Rates:
2 persons on tour: R 210 000.00 per person sharing
3-4 persons on tour: R 160 000.00 per person sharing
5-6 persons on tour: R 145 000.00 per person sharing
Minimum 2 person
Tour includes:
12 days professional guided tour, vehicle, fuel, guide
11 night accommodation as per itinerary
domestic flights as per itinerary
Meals as per itineraryFull board at private lodges
or bed & breakfast as per itinerary
game drives at private game reserve as per itinerary
entrance/conservation fee Cape of Good Hope
entrance/conservation fee Boulders Beach
cable car Table Mountain
boat trip Seal Island
toll fees
You can start this tour either from Cape Town or Johannesburg
Day 1, Night 1
South Africa
Meet and greet by your safari guide on arrival at your airport of entry.
Transfer and check into your hotel.
Overnight hotel near airport, bed & breakfast, lunch, dinner for own account
Day 2, Night 2
South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Background to the Victoria Falls:
Mosi-oa-Tunya. “The Smoke that thunders” in the Lozi language. The Victoria Falls were named after the long serving British queen, Queen Victoria.
The first European to set eyes on these falls, one of the 7 wonders of the world, was the irrepressible David, later Doctor David Livingstone, the fervent missionary from the London Missionary Society (LMS) who walked from the southern portions of South Africa to discover the falls and many other iconic destinations in Southern Africa. There is a statue of Livingstone on the Zambian side of the falls at a place where he was said to have first viewed the mighty falls, the greatest in the world with a width of 1,708 meters or 5,604 ft.
We board the morning flight out of South Africa to Victoria Falls airport close to the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe with assistance of your guide.
Arrive at the Victoria Falls airport for your transfer to your accommodation in the town of Victoria Falls. Here we check into your accommodation at an historic and elegant hotel within sight of the mist and waters (not the falls themselves) of the mighty Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River.
We take a lunch break after checking in and reserve the afternoon to walk down to view the falls and explore the surrounding town.
We return to the hotel for our evening meal in quite sophistication in the sumptuous dining room before taking a night cap on the veranda watching the mist rise from the falls in the moonlight before making your way to bed with sounds of the falls to lull you to sleep.
There are a number of activities to choose from, which are for your own account
Overnight Hotel close to the Victoria Falls, bed & breakfast.
Lunch and dinner for own account
Day 3, Night 3
Victoria Falls
Early wake up for a hearty breakfast before setting out to take part in some of the many activities that can be done in this exciting destination, some of the more adventurous activities will be a bit extreme for some travelers but the choice is still there to be taken.
Alan Tours will arrange all of your activities at Victoria Falls for you either while you are at the falls themselves where your guide will make the reservations for you or simply allow us to make the reservations from our offices. Activities are for your own account.
We return to our hotel after an exciting and enthralling day at Victoria Falls in time for a sundowner on the terrace before making your way to the dining room for your evening meal with a colonial flavour and a peaceful nights rest on the border of two countries and a Big river to put you to sleep.
Overnight Victoria Falls Hotel, bed & breakfast.
Lunch and dinner for own account.
Day 4, Night 4
Victoria Falls to Johannesburg
We take a leisurely wake up and breakfast at your hotel and spend the morning taking a last look at the waterfall, the largest in the world, or spend some time wandering around the local village shopping for curios before departing from Victoria Falls, the spectacular scenery, the excitement and a bygone Victorian era it has conjured up as we board our transfer vehicle and make our way to the airport and our flight back to Johannesburg in South Africa.
Overnight Hotel Johannesburg, bed & breakfast. Lunch and dinner for own account
Background to the Kruger National Park.
People visit this enormous wildlife preserve for many reasons, but mostly guests come to immerse themselves in the solitude of the wilderness and to get away from the stresses and strains imposed upon ourselves and the frenetic lifestyles we live.
Once in the park, some folk prefer to concentrate on the larger creatures the Elephants, Buffalo, Lion and other large mammals while other come to enjoy the incredible diversity of smaller life forms and the stunning variety of birdlife that congregates here, especially during the rainy season.
It is during the warm summer months from October through to April that most of the rains fall on the southern savannas. It is during and after the rains that the vegetation grows tall with untold shades of green to cover the soil and produce food in abundance for all. The warm summer months are especially attractive to the bird watching fraternity as this is the time of the year when the park fills with the summer migrants. These birds fly long distances from foreign lands, to feed on the abundance of food that is produced by the plants and the insects that feed on them.
