Practical info...
This trip can be done with a guide or self-drive with a rental car.
Trip start : Johannesburg airport.
Trip end : Cape Town airport.
Groups...
Guided trip : 4 min - 9 max.
Self-drive trip : 2 min - 8 max.
Age min: 12 years old.
Accommodation...
In cottages or bungalows, Guesthouse or B&B in towns. Under comfortable huts in Swaziland.
Meals...
Meals are prepared by your guide or cook or taken in the lodge. They are substantial and simple
with an original African flavor. In towns (Durban, Franschhoek and Cape Town) meals are taken in restaurant.
Comfort...
Very good comfort with nearly always an Ensuite bathroom. In Swaziland, bathroom is communal. During the trek in Lesotho, nights in rustics hut with no water nor electricity.
Difficulty...
This trip is accessible to most people (kids of 12 years old minimum). Please take note that the walks in Drakensberg and Lesotho require a good health condition.
Conditions...
What is included...
Guided trip :
All accommodations, meals included, minibus transport and 4x4 in the reserves, all activities mentioned, flight Bloemfontein-Cape Town, equipment.
Self drive trip :
All accommodations, hiring car for the duration of the trip with insurance and unlimited kilometers. Flight Bloemfontein - Cape Town. Basotho guide in Lesotho.
What is not included...
Guided trip :
International flight, meals excluded, optional activities, boat trip in Hout Bay, cableway for Table Mountain. Entrance fees for parks (to pay on arrival at the guide : 70 Euros) drinks, souvenirs, gratuities.
Self-drive trip :
International flights, meals, entrance fees for parks, drinks, souvenirs, gratuities.
Day by day
D1 : Johannesburg…
Your guide will meet you at the airport. This is a day to get to know each other and prepare the trip with the rest of the group and the team. Depending on your time of arrival we may have time for a short visit of the city. Meals to your own account.
D2: Kruger Park…
Today we transfer to the largest national park of Southern Africa: the world-renowned Kruger Park. The diversity of the ecosystem remains very impressive: 500 bird species, 146 mammals and 23 000 plants! We overnight in one of the bush camps, far from the busy roads. Not only they are very comfortable and blend perfectly with the environment, but their smallness and position allow for close contact with nature. Transfer to our camp where we camp for 3 nights!
D3: Kruger Park…
Full day safari in open 4x4 to benefit from the best conditions of observations and photographs. Overnight in Guest Cottages in a bushcamp. Camping in the park.
D4: Park Kruger…
Optional activities. Possibilities to do a morning walk accompanied by an armed ranger or/and or game drive in open vehicle or a full day game drive in open 4x4 (activities at your expense). For those who do not wish to do any of these optional activities, we can explore the park aboard our minibus. Camping in the park.
D5 : Swaziland – Malolotja reserve…
We depart the Kruger Park and head towards Swaziland.. We shall visit a village on the way where we have lunch (at your expense) before reaching Malolotja Nature Reserve where we can do a short walk (if the time allows it). Camping in the reserve.
D6 : Swaziland –Malolotja reserve…
Malolotja shelters numerous mammals species such as warthogs, bontebok, rheboks and elands... But Malolotja is above all well known for its hiking trails. We walk about 7 hours in a landscape of meadows interrupted with crystal clear streams which sometimes give place to majestic waterfalls and attractive natural pools. Picnic along the way. Overnight at the same place.
D7 : Swaziland – Swazi village…
We cross the country from west to east to reach the green mountains of Lubombo. We will be based high up, in a small and comfortable hutted camp, which offers an amazing view of the valley 300m below. This camp is managed by the local Swazi communities who live in the area and we will visit their village in the afternoon. In the evening, we savour a traditional dinner prepared by our local hosts. Overnight in huts in a small community-based camp.
D8: Hluhluwe-Imfolozi reserve…
We depart Swaziland by its south border and around midday we enter one of the most scenic game reserves of South Africa: Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. Besides the 300 bird species, lion, elephant, buffalo and 80 other mammal species, Imfolozi boasts the largest rhino population in Africa. Accommodation in chalet or spacious safari tents in the park.
