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Classic South Africa 28 days |
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If
you want to see it all, and you are not particularly pressed for time, you could
do this wonderful circuit of the country. You will enjoy this trip more if you
can spend more than one night in most places, but you decide which seem most
attractive.
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| Day 1 |
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Fly in to
Johannesburg. Pick up your rental car, check in to your hotel and
relax.
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| Day 2 |
| Visit
Soweto, Gold Reef City and Museum Africa and/or tour Pretoria.
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| Day 3 |
| Drive up to the Cradle
of Humankind, and do an escorted tour of the area, which will include an
explanation of the palaeontological remains which have been found
there.
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| Day 4 |
| Fly, or drive, to the
Kruger National Park.
You will see lots of animals, almost certainly including at least one or two of
the big five. And perhaps more.
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| Day 5 |
| Explore Kruger
further. You could add an extra day here.
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| Day 6 |
| Do a scenic drive
through Mpumalanga, taking in God?s Window, the Blyde River Canyon. Pilgrim?s
Rest and many more lovely sights. (overnight Barberton)
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| Day 7 |
| Drive down through the
Eastern part of Mpumalanga to Itala Game Reserve in
KwaZulu-Natal.
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| Day 8 |
| Explore
Itala, especially if you are interested in birds.
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| Day 9 |
| Continue to
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Park, where you will probably have incredible sightings
of black and white rhinos.
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| Day 10 |
| Continue to Shakaland,
where you can overnight in a (significantly modernised) traditional-style Zulu
hut, and get an understanding of Zulu culture.
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| Day 11 |
| Continue to Durban for
some fun and sun, and a bit of an urban fix.
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| Day 12 |
| Head up the N3 towards
the Drakensberg, and spend a few days there ? going for walks, perhaps doing a
little fly-fishing or even a pony ride. There are golf courses
a-plenty.
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| Day 13 |
| More
Drakensberg.
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| Day 14 |
| From the Southern
Drakensberg, take the scenic mist-belt drive through Donnybrook and Ixopo to
Port Edward on the South Coast. Add a few days in here to accommodate an
escorted trip into the deep rural areas which will take you through some
wonderful scenery and give you the opportunity to meet many interesting
people.
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| Day 15 |
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As above.
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| Day 16 |
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As above.
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| Day 17 |
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As above.
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| Day 18 |
| Drive to Coffee Bay,
enjoying the lovely beach, great seafood and fantastic scenery. Visit
Hole-in-the-Wall, a spectacular natural sea arch through an offshore
island.
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| Day 19 |
| Drive to the Greater
Addo Elephant Park en route. Here you will see very different game and
vegetation to that found in Kruger and the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi
Park.
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| Day 20 |
| After leaving Addo,
stop in Port Elizabeth for lunch. This is a lovely city and it would be nice to
spend a few days here if you have the time. As you head further west, you will
cross the Bloukrans Bridge, which is the border between the Eastern and Western
Cape. If you?re feeling brave, you can stop off and do the highest commercial
bungy jump in the world. Carry on to Stormsriver Mouth in the Tsitsikamma
National Park.
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| Day 21 |
| Stay in Stormsriver,
where you can do lots of lovely walks in the beautiful forest, sneak up on
brightly coloured forest birds, do a scenic boat ride up a magnificent gorge or
go snorkeling or diving. Don?t miss the nearby tree-top canopy
tour.
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| Day 22 |
| Continue down the
Garden Route, stopping in Plettenberg Bay, Knysna and/or
Wilderness.
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| Day 23 |
| Spend another day in
the town of your choice.
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| Day 24 |
| Continue South along
the R62, going through Calitzdorp, Ladismith and Barrydale. From Barrydale, turn
on to the beautiful Tradouw Pass (R324) to Swellendam. Swellendam has some
lovely old buildings and an interesting museum.
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| Day 25 |
| Head
back towards Cape Town on the N2 but, after a short while, take the R319 down to
Agulhas ? the southernmost tip of Africa. From there follow the little used
coastal route to Hermanus. If it?s whale season, hang around here for quite a
while, adding in a few extra days, if you have time.
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| Day 26 |
| Take the scenic,
coastal route from Hermanus to Gordon?s Bay, and then to Cape
Town.
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| Day 27 |
| Do
a circuit of the Peninsula, visiting Table Mountain and Cape Point.
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| Day 28 |
| Do an early morning
trip to Robben Island and then head out to the winelands for an afternoon
tasting tour.
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| Day 29 |
| Tour the V&A
Waterfront, go shopping, have a leisurely lunch and then fly home from Cape
Town
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