A mountain that drops into two oceans, Cape Dutch wine estates, and the Big Five at dawn from an open jeep, South Africa, a whole continent's worth of trip in one country.
Into Cape Town, set between Table Mountain and the sea, one of the most beautiful cities on earth. After the flight we keep it easy, a first glass of Cape white on the V&A Waterfront, the mountain glowing pink at sunset, an early night.
The cable car up Table Mountain for the view over the whole peninsula, the colourful Bo Kaap quarter, the Company's Garden, and the bustle of the Waterfront. A sunset from Signal Hill, or the ferry to Robben Island and Mandela's cell.
The spectacular Chapman's Peak drive, the African penguins waddling at Boulders Beach, and the wild Cape of Good Hope where the oceans meet. The Kirstenbosch botanical gardens under the mountain on the way back.
A day for whatever you like, surfing at Muizenberg, a township heritage tour, shark cage diving at Gansbaai, the beaches of Camps Bay, or whale watching at Hermanus in season. The Mother City has a hundred faces. (overnight Cape Town)
East to the Cape Winelands, the oak lined streets of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, the gabled Cape Dutch estates, a wine tram between the cellars and a long vineyard lunch. Brandy, chocolate and a night among the vines under the mountains.
Fly northeast to the Sabi Sand, the private reserve bordering Kruger and the finest Big Five country in Africa. An afternoon game drive in an open 4x4 with a ranger and a tracker, and quite possibly your first leopard, sundowners in the bush, dinner under the stars.
Dawn and dusk game drives across the reserve, lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo, often within the first morning. A guided bush walk, a high tea, the herds at the waterhole, the staggering night sky and the sounds of the dark. (lodge night 7)
A final dawn drive, the bush waking up around you, a kill or a crossing if luck holds; a slow brunch, an afternoon by the camp's waterhole watching the elephants come down to drink. The magic of the African bush, unhurried. (lodge night 8)
A last bush breakfast before the light aircraft flight to Johannesburg and your journey home. South Africa gives you a great city, a wine country and a world class safari in a single trip, and leaves you planning the next one before you have landed.
Three ways to do the same route: Comfort, Premium or Luxe. Breakfasts in. Mix tiers city by city if you like, it is your trip.
Priced to your dates, your hotel tier and how the two of you like to travel. Ask, the first answer usually lands within minutes.
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