11 Day Luxury Safari - South Africa

In this 11 Day Luxury Safari of South Africa, we stitch together ocean, mountains, an eclectic city with two safari experiences so different from each other that you wouldn’t believe they are in the same country.

We begin with time in Cape Town, the mother city of the country and take in its historical & natural assets, along with its offerings of vineyards, mountains and coastal drives. From there we travel to the greater Kruger Park in the northeast, for a classic safari at a premier luxury tented safari camp, where lions and elephant are the iconic species. Lastly we visit the vast and arid Tswalu Kalahari, for a desert experience that offers in addition to some exciting predators, a unique chance to see some of the rarer mammals that sometimes elude those with even a lifetime in the bush.

The Itinerary at a Glance
• 3 Nights at the Cape Grace Hotel, Cape Town
We start this 11 Day Safari with time in the mother city and enjoy its beautiful scenery and ocean wildlife opportunities, as well as its famed wine country.

• 3 Nights Saseka Tented Camp, Thornybush Game Reserve
Adjoining the wildlife flagship of Kruger National Park, here you can expect big game and the classic safari experience whilst staying in true comfort and style

• 4 Nights at Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve, The Groot (great) Karoo, in the north-central part of South Africa
Here you experience the space, the colour, the vastness that the Karoo is so well know for, and enjoy daily private safaris in this little known living desert.

Day 01 – Arrival in Cape Town

On arrival at the Cape Town International Airport, South Africa, you will collect your luggage and be met by your driver-guide, who will transfer you in the Cape Grace Hotel, where you check in for (3) nights on a bed and breakfast basis.  The afternoon is yours to rest after your long flight or take a walk in the surrounds of the V&A Waterfront.

The Cape Grace Hotel is on its own quay in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, part of Cape Towns main harbour. It is just a 7 minute drive from the city bowl, and outside your door is the broad selection of shops and restaurants of the waterfront. The spectacle of Table Mountain almost always visible. The Cape Grace offers its own brand of luxury in a fun and accessible way, its daily Afternoon Teas are one such example.

Day 02 – Private Full Day Excursion to the Cape Peninsula

After a good nights rest and breakfast your private guide will collect you for a full day adventure to explore the Cape Peninsula, including entry fees and a delightful picnic lunch.

The focus of today is to embrace the natural wonders and beauty that the Cape Peninsula offers. Your guide will assess your interests and energy and suggest what activities and destinations to aim for. Your day could include some or all of the following:
• The village of Kalk Bay and its antique shops & working harbour complete with fishing boats, seal gulls and colourful people.
• Visit the colony of African penguins and take a Stand Up Paddle, Kayak or Conservation Walk near Boulders Beach at the naval town of Simon’s Town
• Enjoy a walk in the exceptionally scenic Cape Point Nature Reserve along with a private picnic lunch with the possibility of seeing some of the local wildlife such as ostrich, baboons, mountain zebra, bontebok and tortoise.
• Drive the Chapmans Peak coastal road, easily of the world’s most scenic coastal drives and visit the local Noordhoek Farm Village at the pass’s end.

Day 03 – Full Day Excursion to the Cape Winelands

After breakfast, you will once again be collected by your guide who will discuss the exciting opportunities of the day ahead, which entails a visit to the picturesque Cape Winelands.

The aim of the day is to expose you to beauty, history and architecture of this wine farming region that is responsible for many of the world’s finest wines. The days highlights can include:
• A visit to the small town Stellenbosch, known for its Cape Dutch architecture, its oak lines avenues and vibrant student life on account of the Stellebosch University, and of course a wine tasting at one of the well know estates
• A visit to the Oldenburg Vineyards, an award wining vineyard just outside Stellenbosch surrounded the craggy mountains that characterize the winelands in South Africa
• We enjoy a fine dining lunch experience and then head to the charming town of Franschoek that dates back to 1688 when it was established by the French Huguenots. We do some more tasting at one of the lesser known family owned wine farms, before having a chance to explore the tree lines streets of the town centre known for its range of art galleries, boutique shops and fine restaurants
• The Huguenot Chocolate Shop is one such attraction at Franschoek that often proves to be a strong diversion.
• Apart from the traditional wine tasting, we also do a barrel tasting … here you get to meet winemaker and gain a more unique insight into the process. In a barrel tasting you taste the wines that are still in the secondary fermentation and gives the wine maker (and you) an idea of what the wine will become
• A private guided walk through the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden. Dylan Lewis’ work explores the male & female form in nature and humans.

Day 04 – Travel to Greater Kruger Park in the north east part of South Africa

After your early breakfast, you will be transferred to the Airport to board your flight to Johannesburg. Here you connect with your flight to the Eastgate Airport in Hoedspruit, Limpopo. On arrival you will be met and transferred to the Thornybush Game Reserve, where you will spend the next (3) nights on a fully inclusive basis at the Saseka Tented Camp.

At Saseka Tented Camp you will enjoy twice daily open vehicle safaris (locally known as game drives). After a late lunch you will embark on your first safari. The safaris are punctuated with a ‘sundowner’ stop in the bush we you enjoy drinks & snacks, and after dark the drive continues as a night safari with a spotlight.