D9: Hluhluwe-Imfolozi reserve…
The hilly and green landscapes of this reserve contrast with the Kruger. We discover the reserve aboard our minibus. Possibility (optional activities) to do a morning walk (accompanied by an armed ranger) and/or game drive in open 4x4. Overnight at the same place.
D10 : Zoulouland – Battlefields...
After breakfast, we spend another 2 hours in the reserve to look for animals. Then we set off in the heart of Zoulouland, through the "Battles fields" where took places so numerous famous conflicts in between the various groups of this country. We stop on one of the historic sites and shall visit the museum which redraws the events. Lunch on site (at your expense). We settle down in a lodge in the region. Have dinner to the restaurant at your own expense.
D11 : Drakensberg – Golden Gate Park...
Departure for the Golden Gate Natioanl park where we arrive late morning to set up the camp. Besides its exceptional mountainous landscapes, Golden Gate shelters an interesting wildilfe:black wildebeast, elands, springbok, zebras graze in the meadows of the park and the big birds of prey are many (only place of the country where we can observe the Bearded Lammergeyer). Walk in the park during the afternoon. Overnight in the park. (camping).
D12 : Drakensberg – Royal Natal Park...
Today is dedicated to climbing the Amphitheatre, starting from Sentinel and continuing through the ladders of the same name. At the top, we will be rewarded with a breathtaking view of the land which stretches infinitely in front of us. We will also see the highest waterfall of Southern Africa: Tugela Falls, which drops 300m in three jumps (maybe dry at certain times of the year). About 6 hours walk return. Camping at the same place.
D13 : Lesotho…
We follow the Drakensberg eastward before entering the mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho. In the afternoon, you can enjoy two-hour return walk to view bushman paintings. Overnight in huts at a lodge.
D14 : Lesotho…
Lesotho really is a hiker’s paradise. The Basotho, the inhabitants of this country, still practice subsistence agriculture, following ancestral traditions, and are dispersed in small villages on the hill sides and in the valleys. In these unforgiving landscapes, it is only their stone huts, with no electricity and running water, which adorn the bare hills.
It is in these mountains that we hike for two consecutive days. Accompanied by our Basotho guides, and with our equipment and food carried by packhorses, we walk six to seven hours per day (500-800m positive climb). We overnight in basic huts in Basotho villages (no bed, no shower).
We sleep in traditional villages, in huts of stones shared by the group (in the local way) on mattresses on the ground. It is an exceptional opportunity to learn how these people knew how to keep their independence in spite of the diverse conflicts which shook southern Africa in 19th century. No shower. Basic village toilet.
D15 : Lesotho…
6 hours walk to return to the base lodge where we spend our last night.
D16 : Lesotho – Cape Town...
We drive back to South Africa this morning and take a flight (around 2pm) to Cape Town from Bloemfontein. You have a chance to visit the Waterfront in the afternoon. We overnight in a guesthouse in town. Dinner is for your own account at a restaurant.
D17 : Stellenbosch – Cape Town…
This morning, if the weather permits, we climb Table Mountain. At the top you will be rewarded with a spectacular 360 degree panoramic view of the Mother City and its surroundings. If you prefer a less strenuous route to the top, just take the cable car! (Own expense.)
After a cold drink at our B&B, we head for Stellenbosch, a small historical town where we have lunch at a restaurant (at your own expense). We visit wine estates during the afternoon to do some wine tastings and return to Cape Town in late afternoon. Dinner at your expense in town. Overnight at the same place.
D18 : Cape Peninsula…
This day is dedicated to exploring the spectacular Cape Peninsula, including the seal colony (boat cruise at your own expense), penguin colony at Boulders and, of course, the Cape of Good Hope at Cape Point. Back in Cape Town, there may be spare time to enjoy the city at your leisure – or relax on one of the beautiful beaches. Overnight at the same guesthouse in town.
D19 : Cape Town…
Spend the last morning of the trip enjoying Cape Town’s many attractions, such as the superb National Botanical Gardens at Kirstenbosch or visiting Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned (these at your own expense). A last transfer to Cape Town international airport marks the end of the trip.