Please note that this tour can be adjusted to your requirements and interests. This is merely a suggestion from endless possibilities.
Garden Route & The Big 5 - "African Dream"
Day 1: Cape Town to Oudtshoorn
We travel over the Klein Drakenstein mountains to Worcester, nestled in the Breede River Valley, a lush fruit and wine growing region. We visit Kleinplasie, a living open air museum that depicts the lifestyle and farming methods of the early pioneers. As we travel along the Breede River Valley we enjoy wonderful scenery changing from lush orchards to dramatic mountain views. We continue towards the Little Karoo passing through Barrydale and Calitzdorp, well known for the quality Port it produces. We arrive in Oudtshoorn in time to explore the world famous Cango Caves with their magnificent chambers and limestone formations.Day 2 : Oudtshoorn to Port Elizabeth (PE)
Traveling on the R62, we pass through Uniondale, home town of the famous hitchhiker ghost of South Africa. We then travel through Uniondale gorge with its impressive rock formations before we swerve towards the Langkloof, second biggest deciduous fruit growing region of South Africa and famous apple-country. We enjoy views of the lush fruit orchards as we travel past small villages through which the famous Apple Express transports apples for the export market (on a narrow train trail of 61 centimetres) to arrive in Port Elizabeth, founded by the 1820 British Settlers and the fifth largest city and harbour in South Africa.Day 3 : Addo National Elephant Park and Shamwari Private Game Park - The Big 5
We leave Port Elizabeth in the early morning to reach the Addo Elephant National Park where we embark on a guided 2-hour game drive in a canvas-topped vehicle to meet the huge and impressive elephants in this protective sanctuary, which is also home to the Black Rhino, the Cape Buffalo, and a recorded 170 bird species. After lunch we set off to Shamwari, malaria-free private game reserve, for a late afternoon / evening game drive in an open-topped vehicle with an experienced tour guide in search of the Big 5; Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino and Elephant. The evening ends with an feast served either in- or outdoors under the African sky.PS : Lion sighting on the game reserve are very good, cheetah sightings are fair and hyena sightings are good at night.
Day 4 : Shamwari to Knysna
An early morning game drive in Shamwari starts the day, enabling us to see some more of Africa's wildlife, including cheetah, hippo, zebra, giraffe, hyena and numerous antelope, baboons, monkeys and birds. Then a hearty breakfast before we bid farewell to this beautiful game reserve and continue our journey towards Knysna. We stop for an optional 216 meter bungi jump experience; otherwise view the brave of heart.Day 5 : Knysna to Tsitsikamma Coastal Park and Back
We travel to Plettenberg Bay, playground of the rich, where we make a spectacular detour from the main road through the Groot River and Bloukrantz Passes, traveling in the heart of ancient, mysterious and primeval indigenous forests. We visit the beautiful Tsitsikamma Coastal Park where we embark on a leisurely stroll to the suspension bridge at the Storms River mouth. We also visit one of the forest's giant inhabitants, the ancient Outeniqua Yellowwood Tree that was already growing when Europe was still caught in the dark ages. We return to Knysna for some leisure time.
Day 6 : Knysna Environment
We set off to Knysna Lagoon where we catch the ferry ride to the unique Featherbed Private Nature Reserve, one of South Africa's Natural Heritage Sights, for a spectacular 4-hour eco-experience, which includes a Unimog drawn trailer and drive up to the top of the Reserve with an experienced guide to enjoy the most wonderful views. This reserve is home to amongst others, the beautifully coloured Knysna Loerie, the Blue Duiker ( Africa's smallest antelope species), Cape Mountain Tortoises, Blue Cranes (South Africa's National Bird), White Breasted cormorant and Bushbuck. We enjoy a fish braai ("barbeque") for lunch before we return to the town of Knysna for some leisure time in which to explore the many fascinating curio shops and arts and crafts.Day 7 : Knysna to Cape Town
We start our journey to Cape Town, stopping in Mossel Bay to visit the Maritime Museum where the replica of the Caravel in which the Portuguese navigator, Bartholomew Diaz, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, is on view. We also visit the old Post Office Tree that served as a mailbox to the various Portuguese navigators in the 16th century. Traveling through rolling farmlands, we arrive in Swellendam, an 18th century frontier town. As we come to the end of our journey, the open farmlands once again make way for the rugged and beautiful mountains. We travel through the lush fruit growing area of Elgin and Grabouw to finally descend the Sir Lowry's Pass with a final and dramatic view over the Hottentots Holland Mountains and Table Mountain in the far distance.Please contact us for a quotation or click here to make an enquiry.
