"We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right"
...Nelson Mandela
|
|
|
|
|
Our “Cape to Kalahari” self drive tour contrasts the cosmopolitan ‘Fairest Cape’ with the unique and stark beauty of the dry Kalahari. Tour Code CT
After a few days in Cape Town and the Winelands you travel north to the rugged Cedarberg Mountains with their beautiful rock formations, San paintings and many walking trails.
You continue to Namaqualand, an area famous for its spring flowers, and on to the magnificent Augrabies Falls. Travel through the red Kalahari dunes and saltpans to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park for several days of game viewing.
Activity and relaxation are balanced
Off the beaten track tour, yet good quality accommodation
Minimum Pax None
Meals Varied, FB on 2 nights, BB on 6 nights, RO on 5 nights
Departure/End Start in Cape Town and end in Upington
Accommodation Guest Houses, wilderness lodge and Parks Board Restcamps
Transport Group B car rental with Super Cover and unlimited kilometres
Best Time to Go April to October.
Health Requirements None – sunblock in summer months
Day 1 - 3 nights, Diamond House, Cpt Town, BB
On arrival at Cape Town Airport you drive to Diamond House for a three-night stay. This attractive modern lodge is on the slopes of Table Mountain with breathtaking views of Camps Bay, the Twelve Apostles and the Ocean.
Cape Town is Southern Africa’s oldest city and its most scenic; indeed it is arguably one of the most beautifully situated cities in the world. The unique cultural blend, part African, part European and part Asian reflects its colonial past.
From your base here, not far from the city centre and the Waterfront, you can explore both the city centre and further afield. Take time to walk or take the cable car up Table Mountain, visit the charming Malay quarter and the wonderful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Spend a day at the Waterfront or take a boat trip from the harbour, or just relax on the beach. On the days when you want to range further, the Whale spotting coastline of False Bay and the nature reserves of the Cape Peninsula are close at hand.
Day 4 - 1 night, River Manor, Stellenbosch, BB
Only a short distance from Cape Town lies the Winelands region, an area of exquisite beauty with rocky mountains overlooking green vineyards; oak avenues leading to elegant Cape Dutch wine estates and some of the most charming towns and villages in South Africa.
The main pleasure of this region is the enjoyment of the good life: appreciating the wine and the superb architecture, enjoying long, lazy meals in one of the many excellent restaurants, browsing in the craft shops and galleries. Explore the oak-lined town of Stellenbosch, a bustling university city with some unique museums, enjoy the rural charm of the Huguenot village of Franschhoek or meander along a wine route.
Spend one night at the River Manor. Bedrooms are carefully furnished with homely touches and antiques. Day 5 - 2 nights, Oudrif Lodge, Cedarberg, FB Today you head north to the Cedarberg Mountains. The majestic and rugged Cedarberg Mountains are famous for their unique rock formations, San rock paintings and spectacular
Wild flowers in spring. Take a fascinating journey to the picturesque mission village of Wupperthal deep in the Cedarberg, or follow a walking trail to some of the ancient rock paintings.
Enjoy hiking in the mountains, swimming in waterfall rock pools or simply relaxing in one of the most peaceful areas of South Africa.
Spend two nights at Oudrif Lodge. Oudrif is located on the banks of the perennial Doring River. The greatest attraction of Oudrif has to be its complete isolation – it is literally located in the middle of nowhere. It is set against a landscape of pre-historic rock formations and boasts with 300 million year old fossils and superb rock art sites amongst indigenous fynbos and abundant birdlife. In keeping with the conservation philosophy of Oudrif, straw bale building blocks were used for all construction.
Day 7 - 1 night, Hantam Huis, Calvinia, BB
Drive to the Northern Cape and spend one night at the Hantam Huis at Calvinia. This House is a National Monument.
It is a Cape Dutch house, with a gable with its original cedar wood fittings still intact. Outside the house, is a coffee house, built in the original kraal. Calvinia was founded in 1851 and sits at the foot of the dolorite topped Hantam Mountains (‘Hantam’ being a Khoi word, meaning ‘where the red bulbs grow’) This is one of the country’s largest wool producing areas and the skies enjoy 80% starlight at night.
Day 8 - 2 nights, Augrabies Restcamp, RO
Travel on to spend two nights at the Augrabies Restcamp in the Augrabies National Park. The rest camp is very pleasant - the accommodation is of a good standard for a National Park and there are three salt-water swimming pools, a self-service restaurant for the daytime, an evening restaurant and a ‘ladies’ bar. 'Augrabies' comes from a local korana name 'Oukurubi' meaning 'place of great noise'. The Orange River thunders through a 19 km gorge and plunges down 200m into a rock enclosed pool below.
According to legend a fortune in diamonds lies at the bottom of the pool washed down by the river but the sheer weight of water cascading down prevents confirmation!
Day 10 – 3 nights, Twee Rivieren Restcamp or Kalahari Tented Camp, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, RO
Continue to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and spend three nights at the Twee Rivieren Restcamp.
No one who has travelled through the Kalahari can forget its raw grandeur. It is one of the last true wilderness areas of Southern Africa, a secret land far to the north of the more cultivated Cape. The world’s first Peace Park, the vast Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, is a land of desert red dunes, endless horizons and huge skies. It is home to the desert-adapted Kalahari lion as well as to leopard, cheetah, hyena and immense herds of springbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest, blue wildebeest and eland.
Nowhere in South Africa are you more likely to see cheetah than in the dry river beds - glorious in late summer and autumn, when the thorn bushes and shepherd trees are green and the grasses golden yellow. The open terrain is heaven for wildlife photographers.
The Park is triangular in shape with two sides formed by the converging Auob and Nossop Rivers. A wedge of classic red Kalahari sand dunes separates these wide, flat and mostly dry river courses. In other areas the sand varies in colour from pink and yellow to grey.
Day 13 - 1 night, Le Must Guesthouse, Upington, BB
Leave the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and drive south to Upington to spend the night at the Le Must Guesthouse.
Le Must Guesthouse is a Georgian style guesthouse set in a charming Provencal garden on the banks of the Orange River with an excellent restaurant. Enjoy golf, canoeing, fishing, swimming and bird watching. Upington is the principal town of the North-West Cape and lies on the banks of the Orange River. The town developed from a Dutch Reformed mission station founded in the 1870’s. Upington enjoys a summer rainfall and a hot climate.
Day 14 - Flight Home
Drive to the Upington airport to drop off your rental car and board your domestic flight to Johannesburg where you connect with your international flight home.
This package can be extended,to include other Safaris, Eco Cultural tour, Golf, Spa, Swim with Dolphins,walking, etc what ever you want to do or left as is to stand alone... the vehicle may be upgraded..rates depend on the season...
|
|
|
|
|
