SOUTH AFRICA & SWAZILAND -The Essence of Africa
13 Days / 12 Nights
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INTRODUCTION
Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa is one of the largest controlled national parks in the world. With 520 bird species recorded, 114 reptile species, 49 fish species, 146 mammal species, which include the Big Five, you are guaranteed a great time in the bush! Game drives during the day keep your binoculars sweaty, as your guide does his/her best to find as many predators, browsers, grazers, reptiles and birds! KNP is a haven for raptors and circling vultures can direct us to a kill to experience the feeding frenzy of the hunters and scavengers. Cocky Black-Backed Jackals irritating the hastily feeding lions or cheetah while the ever present scavenging Spotted Hyenas' laughs are getting closer and closer, as they follow the scent of partially decomposed carcasses and/or the scent of blood - miles away. Patiently, vultures await their chance, in the large Apple Leave Trees adjacent to the “kill”, for a spot at “the table of plenty”.
From Kruger we enter Swaziland, a small kingdom, one of only two recognized kingdoms in Africa, for three nights in a fantastic reserve. From Swaziland, we return to Johannesburg, before you fly out the next day. The Tour Program is designed for photographers, friends of nature & general eco-tourists. |
| Day 1: JHB |
Arriving at Tambo (Johannesburg) International Airport, you are welcomed by the friendly face of an African Experience representative. From the airport, you are transferred to your overnight accommodation.
Accommodation: The Safari Club
Meals: None |
| Day 2: JHB - HAZYVIEW |
After breakfast, we depart for the Great Escarpment with its scenic beauty. The area we visit today is one of both mystery and breathtaking beauty – some of the most spectacular views in Africa unfold from the heights of the mentioned Escarpment. We visit some of the most dramatic waterfalls of the region, The Pinnacle, God’s Window, the Three Rondavels and Bourke’s Luck Potholes. Somebody once described this beautiful area as follows: “The Escarpment is a place of legends, of secrets, hidden gold mines, of jack tars, journeymen en route to Delagoa Bay, pausing to take in the beauty around them and then exhaling, sighting at what lay ahead.” Drink in the beauty – you will never forget this experience!
Accommodation: Hippo Hollow
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
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| Day 3: HAZYVIEW - KNP |
Just before sunrise, we board the vehicle(s) and depart for our long awaited exciting experience with elephants: “Early Morning Elephant Wake-Up, -Interaction and –Ride”. Other extra optional activities in the form of abseiling, pleasure flights and parachuting are all available on request. After lunch, we enter one of the most famous game reserves in Africa, Kruger National Park, through the Pabeni Entrance Gate! Now we are in big game country and en route to our overnight accommodation, we can encounter several species of animals, including Impala, Wildebeest, elephants and many more. Late afternoon we arrive at our overnight accommodation and check in. Time permitting, we do our final game drive of the day, after check-in and return to the camp in time for dinner.
Accommodation: Skukuza
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner |
| Day 4: KNP/SKUKUZA |
Privileged guests cannot but feel soothed by the view over the perennial Sabie River and the Lebombo Mountains beyond, which form the natural boundary of the Kruger National Park. Expansive green lawns shaded from the remorseless African sun by the majestic Sycamore Fig provide the setting for a breathtaking panorama. The Sycamore Fig Tree provides generously for the livelihood of many animals, birds and insects. Other trees in the area such as Marula, Natal Mahogany and Fever Tree flower at different times of the year, ensuring that the gifts of life are extended over many months. An early morning game drive along the outskirts of Skukuza might give us a good view of leopard, elephant, Chacma Baboon, giraffe and hyena.
We return to the camp and have a well-deserved breakfast! Another mid-morning game drive to return to the camp just before lunch. Mid-day is time for siesta – either in the pool or in your room - and as the heat of the day fades away, we prepare for our final game drive of the day. A night game drive is available as an optional extra – your guide will book you on a night game drive, but on request only.
Accommodation: Skukuza
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
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| Day 5: SKUKUZA – SATARA |
Just before sunrise, we board our vehicles for a pre-breakfast game drive. Our early departure is for the nocturnal species that we might find before they go to sleep. Species we will try and locate include leopard, civet, African Wild Cat, genets and whatever Mother Nature shows us! After breakfast we pack our bags and start our long drive towards Olifants Camp. We travel north along the H10, with excellent opportunities to encounter lion, giraffe, Impala, Duiker, Steenbok, Kudu, Vervet Monkey, elephant, buffalo and bushbuck en route. At Tsokwane we stop for drinks and to stretch legs from where we travel further north to Satara – in time for lunch! After lunch we check in at our bungalows. Mid-afternoon, we leave the camp on a sunset game drive with more game to admire. An early dinner tonight as a night game drive will entertain us further into the night - to experience and appreciate the “darker” side of nocturnal animals!
Accommodation: Satara
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner |
| Day 6: SATARA - OLIFANTS |
After breakfast we leave the safe environment of Satara and drive towards Olifants Camp, ±60km’s north from Satara. We drive all along the banks of the dry Timbavati River, small pools of water does occur which can attract good numbers of game. Buffalo and elephant herds, sometimes amble down to the water to slake their thirst, with giraffe and zebra also present at times. Lion and cheetah are often seen along this route, and following the summer rains, Kori Bustard favor the short grass plains as an arena for their courtship displays. We arrive at Olifants Camp, which is perched atop a steep cliff and offers wonderful panoramic views of the Olifants River Valley, mid-day. We check in and relax until our guides are ready for the late afternoon game drive.
