Malaria-free Big 5 Safari, Garden Route & Cape Town Tour

11 days ; 10 nights

Exhilarating Bush experiences on the Madikwe Game Reserve, situated in a malaria-free ancient land in the North West Province bordering Botswana and lying on the edges of the Kalahari desert. Experience dawn breaking over the African bush, the call of the endangered and elusive Wild Dog and romantic settings on wooden decks overlooking the vast plains. Experience the exotic natural beauty and wonders of the famousGarden Route in effortless exploring along the picturesque Southern Cape Coastline. The Garden Route includes a blend of charming towns, dramatic & scenic landscapes, tall trees, deep gorges, shimmering lakes, majestic mountain ranges, golden beaches and lush indigenous forests.Fall in love with Cosmopolitan Cape Town the “Mother City”, cradled in the amphitheatre of the Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Devil’s Peak mountain ranges.

Day 1 : ARRIVAL MADIKWE GAME RESERVE

• Travel Options
  • Via Air from Johannesburg or
  • Via Scenic drive from Johannesburg
• Arrive on the 75000 hectare Game Reserve with its large diverse mammal population as a result of Operation Phoenix, one of the largest relocation programmes of its kind. More than 350 bird species have been recorded and the reserve is home to many raptors.

Overnight Lodge Options:
(Elegant Luxury 4-star Lodges or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Lodges)

Day 2 & 3 : GAME EXPERIENCES ON MADIKWE GAME RESERVE

• Game excursions on this semi-arid landscape in search of the game. Explore the vast plains of open woodlands and grasslands, dissected by the rugged Rant van Tweedepoort, and bordered in the south by the Dwarsberg Mountains. The area is dotted with huge rocky hills or inselbergs. Aside from being home to the Big 5, we look out for giraffe, impala, oryx, springbok, red hartebeest, spotted and brown hyena. Look out for the two strong packs of African Wild Dog
• Experiences may include : watching African sunsets and dawn breaking over African bush, sitting on a wooden deck overlooking the African plains, sundowners, evening game drives

Overnight Lodge Options:
(Elegant Luxury 4-star Lodges or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Lodges)

Day 4 : MADIKWE TO GARDEN ROUTE VIA JOHANNESBURG

• Final Game drive, bidding farewell to Madikwe
• Travel Options
  • Via Air to Johannesburg ; Flight to George Airport
  • Via Scenic drive to Johannesburg ; Fight to George Airport
• Arrive In George and depart for Knysna
• Arrive in beautiful Knysna, Jewel of the Garden Route, situated on the Knysna estuary, surrounded by lush ever-green forests.
• The Knysna Heads is one of the most striking geological features along the entire southern African coastline.

Overnight Venue : Guest House / Hotel in Knysna
(Classic Modest Luxury 3 and 4-star Value for Money Options or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Options)

Day 5 : CAPE TOWN CITY, TABLE MOUNTAIN AND OPTIONAL ROBBEN ISLAND

Experience interesting conversations and stories, iconic Cape Town landmarks and discover how Cape Town developed from the original “tavern of the seas”, half-way refreshment post en route to the Spice Islands, to the sophisticated city of today including:

• Table Mountain, the iconic mountain of the Southern Hemisphere.
• Cable car trip to the top of Table Mountain for a perfect 360º view of “the fairest Cape in the world”
• Famous streets and their stories e.g. bustling Long Street with its shops, african markets, restaurants and street-walk cafés
• The colorful Malay Quarter (“Bo-Kaap”) with its interesting homes, occupied by descendants of slaves originally from faraway places
• The imposing Castle of Good Hope, fortress built to protect the early Dutch Settlers
•  “Picture postcard” view of Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand (beach)
• The tranquil Dutch East India Company Gardens
• Trendy Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town’s lively and colorful link with the sea
• Green Market Square, a vibrant African Market
• City Hall, where Nelson Mandela made his first speech as a free man

Overnight Venue : Guest House / Hotel in Cape Town
(Classic Modest or Elegant Luxury 3 and 4-star Value for Money Options or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Options)