It is during the long dry winter months of the year from May to August that there is practically no rainfall at all. This is the most popular time for most people to visit the Park. The available water resources start to dry up which brings the herbivores, the prey animals from far and wide to concentrate on the few remaining waterholes and available resources. This in turn attracts the predators, the Lion, Hyena, Leopard, and Cheetah to name a few.
The trees are bare of foliage and stand in stark silhouette to the clear blue sky, the grass is dry and yellow allowing better visibility into the bush, so seeing the wildlife is lot easier. The weather is sublime, cool evenings and mornings are warmed by temperate days with temperatures in the mid to higher 20’s. Yes, there are cooler days when cold fronts reach this far north from the Southern Ocean but mostly the weather is great.
Day 5, Night 5
Johannesburg to luxury private lodge in the Greater Kruger National Park
We take a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before gathering our luggage and making our way to the airport for the continuation of our flight to the world-renowned Kruger National Park, the oldest and largest wildlife preserve in South Africa and one of the largest in the world, the size of Israel.
On arrival at the airport in the Kruger National park we board our transfer vehicle and start our journey deep into the African wilderness.
It is here in the bush that we will immediately discover a new world where animals run free and human beings are confined to motor vehicles and behind fences.
Here in the southern savannas the Big 5 reign supreme. The fearless Lion, calm Elephant, Black and White Rhinoceros, the stealthy Leopard and the ponderous Cape Buffalo live side by side with any number of other antelope, Zebra, Mongoose, Hyena with the tallest mammal of all, the enigmatic Giraffe.
The myriad of birdlife has to be seen to be believed and here in the warm summer months is the best time to view the jewel like colours in one of the best birding areas in the world.
The Kruger National Park is home to a greater diversity of mammal species in a single protected area than anywhere in the world.
On arrival at our destination, shaded by huge riverine trees, we check into our comfortable, thatched, safari style accommodation in time for a delicious lunch served on the lounge patio or the indoor dining area.
After lunch we have time to rest before meeting your ranger for refreshments before the afternoon / evening game drive. We board the open game drive vehicle with little more protection than a confident ranger and a heavy caliber rifle that they never have to use.
We head into the bush, the rangers in constant contact with one another establishing where the best sighting can be found as everyone works to the best of their ability to bring the African wildlife to you, up close and personal. These private game reserves are just that, private and you will only come across other vehicles with people that are staying at your lodge or the other lodges in that particular reserve. No traffic jams, no eating the dust of other tour vehicles.
As daylight draws to an end, we stop at a convenient spot to take out the cooler, pour a refreshing drink, which you have pre-ordered and select out a tasty snack as you watch the sun set on another exciting day in Africa. Sounds surreal, it is just that, out of the real world we all belong to.
As night gathers around us we board the vehicle once again and with the aid of a powerful spotlight coursing the veld (bush) around us as we search for those nocturnal treasures, we are all hoping to find.
The pride of Lions, awaken and begin their search for prey, we might even find ourselves caught up in this life and death struggle.
The rasping call of the male leopard announces his stealthy presence as he searches out a soul mate, for a few hours.
Hyena whoop off in the distance announcing a kill and food for the clan.
All of these scenarios playout daily and your ranger has been trained and is passionate in his ability to track down these sightings for you.
As we head back into camp; under cover of darkness we disembark, shy glances at each other as we decide if it was all real and then yes, it was. Wow!
Back to your chalet to freshen up and meet in the outdoor Boma under the shade of the giant Jackalberry tree, around a roaring fire as we recount the tales of the day and enjoy a sumptuous meal under the stars before your ranger leads you safely back to your accommodation and a peaceful nights rest, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the African night.
Overnight private lodge, Kruger National Park, full board
Day 6 Night 6
Private lodge Greater Kruger National Park
Different schedules have been developed according to the season, where in Winter we wake for breakfast first before going out on the game drive while on the Summer schedule you will do the game drive before breakfast.
The summer schedule is early, here we are woken with a call from your ranger.We meet on the patio for a welcome cup of coffee and a slice of delicious cake or biscuits to fortify you for the early morning game drive as we head out into the awakening African bush.
