Begin your trip in Cape Town, recognized as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is also part of the Cape Floristic Region, an interesting microenvironment which covers vastly different climates from the Western to the Eastern Cape. Your journey ends at one of the largest game reserves in Africa, Kruger National Park, covering over 7,000 square miles and divided into six ecosystems.

 

DAY ONE

Upon your arrival in Cape Town, you will be met at the airport and transferred to the Cape Cadogan boutique hotel, where you will enjoy a quiet afternoon and evening with time to settle in. A Georgian and Victorian building that was originally a farmhouse, your hotel offers a luxurious yet comfortable atmosphere, with bright, beautiful rooms, a cozy lounge with a fireplace, and a lush garden and pool area. We will provide you with dinner suggestions in the area while you are here.

 

DAY TWO

With Devil’s Peak to the east and Lion’s Head to the west, Table Mountain is the famous flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. The top of the mountain forms a dramatic and unforgettable backdrop of the city, overlooking the mountains in the distance and Table Bay Harbor.

8:00am/8:30am – Rise early this morning for a hearty breakfast before beginning your privately guided hike up Table Mountain, where you’ll take in the stunning panoramic views across the city and the ocean in the distance. Enjoy a wonderful picnic lunch at the top, after which you’ll have the option to hike back down the mountain or take a cable car (cable car to be paid for onsite).

 

DAY THREE

8:30am – This morning, you’ll head to the fishing hamlet of Hout Bay, a coastal suburb of Cape Town, where you’ll have the option of boarding a boat to a small island and sanctuary for thousands of fur seals as well as a variety of seabirds.

From Hout Bay, you’ll continue with a private guide on one of the most spectacular marine drives in the world, Chapmans Peak Drive, to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. In the reserve you can choose to get out of the vehicle, smell the sea air and cycle as much or little as you choose. You may also choose to do a half hour hike from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope.

Picnic lunch on the reserve before returning home via Simon’s Town, where you’ll observe a colony of rare jackass penguins (also called the African penguin or black-footed penguin) at Boulders Beach.

 

DAY FOUR

8:30am – This morning, you’ll visit one of the poorer communities pushed aside during the Apartheid era. The drab exteriors of the townships of Cape Town conceal a deep and complex history; exploration of the townships reveals Cape Town’s struggles past and present, and the real South Africa, with all of its merits and flaws.

 

While the world goes about its daily chores, earning a living and living a life, millions of people around the globe are making amazing human stories in the face of almost insurmountable adversity. Uthando (Love) South Africa now offers visitors to South Africa, the opportunity to obtain a glimpse into these amazing stories. We have tried as far as possible to present an authentic, non-commercialized view of this aspect of South Africa.

The tour will commence with an insight into the political and cultural heritage of the townships around Cape Town, visiting sites of brave struggle against the Apartheid regime, thereafter you visit various Uthando projects. Uthando are involved with creative arts projects, market gardens, crèches, and orphanages, and the day is designed to give you a general overview.

The townships are safe, but of course it is better to take precautions, please leave valuables in the hotel (jewelry, expensive watches etc). Bring a camera and sufficient cash to purchase arts and crafts at one or two of the stops.

After lunch this afternoon, continue to explore Cape Town, or venture out to Robben Island Prison on your own, 7 km off the coast of Cape Town, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.

 

DAY FIVE

The Western Cape Winelands, South Africa’s largest wine producing region, is divided into six main sub-regions, each offering unique wine producing techniques and flavors.

With a private guide, you’ll spend the day absorbing the rich beauty and history of the greater Cape Winelands, with visits to a vineyard producing South Africa’s most famed wines and another settled over 300 years ago, and directly surrounded by over 30 wine estates. You will have bikes at your disposal, and a fresh picnic lunch to enjoy wherever you’d like to stop along your route.

 

DAY SIX

This morning you may wander down Kloof Street to Wale Street on foot, otherwise Cape Cadogan will transfer you.

The three-hour, small group walking tour begins outside the Bo-Kaap Museum at 10:30 AM, we then take a walk through the masala route and visit a spice shop where your guide will introduce you to the mysteries of eastern spices and teach you what to shop for. A brief stroll through the historic, colorful streets and cobbled roads of Bokaap ends at your guide’s home where a hands-on experience takes place in the kitchen.

Guests will discover the secrets of mixing masala, making dahltjies (chilli bites), preparing and folding samoosas, frying rootis and learn the traditional way to cook a mouth-watering Cape Malay Curry, which you will enjoy in a sit down lunch whilst your guide entertains you with local recipes and stories of food, culture and life.You will receive a recipe booklet as well as spices to take home to prepare your first curry.

 

DAY SEVEN

You’ll be transferred privately to the airport today, to connect with your flight to Nelspruit. On arrival in Nelspruit you will be met by a pilot of Odie Air and escorted to a light aircraft for a short flight to Arathusa Safari Lodge.

Located beside a mammoth waterhole, where animal activity is constant, Arathusa has lovely rooms made completely of wood and thatch, intended to be an extension of the surrounding environment.

This afternoon, settle into the lodge where you will enjoy a light lunch before venturing out on your first guided game drive.

Featuring fresh produce, homemade breads and pastries, and a superior wine selection, meals at the lodge are served either in the dining room area or outside in the boma around a roaring log fire.

 

DAY EIGHT

At daybreak, you’ll embark on a morning safari. From an open safari vehicle with a maximum of 10 guests, you’ll have an exceptional wildlife experience during which you may see leopards, herds of buffalo, elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, and large flocks of birds. Experienced rangers guarantee close encounters with the animals during your safari experience.

After a morning in the bush, you’ll return to the lodge for breakfast before a guided walk with a local tracker.

In the late afternoon, you’ll go on a game drive, stopping for sunset and, later, to observe the nocturnal wildlife in the area. Return to the lodge after dark in time for a dinner outdoors that includes local meats and poultry and fresh vegetables.

 

DAY NINE

Your safari continues today, with both morning and evening game drives throughout different areas of the park, and opportunities to spot warthogs, impalas, and birds of all types that you may not have seen yesterday.

 

DAY TEN

After your early morning game activity, transfer to the private airstrip for a connection to the Nelspruit airport and on to your flight to Cape Town or Johannesburg.