Day 6 : CAPE POINT AND PENINSULA

• Magical Cape Point –meeting place of the cold and warm ocean currents
• Impressive views over the vast South Atlantic Ocean from the lighthouse on the edge of the most South Western tip of the African Continent
• Historical Cape of Good Hope, dangerous passage for the early sea explorers
• Shipwrecks along the Peninsula coastline
• The Atlantic Seaboard, the curvy stretch of coastline also known as Millionaire’s Mile
• Imposing 12 Apostles Mountain range – up close and personal
• Beautiful white beaches of Clifton, Camps Bay, Llandudno, Noordhoek
• Trendy Sidewalk Café’s and Promenades along the beach
• The charming Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach
• Picturesque Hout Bay and Mariner’s Wharf (the original Cape Town waterfront)
• Optional from Hout Bay harbour : Boat Trip to Duiker Island (home to a large Cape Fur Seal colony)
• Dramatic Chapmans Peak with its steep cliffs into the ocean and views beyond compare
• Illustrious naval heritage of Simonstown
• The quaint holiday and residential villages of Kommetjie and Scarborough
• Magnificent views from Boyes drive over Muizenberg and False Bay, largest bay in South Africa
• Exquisite Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, oldest indigenous botanical garden in the world

Overnight Venue : Guest House / Hotel in Cape Town or in the Winelands
(Classic Modest or Elegant Luxury 3 and 4-star Value for Money Options or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Options)

Day 7 : STELLENBOSCH, FRANSCHHOEK AND PAARL WINELANDS

• Via Tradouw Pass (the Pass of the Women), Barrydale and Calitzdorp (the port Capital of South Africa)

• Through Swellendam, an 18th century frontier town
• We have now entered the Overberg Region with its rolling farmlands, wheat fields and stretching along the African South Coast
• We then head for Cape Agulhas, southernmost tip of Africa, the official meeting place of the two oceans (Atlantic and Indian)
• Agulhas National Park, which has more than 8500 species of flowering plants with breeding sites of rare birds such as the African black oystercatcher.
• Visit the Cape Agulhas lighthouse, the second oldest working lighthouse in South Africa – erected in 1848. The lighthouse provides a panoramic view of where the two oceans meet, ships pass and Southern Right whales play in spring and early summer.

• Arrive in the sleepy little coastal town of Arniston with its azure sea, cobalt sky and peace and quiet; where the practices of generations of fishermen quietly continue without interruption.

• Leisure time on Arniston Beach or exploring the magnificent limestone cave which can be accessed at low tide.

Overnight Venue : Elegant Luxury Guest House in Cape Agulhas or Hotel in Arniston

Day 8 : ARNISTON, HERMANUS & CLARENCE DRIVE

• Travel along the Whale Coast (Seasonal : Spot whales along the journey – from July to November)
• Hermanus, one of the top holiday villages in South Africa during summertime with options :
  • Seasonal (July to November) : Whale Watching  – Hermanus is considered to be the “Whale Capital of the world”. Hermanus provides the best land-based whale watching spot in the world and the intelligent graceful Southern Right Whales, as large as 10 elephants, can be seen up to 20 metres from the rocky shores and cliff paths.
  • Wine Tasting in Walker Bay

• Return to Cape Town via scenic Clarence Drive, considered one of the top 10 scenic drives in the world. It hugs the coastline and its magnificent sea cliffs on the one side and is snug against the majestic mountain slopes on the other. This road travels via the coastal villages of Gordon’s Bay, Rooi Els, Kleinmond and Betty’s Bay.
• Optional : At Betty’s Bay we visit Stoney Point with it’s Jackass penguins (Jackass penguins, these days known as the African Penguin, the most Northern of all penguin species in the world)
• Arrive back in the “Mother City” (Cape Town)

Overnight Venue : Guest House / Hotel in Cape Town
(Classic Modest or Elegant Luxury 3 and 4-star Value for Money Options or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Options)