The strident call of a Swainson’s spurfowl perched high on a bare branch announcing his territory to all who will listen. Your ranger head cocked down at the road will read the tracks of the Leopard or Lion that passed this way under cover of darkness.
A report will go in and other rangers might take up the call to follow the spoor as we search for the big leopards that rule this roost amongst themselves. This is one of the best places, if not the best in the world, to spot the elusive Leopard.
Elephants are seen in the thickets while a herd of Buffalo might be found leaving the clear waters of the river after slaking their thirst from a night spent grazing the tall grass on the plains.
A Kudu bulls stands tall, proud, their elegant spiraled horns reaching up into the branches of the tree, the longest horns of all the antelope.
Wildebeest catapult across the plains and through the thickets, while “the one of a kind” Zebra stands fixing you with their curious eye. This is all in a day in the African wilds.
We return at around mid-morning at a time when you can feel your insides gnawing away like a hyena on a huge bone.
Time for a sturdy breakfast as we jump off the Landrover and make our way into the dinning room or the patio to enjoy a well-deserved hearty breakfast and a delicious cup of coffee.
Take a rest before your next meal at lunch time, you might need it.
Lunch is served at midday when it is probably wise to sit outside and gather a few quiet moments before once again gathering for a game drive into the unknown in the bush of the South African lowveld.
All of these can be and are found here.
We return to our camp, freshen up for our evening meal once again around the roaring wood fire in the boma.
After a piping hot, well-prepared meal, we again head safely back to our chalets and another peaceful night’s rest under the star-studded African sky.
Overnight private lodge, Greater Kruger National Park, full board
Day 7, Night 7
Private lodge Greater Kruger National Park to Private lodge in the Kruger National Park
We wake early for coffee and tea with your ranger and newfound friends on the patio before boarding the game drive vehicle and head out for the last time to catch up with the African wildlife in this paradise on earth.
Your ranger will be eager to find those special sightings you are still wanting to find as the predators their way to a shaded resting place to lie up during the heat of the day and before you realise it is over you are back at the breakfast table and a hearty breakfast.
After breakfast we check out and board the transfer vehicle for our return journey to the Kruger National Park where we meet our new team and travel deeper into the park to our beautiful tented lodge on the banks of a small stream and our last night in this supreme wilderness.
Here we follow a similar pattern of the last two days arriving in time for lunch on a wooden deck overlooking the stream bed and a popular place for Elephants to quench their thirst at the lodge’s rim flow pool.
After settling in and freshening up we enjoy a cup of coffee and snack before joining your ranger on your afternoon / evening game drive. Here concentrations of the wildlife might be different from those of your first few nights, wildlife move around and there are always new sights and sounds to be seen and appreciated.
As evening draws near, we find a comfortable place to disembark and stretch your legs enjoying the quiet of the evening as the sun dips down to the western horizon while sipping a cool drink and enjoying a tasty snack.
We again board the vehicle as anticipation mounts with the search light feeling its way across the savannas as we keep a keen eye out for the wildlife of the area. A great tusker might emerge from the scrub to quench its thirst from a rain pool next to the road.
A Rhinoceros bull might lumber up from its comfortable mud wallow galloping off into the riverine bush as it disappears into the dry riverbed mud splattering along its path.
We head back searching for the amber coloured eyes of a Leopard and her cub as they walk along the track at the side of the road crossing our road as if it were made for them, and it is most of the time.
We arrive back, freshen up and take our seats on the candle lit patio under the tall shade trees, the frogs in a deafening chorus if there is water in the stream. Silverware from a bygone era glistens in the candlelight, steam rising from your piping hot meal as if Colonel Stevenson Hamilton, the first ranger of the Kruger National Park, himself were invited to dinner all that long, long time ago.
Having enjoyed the evening meal, the comradery of new friendships and old, we make our way to bed for the last time watched shyly by the Bushbuck ewe beneath the boardwalk amongst the trees on the riverbank.
Enjoy a peaceful night’s rest guarded by the Bush babies and other creatures of the night.
Overnight private lodge, Kruger National Park, full board
Day 8, Night 8
Private lodge Kruger National Park to Cape Town
We wake for an early morning cup of coffee and rusk (a traditional oven dried bread roll) before meeting your ranger for your last game drive before returning to the real world.
