be camping.

The Namib-Naukflut National Park is the largest reserve in Namibia and the 4th largest national park in the world. It offers extremely diverse landscapes from Naukflut Mountains’deep gorges, giving way to majestic summits and the vast open space of red sand dunes of Sossusvlei.

Day 12 : Nami-Naukflut…

Naukflut is known for offering the best trekking opportunities in the country. We go on a day hike (around 6 hours), relaxing at a natural pool. Camping at the same place.

Day 13: On our way to the Kalahari…

Our drive to the Kalahari offers us the magnificent sights of Namibian immensity. We stop at a farm where we spend the night in comfortable rooms.

Day 14-16: Kgalagadi National Park…

Today we enter the Kgalagadi National Park.

The Kgalagadi was the first-proclaimed transfrontier park in Southern Africa (it covers land in both South Africa and Botswana) and its span now almost 40,000 km2. It lies within the Kalahari Desert – an arid region with little vegetation. Nonetheless, the dry river beds of Auob and Nossob still bring enough moisture to sustain rich flora and fauna, including gemsbok and springbok, as well as the big cats like lion, leopard and cheetah.

The Kgalagadi is a semi-desert with a rainfall of about 200mm per year. The ochre dunes sparsely punctuated by bushes are evidence of the harsh climate.
The temperature variations are extreme: from -11C at night in the winter to 42C in the day in summer! Two impermanent rivers run through the park during the rainy season. However, their beds provide the mineral resources essential to the survival of many animal species. 3 day game drive. Camping in the park.

Day 17: Augrabies Falls...

Departure to reach Augrabies Falls Park in the late afternoon. On either side of the Orange River, one of the longest Rivers in Southern Africa, this 55 000 ha park is home to the Augrabies Falls (56 m high) whose name of Khoikhoi origin expresses the power and turmoil of the falls.

A true oasis between the Karoo and the Kgalagadi, Augrabies offers great possibilities of outdoor nature activities. It is a relatively rocky and sometimes “moon like” environment with domes of gneiss on the face of and above the canyon.

The flora consists mainly of the typical “quiver tree”. The wildlife is more abundant: the most common animals are the daman and the klipspringer, as well as giraffe, baboon, springbok and the magnificent Verreaux’s eagle.

Day 18: Augrabies Falls…

This morning, we raft down the Orange River rapids ending 300m above the falls! The calmer sections allow for the observation of birds attracted by water.

A relaxing afternoon awaits us with possibilities of a short hike in the park. Overnight at the same place.

Day 19: Departure to Cape Town…

We leave today for a long drive across the Karoo. This ultra arid section is punctuated by pans (ancient dried up lakes) spreading over kilometres, offering an infinite flat desert landscape.
This area is famous for speed record breakers on crazy vehicles as well as sand and wind sport lovers. We stop and have lunch in the solitude of immensity. We reach Cape Town in the evening.
End of the tour!