Ultimate South Africa Whale-Watching Special Departure

Itineraries

• Day 1 UK/Cape Town
• Depart on your scheduled overnight flight to Cape Town.
• Day 2 Cape Town
• You’ll arrive in Cape Town this morning, where your sightseeing starts en route to your hotel. You’ll see many of the city’s highlights and if the weather is on our side,there’sthe chance to takethe cable car up Table Mountain. You’ll stay in Cape Town for three nights.
• Day 3 Cape Peninsula
• You’ll spend the day exploring the Cape Peninsula. If weather conditions are favourable, your adventure heads along Chapman’s Peak, one of the most spectacular coastal drives in the world, finally reaching Cape Nature Reserve and Cape Point. You return to Cape Town via Boulders Beach where you will see its famous penguin colony. Your journey continues through Simon’s Town, Fish Hoek and Muizenberg. Finally you’ll call at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
• Day 4 Cape Town
• Explore Cape Town at your own pace today, or why not join an optional excursion to Khayelitsha, the largest black township in Cape Town. En route you’ll visit Bo-Kapp Malay Quarter and drive through District Six, a former residential area whose inhabitants were forcibly removed during the era of apartheid. Your tour includes a visit to the Philani Empowerment centre and the opportunity to experience daily life within this spirited community.
• Day 5 Stellenbosch
• Stellenbosch nestles in the centre of the Western Cape winelands. Today you’ll head here for a tour of the city and the winelands surrounding it. Wine-tastings and a cellar tour are also included.
• Day 6 Hermanus
• Hermanus, your destination today is known as one of the best places for land based whale watching in the world. At this time of year, southern right whales stay in the bay close to the shore and can be seen from the network of cliff paths. For the chance to witness these mesmerising creatures in their own habitat, we’ll head out on a whale-watching cruise if weather conditions allow.This afternoon is free for you toexplore the town at your own pace and we have arranged an overnight stay here.
• Day 7 Oudtshoorn
• Enjoy a relaxing drive to the town of Swellendam. One of the oldest towns in South Africa, it boasts stunning architecture and a fascinating museum, which you will visit today. Your journey continues to Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo, stopping to take in the stunning views from Huisrivier Pass en route.
• Day 8 Knysna
• Oudtshoorn is the ‘ostrich capital of the world’, and home to the world’s largest population of this unique flightless bird. You will have the chance to see these fascinating creatures up close at the Safari Ostrich Farm, before visiting the Cango Caves. Located in a limestone ridge alongside the stunning Swatberg Mountains, this magnificent cave system is more than 20 million years old. Continue to Knysna where you stay for two nights.
• Day 9 Knysna
• The quaint town of Knysna lies at the heart of the Garden Route and is surrounded by ancient forests. It’s a delightful placewith plenty of craft shops, boutiques and cafs and after aleisurely start today,Today we will visit the Featherbed Nature Reserve with a cruise across Knysna Lagoon, a walk through the forest, past the ancient sea caves, and a buffet lunch at the lagoon edge restaurant.
• Day 10 Port Elizabeth
• Your journey to Port Elizabeth via Plettenberg Bay includes a stop at Storms River Mouth in Tsitsikamma National Park.
• Day 11 Battlefields
• Enjoy a tour of Port Elizabeth, one of the largest cities in South Africa. You’ll then head to the airport for your flight to Durban. On arrival, travel into a very different territory from the one you have experienced in the previous few days as you approach the heart of the Zulu kingdom, the KwaZulu-Natal battlefields. You’ll stay in the area for two nights.
• Day 12 Battlefields
• Join a guided tour that takes in the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. Stand at the very spot where the 1879 Battle of Isandlwana and subsequent conflict at Rorke’s Drift took place.
• Day 13 Kruger
• No visit to South Africa would be complete without experiencing Kruger National Park. Today’s journey to the park is long but it is certainly worth it. On the way, you will experience the many different landscapes of the country. Your lodge-style hotel, where you will stay for the next two nights, sits on the banks of the Sabie River.
• Day 14 Kruger
• Wake up to the incredible sights and sounds of nature with an optional early-morning game drive. An optional game drive is also offered in the afternoon, or you can choose a full-day game drive. Alternatively, you could spend time at leisure, perhaps lazing by the pool.
• Day 15 Kruger
• This morningwe’ll take in the sights on a game drive, which also includes a breakfast picnic. This afternoon is yours to do as you please. You could relax and enjoy the facilities at the lodge, or head out on an optional game drive and continue your search for wildlife.
• Day 16 Kruger & Panorama Route
• Start your day with a drive along the breathtaking Panorama Route, which winds its way through some of South Africa’s most beautiful scenery. The rainforest at God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and the Three Rondavels, are some of the highlights. We’re also going to take an unforgettable journey on the Graskop Gorge Lift, which travels 51 metres down the face of the gorge and into the forest below. Here, a trail of wooden walkways and suspension bridges carves its way through the forest and interactive exhibits tell us more about the flora and fauna. Tonight, if the weather is on our side, you’ll experience a braai, a traditional barbecue under the stars.
• Day 17 Kruger/UK
• Todaywe will transfer you to Johannesburg for your early evening flight to the UK.
• Day 18 UK
• You’ll arrive in the UK today.