We board the game drive vehicle for the last time and enjoy a bitter sweet game drive full of anticipation for that magical sighting you might not have had but secretly harboured, the crisp chirp of an adult cheetah calling her small cubs from their hiding place, the throaty grunt of a pod of Hippo in the shallow waters of a wide river bed.
A stealthy crocodile climbing up out of the water to start sunbathing in an effort to thermoregulate his body temperature so that he can remain active. The sight of a fluff of feathers as an eagle dismembers its spurfowl prey on a perch high above the road or the maniacal display flight of a Red Crested Korhaan trying to impress his female friend.
The Bush, the Savannas never stop delivering, the circle of life will never stop, just as New York will never slow down for it is the energy of life that is the driving force of the eco-system.
We arrive back for a well-deserved breakfast, before packing up and checking out to make our way to the airport for our direct flight to Cape Town and a totally different but equally pleasing experience.
Background to Cape Town:
Founded in 1652 when Jan van Riebeeck together with 82 men and 8 women arrived in three ships to set up a supply station (a farm) to supply fresh produce, meat and wine to passing ships on the 6th April 1652. They started the now thriving wine making industry here but it was the arrival of the French Huguenots that finally perfected the wine making process at the Cape as the Cape Province is locally referred to as.
Cape Town is an immensely popular destination for world travelers and one of the top destination cities in the world, with its spectacular scenery fine weather and beautiful azure Atlantic Ocean, white sandy beaches, fringed with the flowing fronds of giant seaweed or Kelp forests offshore, in the shallows.
Cape Town is home to a vibrant nightlife with places like Long Street near the city center, a hive of activity day and night, but it is more towards the outlying areas that most of the visitors are drawn.
Cape Point nature reserve with its stunning scenery and peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, over friendly Baboons, and diverse vegetation in the form of the hardy Fynbos.
Further inland we enter the realm of the winelands, picturesque villages and neat farmlands growing miles upon miles of grapevines. Vineyards, home to some of the best wines in the world, tall mountains and deep valleys frame the farms in picture perfect settings. Here, top restaurants display their culinary skills enough to tempt the most discerning tastes.
As we approach Cape Town, weather permitting we could find ourselves flying over the Mother City as the aircraft lines up for its final approach to the runway taking you over the Bay and the world-famous Table Mountain. This is an ancient sandstone massif that stands sentry, protectively over the first city in South Africa, Cape Town, the Tavern of the Seas.
On landing in the we pick up our tour vehicle for the next few days at the airport and transfer into the city and our hotel situated in the thriving Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in the old and still a working harbour.
With wonderful views of the harbour, the city and Table Mountain as the backdrop we check into our hotel and prepare for an afternoon of action.
It is always best to take the first opportunity to get to the top of Table Mountain before the weather changes as this is something everyone should experience.
The views from the top are stupendous stretching the full length of the Peninsula in the south to the wide vistas of Table Bay, the City of Cape Town itself and the fortress like Robben Island, a prison for political activists, the most famous being the elder statesman Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Cape Town is a coastal city and the weather is notoriously changeable and the mountain will be closed to the public should the wind pick up or cloud envelop the mountain. So, do it while you can.
Table Mountain: We reserve the right to change the schedule, with special reference to getting to the top of Table Mountain as the weather permits and will defer other arrangements in preference to getting up Table Mountain.
Overnight Hotel Cape Town, bed & breakfast. Lunch and dinner for own account
Day 9, Night 9
Cape Town and surrounding
After a leisurely breakfast we board the tour vehicle for the Western seaboard.
We travel through the near suburbs that fringe the bay, as we make our way along the winding roads through these bustling areas to the upmarket beach houses of Clifton with its superb beaches, that are more coves that are set amongst great granite boulders. Further along the beach widens out to the family friendly Camps Bay fringed by tall stoic palm trees.
Further south, we wind our way over a scenic drive descending down what is referred to locally as the Republic of Hout Bay (Wood Bay). Here we enter the busy working harbour to board a ferry that will take us on a short cruise to Seal Island, home to many hundreds if not thousands of Cape Fur seals. We circle the island and its seals, the favourite food of the Great white sharks that can be found here.
Returning to shore we find a place to take a leisurely lunch break before continuing to the Cape of Good Hope, the south western most point of the African continent. (Cape Aghulas, 300 km’s south and east of Cape Town is the geographical southernmost point of the African continent).