Day 05 – 06 – On Safari at Saseka Tented Camp, Thornybush Game Reserve, South Africa

The Thornybush Reserve spans 12000 hectares and shares an open boundary with the Timbavati Nature Reserve & Kruger National Park. The area is classic safari country and home to the ‘big 5’ (lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant) among a rich diversity of other iconic Africa wildlife species like wild dog, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, kudu and the list goes on.

In between safaris in the middle of the day you get to enjoy the luxury and serene surrounding of the camp. Don’t get mislead by the word ‘tented’ in the name Saseka Tented Camp. Saseka has taken the tented experience to a new realm all together. Equipped with air conditioning and full length glass sliding doors, these spacious tented suites are more akin to some of the best hotel suites you can imagine. Each suite is secluded and private with it’s own plunge pool and a view that gazes over a treelined dry riverbed that game can often be seen from.

Day 07 – Travel from Great Kruger Park to the Tswalu Kalahari, north-central South Africa

After an early morning safari and breakfast, you will be transferred to the airstrip where you head off on your Federal Air flight to OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. From Johannesburg, you will board your next flight to Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve.

Here you will spend 4 nights at The Motse on a fully inclusive basis. You will arrive in time for mid-afternoon lunch before heading out with your private safari guide for a desert safari experience that most people don’t even know exists.
The Kalahari is a vast semi desert (abt. 900 000 sq km) spanning parts of Nambia, Botswana and South Africa. It’s big blue sky country and home to red sands, rugged mountains and vistas that reach as far as the eye can see. It’s a place that changes from a green wonderland in the summer months to a harsh, dry colour fest in the winter months, and home to many interesting (and sometimes rare) mammals including lion, cheetah, wild dog, pangolin, antbear and sable antelope.

Day 08 to 10 – On Safari at Tswalu Kalahari

Your day at Tswalu is governed by both nature’s rhythms and your interests. Your guide will discuss what your options are and based on other factors will suggest what course to follow.

Your safari experiences can include:
• A private game drive on this vast tract of wilderness
• A guided nature walk experience
• A visit to a habituated meerkat colony where you get to witness these fascinating creatures up close as they get ready for the day’s foraging
• A visit to old Bushman rock engravings. The Bushmen are Southern Africa’s aboriginal people, that have a connection with nature transcending modern understanding.
• A visit to the local community projects
• A chance to get involved with conservation work that maybe ongoing at the time of your visit

Day 11 – Travel from Tswalu Kalahari to Johannesburg

After your early morning safari and breakfast, you will board your scheduled charter flight back to the OR Tambo     International Airport in Johannesburg, in time for your late afternoon / evening outbound flight back home. 

Safari Cost

R250,235 per person sharing - (Jan - Nov 2023)

R265,140 per person sharing - (Jan - Nov 2024)

Cost Includes
03 Night’s accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis at Cape Grace that also includes:
The use of the Hot Spa area and its facilities
24 hour use of the in-house Fitness Studio situated at the Spa on the 4th floor
Unlimited wireless internet access
Undercover and surface parking; 24hr security
24hr computer hubs with internet
Morning tea and coffee with wake-up calls
Morning local newspaper on request
Use of our in-room iPod docking stations
Use of our Playstations and collection of DVDs (available on request)
Complimentary shower rooms, with standard guest amenities, available for early arrivals and late departures *
Over-night shoe shine service
Luxury chauffeur transfers for maximum 3 guests, within the City Bowl (10km radius) from 07h00 to 23h00 *
Cape Wine Experience: Introduction to Wines of the Cape *
Port and Sherry in the Library between 18h00 and 22h00

03 Night’s accommodation on a fully inclusive basis at Saseka Tented Camp, Thornybush, which entails:
All meals, teas / coffees, mini bar in room and selected snacks, bar accounts (excluding premium imports), twice daily game viewing activities and bushveld walks, Wi-Fi, Conservation fee and the services of professional ranger and camp staff.

04 Night’s accommodation on a fully inclusive basis which includes: Tswalu Motse Legae
Private game viewing vehicle with a dedicated guide and tracker for all bookings
Walking-safaris
Nature walks, including traditional plant use interpretation
Habituated meerkats experience; Horse riding; Bird watching
Short hike to view some of the oldest bushman rock engravings in Africa
A visit to our community clinic and pre-school
A visit and/or introduction to The Tswalu Foundation research projects
Involvement in wildlife project work on property, when available
Luxury full board accommodation
All meals including a variety of dining experiences from boma dinners to dune picnics
All beverages and full selection from our award-winning wine-list
In-suite tea and coffee making facilities
In-suite private bar and gourmet pantry
Laundry and valet services
Wireless internet access and National telephone calls
Children’s Junior Ranger programme and baby-sitting

All road transfers & day touring on private basis as per itinerary
A Cape Peninsula Tour including entry fees and a wild picnic
A Cape Wiinelands Tour with a fine dining lunch experience

Flights:
Cape Town - Hoedspruit one-way excl. taxes (Economy)
Thornybush - Johannesburg one-way excl. taxes (Federal Air)
Johannesburg - Tswalu return excl. taxes (Fireblade Aviation)
Airport taxes is subject to change

Cost Excludes
Visas if required
Meals not specified
Bar accounts / beverages not specified and premium imports
Laundry not specified
Flights not specified
Airport taxes
Additional activities / sightseeing / entry fees / park fees not specified
Travel Insurance
Table Mountain Tickets (weather dependent)
Personal items & gratuities