Highlights: South Africa and Swaziland – Soweto, Panoramic Route, God’s Window, Blyde River Canyon, Cheetah Centre, Kruger National Park, Full Day Open Vehicle Game Drive, Early Morning Walking Safari, Open Vehicle Sunset Game Drive, Mlilwane National Park, Sodwana Bay Diving, Durban
Day 1: Johannesburg
On arrival at the Airport, you will be welcomed by your guide who will then transfer you to the hotel/lodge for the overnight. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. Bed and breakfast.
Day 2: Soweto & Kaapsche Hoop
After breakfast, you will drive to Soweto where the guide will show you some nice places in Soweto. This will show you the culture of people in this town and how vibrant this part of Johannesburg is. The walk will take you past the former home of Nelson Mandela and past the home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the National Football Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Cup 2010, read about the Soweto uprising on 16 June 1976. Continue to the shanty towns where you get to interact with some of the local people. Then proceed the biggest hospital in the World Baragwanath Hospital. Then pass by the Soweto Campus of the Johannesburg University. Later in the evening, drive back to Johannesburg and then connect to Kaapsche which is famous for the wild horse. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. (Silva Mist Country Inn) Full board.
Day 3: Panoramic Route & Cheetah Centre
Get an early breakfast, then drive using the Panoramic Route, have a stop at God’s Window and the Blyde River Canyon, for some stunning views. Then proceed to Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre in Kapama. This center focuses on the conservation of rare and vulnerable endangered animals like the cheetah. At this center, you will have a two hour tour which will provides the opportunity to view Cheetah, African Wild Dog, Ground Hornbills etc. in their natural habitat. If time allows, you can also experience the Shangaan Traditional Dance. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. (Timbavati Safari Lodge) Full board.
Day 4: Kruger National Park
An early breakfast and then go for the full day game drive. Take picnic lunch box with you and enough drinking water. The Kruger National Park is home to 502 bird, 114 reptile and 147 mammal species including the Big Five which is the elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino and leopard. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. (National Park Chalets – en-suite) Full board.
Day 5: Kruger National Park – Morning Walking Safari & Sunset Game Drive
Wake up for breakfast, then go for another game drive or go for a nature walk with one of the rangers of the park who will explain for you the details of the flora and fauns. Then later in the evening, go for the game drive. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. (National Park Chalets – en-suite) Full board.
Day 6: South Africa – Swaziland (Mlilwane National Park)
After breakfast, depart and head to Swaziland and enter Mlilwane National Park. Here your guide will make arrangement for you to go for a nature walk, you can also hire bicycles and go for a ride around the park. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. (Beehives) Full board.
Day 7: Swaziland
After your breakfast, you will go for a community walk where you will visit the Ngwenya Glass Factory, the Candle Factory and the craft shops or markets. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. Full board.
Day 8: Swaziland – South Africa (Sodwana Bay)
After your breakfast, you drive and head to Sodwana Bay where you will go for diving with Coral Divers at a PADI diving center in liaison with DAN insurance. This area near the Coral Divers is covered with a thick forest offering a good chance for bird watching, and you may also get to see some small mammals like Bush Babies, Genets, Duiker and Striped Mongoose. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. Full board.
Days 9, 10, 11: Sodwana Bay Diving
Every morning after your breakfast, you will be going for diving in Sodwana Bay. The diving here is world-renowned. Lying within the boundaries of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park, Sodwana Bay provides the travelling diver with a vast array of beautiful coral reefs populated with a huge diversity of Indo-Pacific fish & invertebrates. The dives conducted at Sodwana Bay are drift dives and the dive experts will choose the best dive site depending on the weather conditions to ensure comfortable dive. Dinner and overnight at the recommended hotel/lodge. Full board.
Day 12: Durban
Have an early breakfast and then depart for Durban. Depending on your flight time, you may go for short tour of the city or go for souvenir shopping at the local markets. Then catch your flight back home at Durban International Airport.
What’s included in the package:
- Soweto morning tour
- Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre tour
- Kruger NP full day open vehicle game drive
- Kruger NP morning walking safari (or early morning open vehicle game drive)
- Kruger NP open vehicle sunset game drive
- 6 dives
- Restaurant meals
Please Note:
- Tour prices are based on 2 sharing; should a client wish to have their own room, a single supplement will apply
- The accommodations mentioned in the itinerary are subject to change, dependent upon availability
- Meals are included as per itinerary
- Drinks and items of a personal nature are NOT included in the tour price
- Equipment rental is NOT included in the cost of the tour; should you need to rent equipment, this will be at your own expense