Garden Route Adventure

• Overview

  Cheat's guide to wine tasting:

  - Look closely at the wine while nodding your head, furrowing your brow and making a few 'mmmm' sounds.

  - Swirl the wine. Gently. You don't want to splash it all over that nice white tablecloth.

  - Stick your nose in and take a whiff. The further into the glass you can get it, the better.

  - Taste the wine: after a few goes you can skip straight to this step.

  (Was Down the Garden Path)

  Itinerary

  Day 1 - Durban

  For a bit of group bonding, head down to the Golden Mile for a cocktail. Don't stress, nobody will force you to wear name tags or play icebreaker games.

  • Arrive in Durban - a tourist magnet thanks to its wealth of golden, sandy beaches and glitzy nightlife
  • Visit the Golden Mile, a stretch of fine sands bordered by frothy surf on one side and an attractive beachfront of shops, restaurants and cafes on the other.
  • Perhaps spend time visiting the Art Gallery, the Juma Masjid Mosque or the Wet and Wild Theme Park

  Day 2-3 - Drakensberg

  The Drakensberg mountain range (3482m), Barrier of Spears, Dragon mountains - call it what you want, as long as you lace up your walking shoes and go for a hike.

  • Travel inland towards the majestic Drakensberg mountain range - home to an amazing amount of flora and fauna.
  • Spend a whole day exploring part of the mountain range on foot
  • Take a short hour-long hike, or perhaps challenge yourself to a full day hike with a local guide

  
  

  Day 4-5 - Lesotho Highlands

  Stop by a village in Lesotho and spend a bit of time with the locals. Then we'll head to Golden Gate Highlands National Park to find elands, zebra and mongoose.

  • Head into the mountain kingdom of Lesotho - commonly known as the 'Kingdom in the Sky' with beautiful mountain ranges and endless hiking trails
  • Visit the local school and museum
  • Perhaps set off on a Bushman Painting hike or the Pitseng Canyon hike

  Day 6-7 - Wild Coast/Cintsa

  Cintsa is on the coast, so pack your trunks (insert elephant joke here). Plenty of time for hiking, swimming, mountain biking and surfing. Visit a Xhosa village and see what rural life is like. Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are from Xhosa tribes, so that's a good indication of how lovely the locals will be.

  • Head to the stunning Wild Coast of South Africa and the small town of Cintsa, which is inhabited by the Xhosa people
  • Spend the next 2 nights here and enjoy plenty of time to explore the town, relax on the stunning beaches or pursue the many optional activities on offer including hiking, swimming, mountain biking and surfing

  Day 8 - Addo Elephant National Park

  Reasons to be envious of elephants. They spend 18 hours a day eating, they have great memories, they have no natural predators and they can sleep standing up.

  • Travel on to Addo Elephant National Park - a true success story in conservationism
  • Take an afternoon game drive and try to spot some of the 450 elephants in the park, Cape buffalo, black rhinos, all kinds of antelopes and even the flightless dung beetle which is unique to the park
  • Perhaps set off on a night game drive

  Day 9-10 - Garden Route/Tsitsikamma National Park

  If the coastline here was any more dramatic, it would need its own reality show. There's a bit of ocean, a bit of forest and heaps of optional activities like bungee jumping, snorkelling and taking the canopy tour.

  • Spend the next few days discovering the most spectacular stretch of the Garden Route
  • The first stop is the Tsitsikamma National Park - a spectacular place for walking and wildlife viewing
  • Optional activities include a bungee jump, a canopy tour and snorkelling

  Day 11 - Oudtshoorn

  Oudtshoorn and Knysna are just two of the places you'll fail to pronounce correctly today. 97% of the world's ostriches live at Oudtshoorn. An ostrich eye is the size of a billiard ball, and it can run at 64kph. Don't try and keep up.

  • Head out across the arid Karoo region bound for Oudtshoorn - the ostrich capital of the world
  • Stop off on the way at Knysna to stretch your legs and explore the quaint little hamlet
  • Take a short stroll around town and discover all sorts of ostrich souvenirs

  Day 12 - Swellendam Wine Region

  In the Cango Caves you'll see stalagmites (the hanging ones) with names like 'the bridal couple', 'glass flower fantasy', 'weird Cango candle' and the 'hanging shawl'. Then say hello to some old friends, namely chardonnay, sav blanc, shiraz and cab sav.