Continuing from the Cape of Good Hope and its spectacular scenery we enter into False Bay, (often mistaken by early sailors as Table Bay, their intended destination) Simonstown and ultimately Boulders Beach to view the land-based colony of African Penguins.
These delightful seabirds streak up out of the clear waters onto the sandy beach where hundreds can be seen sunbathing on this beautiful beach.
Finally, after a full day we head back to Cape Town itself and drop off at the V&A Waterfront to freshen up for the evening meal, choosing anyone of the many first class restaurants in the Waterfront itself or around Cape Town before making our way to bed after an exhilarating day in the Mother City.
Overnight Hotel Cape Town, bed & breakfast. Lunch and dinner for own account
Day 10, Night 10
Cape Town and surrounding
This day is set aside to travel and explore the wonders of the Cape Winelands.
The program might change according to the weather or other factors that might influence the day.
After a leisurely breakfast we board the tour vehicle and depart into the interior away from Cape town and the Cape Peninsula.
Our first stop will be in some of the closer towns and wine estates. Somerset West and Stellenbosch are home to some of the earliest and most prestigious wineries and produce some of the most exquisite wines in the area. Stellenbosch has the added advantage of being the second oldest town in the country and is characterized by tall Oak trees planted by early Dutch settlers, hundreds of years ago.
The town is home to some of the earliest and enduring examples of the Cape Dutch style architecture. Thatch roofs with white walls and intricate gables attest to the skill and financial well being of the early colonists.
We make our way over a pass which takes us through beautiful mountain scenery, down into the valley of Franschhoek where the early French Huguenots settled around 1688 after escaping religious persecution back home in France. They brought with them the refined art of making fine wines and the very grapes needed to make these wines.
This small town is referred to as the cuisine capital of South Africa and for good reason. Many related activities can be sourced here, wine tasting, wine trams etc. and a selection of restaurants renowned for their fine dining experiences.
We stop here to browse the town and take a well-prepared meal at one of any number of fine restaurants.
We slowly make our way home possibly over some spectacular passes that take in beautiful scenery or back past some of the wineries we missed on our way through earlier.
We arrive back in Cape Town in time to watch the sun setting over the wide Atlantic Ocean possibly from some elevated area to make the most of the spectacular views.
At the hotel we freshen up before our evening meal in one of the many restaurants in this cosmopolitan City.
Overnight Hotel Cape Town, bed & breakfast. Lunch and dinner for own account
Day 11
Cape Town
Your guide will meet you for the last time after breakfast as we head out sightseeing through the areas around Cape Town and its leafy suburbs.
We head out to the old Malay Quarter where we embark on a guided tour of the beautifully maintained homes of these early immigrants to South Africa.
Many of them came from the old Java and Malaysia as fisher folk and religious persecutes, setting up their mosques and characteristic homes on the steep slopes of Signal Hill.
Signal Hill itself is named after the guns that were fired from the hilltop overlooking the harbour. The guns were part of the original Imhoff battery at the castle on the Cape Town foreshore. The original guns are still in use today and are 18 Pounder Smooth Bore Muzzle Loading Guns and were designed by captain Thomas Blomfield in 1786. These are the oldest operational guns in the world. There were other cannon placed at strategic points in the interior, each within ear shot of the other, alerting the farmers to the arrival of these ships. The farmers were then able to bring their fresh produce from far and wide to re-supply these ships. Today the gun is fired at 12 PM sharp everyday except Sundays and public holidays.
We take in part of the historical city center on a tour through this interesting area before driving around the mountain to visit some of the iconic spots found here. We make our way to another working harbour on the shores of False Bay before taking in the exquisite gardens of the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Lunch is taken along the route.
At the end of the day we return to the hotel, freshen up in preparation for the evening meal recalling the adventures of your Platinum Safari and good night’s rest after your last day in South Africa – for a while.
For they say, “Once you have tasted the red dust of Africa you will be drawn back time and again.”
End of the Alan Tours services.
Day 12
Cape Town
This day is reserved for your outbound flight.
Check out after breakfast.
Transfer to the airport is for your own account.
Tour includes:
Tour excludes:
Rates:
2 persons on tour: R 210 000.00 per person sharing
3-4 persons on tour: R 160 000.00 per person sharing
5-6 persons on tour: R 145 000.00 per person sharing
Minimum 2 person
Single supplement applies
Wamkelekile eAfrica
Welcome to Africa