Accommodation: Olifants
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner |
| Day 7: OLIFANTS |
Olifant is the Afrikaans word for Elephant, which are commonly found in the area. The camp is situated in a transitional zone, in other words two distinct types of vegetation can be found, offering a wide range of game. In the north, the low lying Mopane trees provide cover for zebra, Impala, Kudu and elephant. To the south, rolling plains are dotted with buffalo, giraffe and Kudu. While along the Olifants River, wildlife such as lion, crocodiles and hippopotamus can be seen. A full day in the area can reward us with excellent opportunities for game watching.
Accommodation: Olifants
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
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| Day 8: OLIFANTS – LOWER SABIE |
Yet another early morning game drive for possible glimpses of nocturnal animals! After breakfast we drive back south towards the Lower-Sabie Rest Camp. We drive all along the banks of the Sabie River to maximise our game-viewing opportunities. The fact that this specific road straddles two eco-zones ensures an interesting mixture of grazers and browsers, while there are inevitably Chacma Baboon and Vervet Monkeys in and under the Tamboti- and Fig Trees along the riverbanks. There are said to be more leopard per square kilometre in this area than anywhere else in the world! Therefore, the chances of seeing this shy predator is better than average. After lunch, we check in at Lower Sabie Rest Camp. Late afternoon we do another game drive on a different route. Known as one of KNP’s most gratifying drives – for scenery and game-viewing, large herds of zebra, buffalo and wildebeest and there are often large mixed groupings of grazers together. The predominance of prey means that the chances of seeing lion along this route are particularly good. We return to Lower-Sabie as the sun sets in the west and prepare for dinner.
Accommodation: Lower-Sabie
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
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| DAY 9: LOWER SABIE |
Our last day in the park and your guide will do his utmost to find the “missing species” of the trip!
Accommodation: Lower-Sabie
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
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| Day 10: LOWER SABIE – MKHAYA GAME RESERVE |
After an early morning game drive we return to the camp for breakfast. Today is a long travel day, therefore we depart shortly after breakfast and wave our “Good-Byes” to one of the most amazing game parks in the world. We enter Swaziland via the Jeppe’s Reef Border post at around mid-day. Lunch is served at Pigg’s Peak, after which a two-hour drive will take us to Mkhaya Game Reserve.
Nestled in the south-eastern corner of the Kingdom of Swaziland is Mkhaya Game Reserve – Swaziland’s refuge for endangered species. Here at Mkhaya GR, the animals feel so unthreatened and have such confidence in their environment, that visitors can literally associate with elephant, rhino, buffalo, and a host of other creatures at little more than an arms length. The highly endangered Black Rhino is another outstanding feature and draw card of Mkhaya GR. This place is pure “Nature Magic”. "Closer to Nature" is the main focus of this unique reserve and its “no-nonsense” approach to unpretentious outings is becoming evermore popular with guests tired of over-commercialisation of reserves as well as the loss of the real Africa. As Swaziland’s Refuge for Endangered Species, Mkhaya is a modern day success story for rhino conservation. Black and white rhino, as well as elephant, buffalo and many other species of rare game are “easily” tracked for visitors by skilled Swazi rangers whose efforts ensure its survival.
Accommodation: Mkhaya GR
Meals: Full Board
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| Day 11: MKHAYA GR |
A full day at this wonderful reserve! Early morning you appear from the depths of the forest, for your last early morning game drive in Africa! We return for a scrumptious brunch, prepared on an open fire. The rest of the day is spent at leisure, with a final game drive late afternoon.
Accommodation: Mkhaya GR
Meals: Full Board |
| Day 12: MKHAYA GAME RESERVE - JOHANNESBURG |
After breakfast, the long drive back to Johannesburg starts! En route we can stop at a Swazi Curio shop and lunch is served at a Glass Factory. From here it is a long monotonous drive towards Johannesburg. Mid-afternoon we arrive in Johannesburg and check in at The Safari Club.
Accommodation: The Safari Club
Meals: Breakfast |
| Day 13: JOHANNESBURG - HOME |
Depending on your time of departure, you are transferred back to OR Tambo (Johannesburg) International Airport, in time for check-in.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast
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Quoted Price:
USD2625.00 (Two-Thousand-Six-Hundred and Twenty Five) per person sharing
USD 550.00 (Five-Hundred and fifty) to be added per person for single supplement
Included in the quoted price:
Vehicle
Fuel
All Road Taxes
Local Professional Guide/ Driver
All entrance fees as per itinerary
Meals: As Indicated
Limited Bottled Water in Vehicle Accommodation
Excluded from quoted price:
International Flight costs to and from South Africa
Domestic Flights
VISA costs
Notes:
a) All drinks consumed with included meals are excluded.
b) Accommodation is not confirmed at establishments as per suggested itinerary. SafariWise reserves the right to make use of alternative accommodation if necessary.
c) The abovementioned price structure is based on a minimum of four (4) paying guests.
d) The quoted price is subject to fuel price & exchange rate fluctuations as well as accommodation availability.
e) Please consult our webpage for the Terms & Conditions. |
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