Best of South Africa & Swaziland 10 Day Tour

This 10 day tour starts in the bustling city of Johannesburg and takes you all the way to the beautiful Cape. The tour encompasses the Blyde River Canyon where you visit the Mac Mac Waterfall and the Three Rondavels. We visit the Kruger National Park where you will enjoy three 4×4 excursions, truly getting the best the park has to offer. En route, we pass by The Kingdom of Swaziland slowly making our way down to Cape Town and its winelands. Once in the Cape, we experience the amazing scenery along the Atlantic seaboard, enjoying a cruise to Seal Island. Finally you get to know all about Cape Town’s history, visiting Signal Hill, the world renowned Kirstenbosch Gardens. Your final day’s activities will depend on your flight out…

Day One – Johannesburg City – Sandton

A local guide will help us explore Soweto, south of Johannesburg, home of former President Nelson Mandela, the Hector Pietersen Memorial site and Freedom Square. A walking tour and drive to significant sights will reveal the homes of South African icons, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Winnie Mandela. We will then tour the famous FNB stadium, known as the “Calabash” or “African Pot” owing to its design after its reconstruction in time for South Africa’s first World Soccer Cup in 2010. Time permitting, our journey will continue to Liliesleaf Farm in northern Johannesburg, where prominent ANC activists in the 1960s secretly held meetings and were subsequently arrested, leading to the Rivonia Trial. Today it is a Museum and world-famous Heritage Site. The next stop is the famous Constitutional Hill, home to South Africa’s Constitutional Court, and the custodian of democratic values and human rights. This site of historical buildings which housed political prisoners is a testimony to the victory of peaceful post-Apartheid negotiations.

Day Two – Blyde River Canyon

Today we head to one of the largest canyons on earth, the Blyde River Canyon, a natural wonder, explored along Mpumalanga’s Panorama Route. We examine the beauty of the “Three Rondavels”, the massive rocks that resemble indigenous huts, view God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and MacMac waterfall. Our journey through the Long Tom Pass takes us on to Pilgrim’s rest, an historical town and provincial heritage site, famous for the gold rush of 1873 and the second of the Transvaal gold fields. We then rest for a good lunch. Accommodation is on the edge of the canyon.

Day Three – Kruger National Park

We arrive at the Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s largest game reserves. We lunch on the banks of the Sabie River, followed by a 4×4 sunset safari to experience the high density of wild animals, including the Big 5. The variety of bird species and the geographic diversity of bush plains and tropical forests make this an exciting adventure. The day ends with a traditional South Africa ‘Braai’.

Day Four – Kruger National Park

Making the most of the game viewing we set off from camp at 4.30am for a 3 hour sunrise safari with an experienced guide. These Sunset safaris offer some of the greatest viewing pleasures. On return to our camp, we enjoy a hearty breakfast and then head off for the final safari of the day, once again with an experienced guide. We spend the night at the National Park chalets.

Day Five – Swaziland

We depart for the Kingdom of Swaziland (passports required), a landscape offering scenery as picturesque as Switzerland, with wilderness reserves and of course showcases the traditional Swazi culture. Our tour takes us to the Ngwena glass factory and time permitting, the oldest mine in the world. We then head to Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland located in the rugged Dlangeni Hills. The journey here takes us to the Royal Palace, Parliament and the King’s Mausoleum followed by a tour of the craft market in the Ezulwini Valley. We overnight at a local boutique hotel with dinner and breakfast included.

Day Six – Swaziland – Cape Town

Departing from Swaziland, we travel through Southern Mpumalanga, enjoying a lunch en route before the journey to Oliver Thambo International Airport for our ongoing leg to Cape Town. Our late afternoon in Cape Town begins with a sunset stroll on the Sea Point boulevard, a promenade popular with walkers and runners and views to Robben Island. The famous Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is our dinner destination.

Day Seven – Cape Winelands

We drive to the university town of Stellenbosch, located 50 kilometres from Cape Town, and the second oldest European settlement in the province. Known as the City of Oaks after its founder, Simon van der Stel, planted the trees along its streets and homesteads. The trip to this charming town incorporates a visit to the museum, historical shop and a cellar tour before embarking on a journey over the Helshoogte Pass and on to Franschhoek. We stop for lunch before heading to the Huguenot Museum which showcases the history of the French Huguenots who arrived in South Africa at the end of the seventeenth century. Next stop is a delightful interlude at an exceptional boutique wine farm where we taste local vintages, including Pinotage, South Africa’s unique cultivar. Our onward journey takes us to Paarl, the third oldest town in South Africa, established in 1687. We stop at the Victor Verster prison where a statue of Nelson Mandela memorialises the struggle icon and his incarceration here from 1988 to 1990. We pass the Taal Monument, a cenotaph to the Afrikaans language. After our departure from Paarl we head to Cape Town for dinner at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Day Eight – Cape of Good Hope

Our day begins with a scenic drive past the exclusive residential area and beaches of Clifton before a pause at Maiden’s Cove, where we discover the beauty of the Twelve Apostle mountain range, a view of Lion’s Head and Table Mountain. The route then leads us to Hout Bay, formerly a fishing village, and now a hub of contemporary life with beaches and harbours and vistas of Chapman’s Peak. We stop here to board a cruise to Duiker Island, a colony to thousands of Cape Fur Seals. Journeying from Hout Bay to the Cape of Good Hope, we admire the rocky headland on the Atlantic Coast of the Cape Peninsula which is a spectacular Nature Reserve named after the early Portuguese Mariners, most famously Bartholomew Dias. Following the route along the False Bay Coast, we arrive at Simonstown, a town with a rich nautical history where we break for lunch at the restful old harbour. Our next stop is Boulder’s Beach, famously known for the largest land based Jackass Penguin colony with a close up view of their habitat. Next stop on the journey is at one of the oldest wine farms in South Africa, Groot Constantia. This was the land granted to Simon van der Stel in 1685 and subsequently cultivated to produce top South African wines. The day ends and dinner is at your leisure.

Days Nine & Ten – Cape Town & Surrounds & Departure

We explore the colonial history of Cape Town and begin with a trip to the Company Gardens, established in 1652 on instruction to Jan van Riebeeck to create a fresh fruit and vegetable source for passing ships. Next is a trip to the Castle of Good Hope, a provincial heritage site and a well preserved Dutch East India Company fort. We enjoy further navigating Cape history through stopovers at the South African Museum, the Malay Quarter and District Six and the Greenmarket Square flea market before journeying up to Signal Hill to observe and hear the firing of the noonday gun, a tradition dating to 1806 as a time signal to ships anchored in Table Bay. After lunch, we visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a proud tribute of endemic species contained in a 36 hectare garden supporting natural forest and Fynbos. The afternoon is a discovery of the West Coast with a pause at Blouberg Beach for the well-known postcard views of Table Mountain, Robben Island and Table Bay. A day of historic exploration is rounded off with an African culinary feast comprising a showcase of more than 30 dishes from the continent and a feast of celebration. According to departure time schedule, various activities can be arranged on the final day. Transport to the airport for outgoing flights.

Pricing

From $2 900 per person sharing Minimum of 4 persons