Southern Africa Safari Tours

DESTINATIONS

Cultures, cuisines and landscapes – Cape Town

CAPE TOWN AND SURROUNDS

Cape Town is a port city on South Africa’s southwest coast, on a peninsula beneath the imposing Table Mountain. Slowly rotating cable cars climb to the mountain’s flat top, from which there are sweeping views of the city, the busy harbor and boats heading for Robben Island, the notorious prison that once held Nelson Mandela, which is now a living museum.

Table Mountain’s flat top was formed about 300 million years ago. The mountain was at sea level during an ice age and ice sheets flattened the layers of sandstone to form the famous landmark.
Cape Town has the oldest wine industry outside Europe and the Mediterranean, dating back to 2 February 1659 when Jan van Riebeeck produced the first wine recorded in South Africa.
The original Table Mountain Cableway opened for business on 4 October 1929, transporting millions of visitors, as well as the current Queen of England, Elizabeth ll, to its smooth summit.
South Africa hosts some of the largest, by number of entrants, sporting events in the world with three being the largest of their type. The Cape Argus is one and the other two are the world’s largest ultra-marathon running event, the Comrades Marathon, and the world’s largest open water swim, the Midmar Mile.

The City of Gold – Johannesburg

Johannesburg AND SURROUNDS

Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city and capital of Gauteng province, began as a 19th-century gold-mining settlement. Its sprawling Soweto township was once home to Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

In the 1880’s, the richest gold deposits in the world were discovered in Johannesburg.
The Cradle of Humankind is one of eight World Heritage Sites in South Africa. Here, the landscape is dotted with subterranean limestone caves that have turned up a rich fossil record for human evolutionary studies, which lend credence to the ‘Out of Africa’ theory of where our ancestors came from.
Commonly known as Jo’burg or Jozi, this rapidly changing city is the vibrant heart of South Africa.
With around 6 million trees, Johannesburg is most likely the world's largest man-made urban forest. The city is certainly one of the greenest in the world, considering that the natural landscape is savannah.

World Famous Game Reserve – Kruger Park

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK AND SURROUNDS

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 square kilometres (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa’s first national park in 1926.

The park covers 20,000 square kilometers and is divided in 14 different ecozones, each supporting different wildlife. It is one of the main attractions of South Africa and it is considered the flagship of South African National Parks
The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve.
Currently, the park is run by the South African National Parks (SANP) and is probably the best managed African National Park. Wildlife conservation, education and tourism are the main objectives of the KNP. Effective measures to prevent poaching are in place and as a result of this cars are generally inspected upon entering and leaving the park.
Nestled alongside the Kruger Park is the Panorama Route. Traveling through Mpumalanga province, the route is dotted with historical sites as well as some of the most amazing views of the African landscape including the world’s third largest canyon, Blyde River Canyon.

SOUTH AFRICA’S HIGHLAND RESERVES – Highveld

HIGHVELD

The Highveld (Afrikaans: Hoëveld) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of the country’s most important commercial farming areas, as well as its largest concentration of metropolitan centres, especially the Gauteng conurbation, which accommodates one-third of South Africa’s population.

The Pilanesberg Mountain, also known in geographical terms as ‘Pilanesberg Alkaline Ring Complex’, is a vast ring dike of a very ancient extinct volcano that last erupted some 1,200 million years ago in the North West Province of South Africa. The mountain is a circular structure that rises from flat surrounding plains and consists of three concentric ridges or rings of hills, of which the outermost has a diameter of about 24 km. Pilanesberg, named after a Tswana chief, Pilane, is for the greater part enclosed in a protected area known as the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
The park covers 20,000 square kilometers and is divided in 14 different ecozones, each supporting different wildlife. It is one of the main attractions of South Africa and it is considered the flagship of South African National ParksHartbeespoort, nicknamed “Harties”, is a dam, lake and resort area in the North West Province of South Africa. Situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain range the name is Afrikaans and means “gateway of the hartebeest”,
The Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam provide safe haven for African Elephants as well as fully guided interactive elephant educational programs covering elephant habits, dynamics, behavior and anatomy. Visitors have the opportunity to touch, feed, walk trunk-in-hand, and to experience short elephant-back rides conducted under professional supervision with experienced guides.
Situated within the Highveld are major metrolopitan areas such as Johannesburg, Sandton, Pretoria and Sun City.