  • Explore the Cango Caves and learn about their formation and history from a local guide.
  • Travel Stellenbosch on the scenic Route 62 via the towns of Calitzdorp, Ladysmith, Montaque and Robertson
  • Arrive in Stellenbosch and head out to sample some of the local produce (wine!) from this beautiful area

  Day 13 - Cape Town

  Head to Long Street for bars, bookstores, restaurants, clothes and antique shops. Find a fairy-lit balcony or a lounge on the sidewalk to toast the end of the trip with your favourite South African wine.

  • Travel on to Cape Town, boasting a stunning coastline, dominating mountain and modern cityscape
  • With vineyards on its doorstep, adventure activities around every other corner and plenty of restaurants and cafes to while away the time, Cape Town is a very easy city to spend some extra time in
  • Optional activities here include abseiling/kloofing, a harbour cruise, the Robben Island tour, scuba diving and hiking and cycling on Table Mountain

  Download detailed trip notes

• What to Know

  What's Included

  • An experienced safari guide and camp cook whilst on safari; park fees and Cango Caves; camping equipment; 4 nights Dormitory, 6 nights camping, 2 nights permanent tented camp; transport in custom-built safari vehicle during safari.

  Not Included

  • International flights, local payment, arrival and departure transfers, airport/departure taxes, visas, pre-tour or post-tour accommodation, all other meals, drinks, sleeping bag, pillow, all optional additional tours or activities during free time, transfers outside of the tour program, travel insurance, tips and items of a personal nature, laundry and flights (unless specified).

• Map

  Map Itinerary

• Dates

  Trip Dates and Prices

  Start Date – End Date		Trip Status		Price	Kitty Payment	Total Price
  09 Jun 2013 - 21 Jun 2013		7+	Available	US $1,595 On Sale Sale: US $1,197	ZA R3,285	US $1,601	Book Now
  04 Aug 2013 - 16 Aug 2013		4	Available	US $1,670	ZA R3,285	US $2,074	Book Now
  18 Aug 2013 - 30 Aug 2013		7+	Available	US $1,670	ZA R3,285	US $2,074	Book Now
  06 Oct 2013 - 18 Oct 2013		7	Available	US $1,595	ZA R3,285	US $1,999	Book Now
  20 Oct 2013 - 01 Nov 2013		7+	Available	US $1,595	ZA R3,285	US $1,999	Book Now
  03 Nov 2013 - 15 Nov 2013		7+	Available	US $1,520	ZA R3,285	US $1,924	Book Now
  05 Jan 2014 - 17 Jan 2014		7+	Available	US $1,595	ZA R3,285	US $1,999	Book Now
  12 Jan 2014 - 24 Jan 2014		7+	Available	US $1,595	ZA R3,285	US $1,999	Book Now
  09 Feb 2014 - 21 Feb 2014		7+	Available	US $1,520	ZA R3,285	US $1,924	Book Now
  09 Mar 2014 - 21 Mar 2014		7+	Available	US $1,520	ZA R3,285	US $1,924	Book Now
  06 Apr 2014 - 18 Apr 2014		7+	Available	US $1,520	ZA R3,285	US $1,924	Book Now
  04 May 2014 - 16 May 2014		7+	Available	US $1,595	ZA R3,285	US $1,999	Book Now
  08 Jun 2014 - 20 Jun 2014		7+	Available	US $1,595	ZA R3,285	US $1,999	Book Now
  06 Jul 2014 - 18 Jul 2014		7+	Available	US $1,670	ZA R3,285	US $2,074	Book Now

  Kitty payment is required in cash. It needs to be paid before the end of your trip, in the local stated above. It is generally paid on Day 1, and covers most on-ground expenses. Kitty payments calculated using exchange rates valid on 1 Jan 2012.

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  Past Travellers' Ratings & Comments

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