Luxury South Africa Safari

Day 1: Arrive Cape Town

Upon arrival you will be met at Cape Town International Airport and driven to your hotel. Consistently voted one of the best cities in the world, Cape Town’s charms extend from its natural beauty to its vibrant urban atmosphere. The rest of the day is spent at your leisure.

Mount Nelson Hotel

This iconic hotel is located in the heart of Cape Town at the foot of Table Mountain. With luxurious accommodation, excellent cuisine, two outdoor heated swimming pools and a spa, all set in leafy gardens, it is the perfect base for which to explore cosmopolitan Cape Town.

Days 2 - 3: Cape Town

Spend today exploring Cape Town and all that it has to offer. Highlights include the cable car up Table Mountain, a moving and inspiring visit to Robben Island, driving the coastal road through Camps Bay, Chapman's Peak, Hout Bay, the Cape Peninsula and Boulders Beach penguin colony.

Cape Town

The distinctive Table Mountain sits in the city’s heart as its rather celebrated backdrop, protected within a national park that covers some 75% of the Cape Peninsula. The city itself is both architecturally vibrant and culturally diverse and looks and feels as European as it does African. It also offers an array of interesting places to visit, making it a hub that usually figures on a South African itinerary at some point, even for repeat visitors who are enchanted by its charms.

Day 4: Cape Town - Grootbos Nature Reserve

After breakfast and check-out, you will be transferred to Grootbos Private Nature Reserve. Sit back and relax as you enjoy this 2hr30 drive through the stunning scenary of the Western Cape. Upon arrival, settle in, enjoy a leisurely lunch and then depart on an afternoon activity.

Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Situated in an ancient Milkwood forest surrounded by rolling hills of fynbos and mountains, the accommodation at Grootbos offers a complete immersion into the pristine natural surroundings while providing comfortable and luxurious lodgings. Each of the freestanding suites are stylishly furnished with canopy beds, spacious en-suite bathrooms, separate lounges with cosy fireplaces and private wooden decks with spectacular panoramic views.

Day 5: Grootbos Nature Reserve

Grootbos Nature Reserve offers a wide variety of activities, such as marine big five by boat (June – December); forest and fynbos on foot; horseback riding on the reserve; 4x4 flower safari; long walk on the beach; social responsibility tour; whales and ancient caves and shark cage diving.

SAF St South Africa Leopard Tortoise Credit Ji De Wet

Wildlife in South Africa

The big five can be seen in various parks throughout South Africa including the world-renowned Kruger National Park, the flagship of South Africa’s wildlife safari parks and a dramatic landscape covering 2 million hectares, rich in prides of lion and herds of elephant. You will find fast predators such as cheetahs, lions and leopards in the Phinda Game Reserve, wild dogs in Madikwe Game Reserve or head to Cape Cross to see seals in huge numbers on the coast. Other animals you are likely to see include zebra, antelope, wildebeest, giraffe, but there is so much more beyond this, with 336 tree species, 49 fish species, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals in total.

Day 6: Cape Town - Tswalu

This morning you will be transferred to the airport for your onward connecting flight to Tswalu Private Game Reserve. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your accommodation, where you will have time to settle in, enjoy a leisurely lunch and then depart on an afternoon game drive.

Tswalu

Tswalu is a luxury safari lodge and game reserve located in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. It is the largest private game reserve in South Africa and covers over 100,000 hectares of land. The Kalahari Reserve is home to a variety of wildlife, including rare and endangered species such as the black rhino, wild dog, and pangolin.

Days 7 - 8: Tswalu

Aside from the 'normal' game drives, you can also enjoy horse riding, walking safaris and sleep-outs under the stars. If you want to get involved in the conservation of the endangered black rhino, you will have the opportunity to help the local vet with darting and tagging operations.

SAF St South Africa Kalahari Desert Cheetah Shutterstock Mari Swanepoel

The Kalahari

Imagine a vast red-hued expanse of desert where lions roam the plains and towering dunes carve into the skyline and vanishing horizon.

Day 9: Tswalu – Johannesburg – Sabi Sands

After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight to Johannesburg. On arrival, you will be met by our representative and transferred to the Federal Air Hanger for your flight departing to Singita Ebony, and transferred to the lodge.

Singita Ebony Lodge

As the original Singita lodge, Ebony stands steadfast amongst enormous trees on the banks of the Sand River in the heart of South Africa’s ‘big cat country. ‘The lodge takes safari design and style to a new level with a fresh and contemporary interpretation of the classic safari lodge, combining tented camp and bush lodge style. The lodge comprises 12 suites, each with its own private plunge pool.

Day 10 - 11: Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve

Enjoy morning and afternoon game drives inside the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, home to the big five and renowned as one of the best places in Africa to see leopards. The oldest and most established of Kruger’s private game reserves, the Sabi Sands sits adjacent to Kruger National Park.

St South Africa Kruger National Park Leopard Shutterstock Simon Eeman

Sabi Sands

The oldest and arguably most established and successful of Kruger’s private game reserves, Sabi Sands sits adjacent to Kruger National Park on its western border, a total area of 150,000 acres. Named after the rivers that dissect the reserve into four quarters, many would say it is the experience of staying in some of South Africa’s most revered lodges, combined with some of the best game viewing to be had from the natural water sources, that embodies the Sabi Sands experience.

Day 12: Johannesburg – Sabi Sands

Today, at a time to be advised locally, you will be driven to the airstrip in time for your scheduled charter light aircraft flight to Johannesburg. On arrival in Johannesburg, you will be assisted to your onward flight.

The Kalahari Reserve is home to a variety of wildlife, including rare and endangered species such as the black rhino, wild dog, and pangolin. A central waterhole, strategically positioned in front of the main guest area, beckons various wildlife, particularly during the dry season. Immerse yourself in the pristine natural surroundings, where indigenous gardens flourish, providing a haven for antelope and a plethora of bird species.

Location
SOUTH AFRICA

Private Reserves & Lodges