SOUTH AFRICA’S WILD COAST – Eastern Cape

EASTERN CAPE

The Eastern Cape stretches from the dry and desolate Great Karoo across the mountainous Drakensberg to the lush forests of the Wild Coast. The 170 000km² that comprises the Eastern Cape is a malaria-free zone, making it a popular choice for young families.

Featuring vast uncrowded beaches beneath rugged cliffs and lapped by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, the wild coast is the least inhabited coastline in South Africa.

The Garden Route crosses the length of the Eastern Cape and is considered to be the most scenic drive in South Africa. Including landmarks such as the ‘Big Tree’ at the border from the Western Cape, the lagoon at Knysna and the Bloukrans Bridge, the route is set alongside the backdrop of the breathtaking Tsitsikamma mountain range.
The Eastern Cape is the home of Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa’s premier surfing destination. The Garden Route traverses the rolling hills of the Wild Coast, a landscape spotted with traditional thatched huts into the rural heart of South Africa.
There are several excellent Big 5 game reserves in this region featuring wonderful wildlife viewing.
The Bloukrans Bridge is Africa’s highest at 216m and features the world's highest bungee jump.

THE KALAHARI AND OKAVANGO DELTA – Botswana

BOTSWANA

Botswana has diverse areas of wildlife habitat. In addition to the delta and desert areas, there are grasslands and savannas, where blue wildebeest, antelopes, and other mammals and birds are found. Northern Botswana has one of the few remaining large populations of the endangered African wild dog.

The world's largest concentration of African elephants can be found in world famous Chobe National Park. The park covers about 11,000 km2 and supports many wildlife species, including as many as 350 species of birds.
Moremi Game Reserve, situated in the Okavango Delta, is one of the most isolated reserves and is truly wild Africa.
Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari Desert but the Okavango Delta is one of the world's largest inland deltas and is in stark contrast to the surrounding desert.
The Limpopo River Basin, the major waterway of all of southern Africa, lies partly in Botswana. The basins of its tributaries, the Notwane, Bonwapitse, Mahalapye, Lotsane, Motloutse and the Shashe are located in the eastern part of the country, near Victoria Falls.

Land of the Bushman (Koisan) – Namibia

NAMIBIA

A former German Colony, Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa and has been inhabited since early times by the San, Damara and Nama people, the original inhabitants of Southern Africa, recognised as the oldest civilization on earth.

The Fish River canyon, the worlds 2nd largest canyon - hiking and tours through this amazing landscape
Home of the Koi San, otherwise known as the Kalahari bushmen
Visit historic towns and settlements for a taste of Germany in Africa
See the wildlife in world famous Etosha National Park

The Smoke that Thunders – Victoria falls, Zambia

ZAMBIA

Land of legendary African explorer, Stanley Livingstone and home of ‘The Smoke that Thunders’, Victoria Falls

Home of legendary Victoria Falls, listed as one of the seven wonders of the world
Landlocked and yet bordered by huge waterways such as the Zambesi River and Lake Tanganyika
A landscape of bush, savannah and jungle with many game reserves
A land of historic significance, from prehistoric man to European colonialists to modern day Africa

Home of the great migration

Kenya

The Great Migration of Wildebeest, the Masai Mara, anthropolgy and the Leaky’s, ‘Out of Africa’ and so many more reasons to visit Kenya

A wildlife 'MUST SEE', the annual migration of wildebeest is a visual experience that will stay with you for a lifetime
Kenya is a country of diversity, from the summit of Mt Kenya to the beaches of Mombassa to the plains of the Masai Mara.
Visit one of the spectacular game reserves and experience 'real' Africa