10 DAYS : Cape Town, Greater Kruger Park Area, Johannesburg

Tour overview:

This well balanced journey starts with several days in beautiful Cape Town, includes the Cape Peninsula and famous Kruger National Park, where you enjoy game drives and ends in South Africa’s largest city Johannesburg, where among other sites you visit Soweto famed for its struggle against Apartheid.

Day 1 – Arrive Cape Town

Arrive to Cape Town, South Africa, where you are met and escorted to your hotel.

Day 2 – Cape Town – City Sightseeing

Morning tour of South Africa’s “Mother City”. Take a cable car to the top of Table Mountain (weather permitting, own account), then drive by the Malay Quarter, city center, Company Gardens and Castle of Good Hope. Visit Diamond Works before ending the tour at the V&A Waterfront. The afternoon is at leisure.(B)

Day 3 – Cape Town – “Walk To Freedom”

Experience the wonderful raw energy of this ‘Rainbow Nation’ in one unforgettable morning. You’ll be walking in the footsteps of the local communities – those of yesterday and today – seeing where and how both past and present generations lived, or just existed, during the dark days of apartheid, and experience how people of these townships live today. We’ll explore the riveting District Six Museum (closed Sundays) for a sharp reminder of the past, then tour Langa, the oldest apartheid housing scheme in the Cape, and visit the impressive Tsoga Environmental Gardens. We want you to enjoy a hands-on experience of life in a township, so you’ll be visiting an informal spaza shop, popping into a shebeen (pub), and visiting a hostel. Tastes of the daily life of a community. In the afternoon we visit Robben Island. Cruel home of Nelson Mandela for so many years, it’s a highly charged and emotional moment when you visit the site of his suffering, and realize how far South Africa has come from those days. (B)

Days 4 – Cape Town – Cape Peninsula

The Fairest Cape…and it surely is! You’ll soon see for yourself where and why it earned its name. Sit back and relax, we’re going to cruise along the exquisite stretch of coastline known as Millionaire’s Paradise – from Camps Bay and Clifton to the exclusive beach hamlet of Llandudno – towards the charming working harbor of Hout Bay; if you so choose, you can embark on an up-close-and-personal Seal Island cruise (own account). Back on terra firma, we wind along the legendary Chapman’s Peak Drive, hugging the cliffs and relishing the breathtaking ocean views, before arriving at our lunch spot of choice (own account): the wild and beautiful Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, an integral part of the world-renowned Cape Floral Kingdom. We meander back along the coast towards the City, visiting the historic naval port of Simon’s Town and the endearing penguin colony at Boulder’s Beach. (B)

Day 5 – Cape Town / Kruger Safari

Transfer to the airport. Fly to the Greater Kruger Park area and transfer to your safari lodge. This afternoon, enjoy an open-vehicle game drive followed by dinner under the stars. (BLD)

Day 6 – Kruger Safari

Enjoy a full day in the Greater Kruger Park area. Explore the reserve on early morning and afternoon/evening open-vehicle game drives as well as mid-morning bush walks. Roam the reserve in open 4WD vehicles in search of elephant, leopard, cheetah, kudu, giraffe, Cape buffalo, hippo and other species. (BLD)

Day 7 – Kruger Safari / Johannesburg

After the morning game drive, return flight to Johannesburg. Transfer to your hotel with the remainder of the afternoon at leisure. (B)

Day 8 – Johannesburg – History of Humankind & Lesedi Cultural Village

We’re going right back to our beginnings, to the exceptional World Heritage Site of The Cradle of Humankind. The superb Maropeng Visitor Centre is truly an exciting, world class exhibition, focusing on the development of humans and our ancestors over the past few million years. From past to present, we’ll be exploring Five cultures at the Lesedi Cultural Village, heart and home to families of a range of African tribes, all living harmoniously in traditional homesteads. You’ll be right there experiencing the warmth and hospitality of people from the Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Sotho and Pedi cultures. Our multilingual, multi-visual orientation depicts the history of South Africa, and will deepen your understanding of the complexity of our multicultural community. We will enjoy a traditional African meal, a fine way to round off a day of new experiences and fresh insights. (B)

Day 9 – Johannesburg – “Journey to Freedom”

Many South Africans gave much; some gave all, to achieve a truly democratic South Africa. Come with us on this full day tour which shares some of the journey, pain and struggle of those heroes; witness the places, experience the diverse museums where these momentous, tumultuous years have been so well documented. Our day begins at the Hector Pieterson Museum, where we start to unravel the cause of the devastating riots, before travelling past Mandela House, where you have the option of visiting this small museum (own account). Our next significant stop is the fascinating Regina Mondi Church, site of so many of the underground meetings of the then banned political parties. Standing in here, you can feel the tension; picture the intensity, the strain on the faces of those unthinkably brave souls, committed at any cost to changing the way of life of a nation. We’ve chosen to lunch in Soweto at a local restaurant (own account), before visiting the legendary Apartheid Museum. This is an interactive voyage of discovery, one which takes you from the dark days of ‘whites only’ privilege, through to Nelson Mandela’s historic release. The Apartheid Museum is a multimedia experience, with documentary film snippets, texts, sound clips and live accounts, recapturing life in the dark days of South Africa. It’s a fascinating tour, filled with tales of bravery and sadness, but ultimately, it’s a story with the right ending. (B)

Day 10 – Depart Johannesburg

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight. (B)

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