Day 9 : CAPE TOWN CITY, TABLE MOUNTAIN AND OPTIONAL ROBBEN ISLAND

• Table Mountain, the iconic mountain of the Southern Hemisphere.
• Cable car trip to the top of Table Mountain for a perfect 360º view of “the fairest Cape in the world”
• Famous streets and their stories e.g. bustling Long Street with its shops, african markets, restaurants and street-walk cafés
• The colorful Malay Quarter (“Bo-Kaap”) with its interesting homes, occupied by descendants of slaves originally from faraway places
• The imposing Castle of Good Hope, fortress built to protect the early Dutch Settlers
•  “Picture postcard” view of Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand (beach)
• The tranquil Dutch East India Company Gardens
• Trendy Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town’s lively and colorful link with the sea
• Green Market Square, a vibrant African Market
• City Hall, where Nelson Mandela made his first speech as a free man

Overnight Venue : Guest House / Hotel in Cape Town
(Classic Modest or Elegant Luxury 3 and 4-star Value for Money Options or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Options)

Day 10: CAPE POINT AND PENINSULA

• Magical Cape Point –meeting place of the cold and warm ocean currents
• Impressive views over the vast South Atlantic Ocean from the lighthouse on the edge of the most South Western tip of the African Continent
• Historical Cape of Good Hope, dangerous passage for the early sea explorers
• Shipwrecks along the Peninsula coastline
• The Atlantic Seaboard, the curvy stretch of coastline also known as Millionaire’s Mile
• Imposing 12 Apostles Mountain range – up close and personal
• Beautiful white beaches of Clifton, Camps Bay, Llandudno, Noordhoek
• Trendy Sidewalk Café’s and Promenades along the beach
• The charming Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach
• Picturesque Hout Bay and Mariner’s Wharf (the original Cape Town waterfront)
• Optional from Hout Bay harbour : Boat Trip to Duiker Island (home to a large Cape Fur Seal colony)
• Dramatic Chapmans Peak with its steep cliffs into the ocean and views beyond compare
• Illustrious naval heritage of Simonstown
• The quaint holiday and residential villages of Kommetjie and Scarborough
• Magnificent views from Boyes drive over Muizenberg and False Bay, largest bay in South Africa
• Exquisite Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, oldest indigenous botanical garden in the world

Overnight Venue : Guest House / Hotel in Cape Town or in the Winelands
(Classic Modest or Elegant Luxury 3 and 4-star Value for Money Options or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Options)

Day 11 : STELLENBOSCH, FRANSCHHOEK AND PAARL WINELANDS

• We travel along the Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl Wine Routes which have become legendary for both the excellent wine they produce as well as the scenic feast of valleys and vineyards surrounded by majestic mountains
• The Winelands offer a vast selection of diverse wine estates ; whether you are interested in red wine, white wine, cheese tasting, chocolate & wine tasting, magnificent homesteads, contemporary wineries, exquisite gardens – our guides will recommend the best wine estates to visit that matches your personal interests
• Wine Tasting at a minimum of three leading wine estates
• We have carefully selected a wide range of possible lunch venues to tempt and tantalise your tastebuds. Leading chefs create everything from world-class cuisine to light meals to gourmet picnics to mouth-watering lamb on the spit in restaurants chosen for their exceptional food and scenic delight.
• Stellenbosch, known world-wide for its quality wines and the spectacular beauty of the surroundings, is home to one of the most prestigious Wine Regions in the world. Founded in 1679, Stellenbosh is the oldest town in South Africa next to Cape Town and boasts beautiful historical buildings, Cape Dutch Architecture and a magnificent university campus
• Savour the hospitality and ambience of picturesque Franschhoek, Gourmet Capital of South Africa, which lies nestled in a valley surrounded by spectacular mountains. Franschhoek is a quaint little village rich in history and influenced by the Huguenots who brought with them their age-old wine and food culture.

Overnight Venue : Guest House / Hotel in Cape Town or in the Winelands
(Classic Modest or Elegant Luxury 3 and 4-star Value for Money Options or
Exquisite Premium 4 and 5-star Ultimate-in-Luxury Options)

Additional Options to personalize your tour and enhance your Garden Route experience :

• Extend your  experience by adding an additional day at Sun City close to Madikwe Game Reserve
• Add the best of Cape Town to your tour