“Southern Africa Safari”
Botswana and South Africa
20 February to 8 March 2010
ITINERARY
20 Feb – Sat – Depart USA
Depart your hometown for your overnight flight to South Africa
21 Feb – Sun – Johannesburg, South Africa
Arrive at Johannesburg where you will be met and transferred to your hotel for the night.
Hotel Airport Sun Intercontinental – This hotel is conveniently located across from the international airport for easy access. Each room has a private bathroom, air conditioning, television, radio, coffee and tea making facilities, as well as a mini-bar and 24-hour room service. The hotel has a first class restaurant with an informal atmosphere, offering modern cuisine, from breakfast through to late night ‘a la carte’ dining. There is also a cocktail bar.
22 Feb – Mon – Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, Botswana
After breakfast we will transfer back to the airport for our short commercial flight to Maun, Botswana where we will transfer to our charter flight to our first camp. Since there are luggage weight limitations on the charter flights within Botswana, you’ll have the opportunity to safely store your big suitcases in Johannesburg while we spend the next six nights in Botswana. A small duffle bag with ‘soft’ sides will do just fine! Once we arrive at our first camp we’ll have time to take a swim before we head out on our first game drive.
Camp: Duma Tau – Duma Tau is located in a private reserve in the Linyanti/Savuti Channel area on the western boundary of Chobe National Park in northern Botswana. Accommodation is in tented rooms under thatch, with en-suite facilities including both indoor and outdoor showers. The main areas include a dining room, pub, lounge, plunge pool, and a special guest toilet with a fantastic view!
23 Feb – Tue – Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, Botswana
The camp is built under a shady grove of Mangosteen trees and overlooks an enormous hippo-filled lagoon. General wildlife viewing is great all year round with impala, wildebeest, red lechwe, zebra, giraffe, sable, roan, waterbuck, buffalo, baboon, monkey, warthog, lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, and hyena. Also to be found are bushbaby, springhare, aardwolf, serval, and genet. The reed and papyrus swamps are ideal for numerous and diverse species of birds.
Camp: Duma Tau
24 Feb – Wed – Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, Botswana
You will have the opportunity to go out on game drives in open, 4-wheel drive landrovers…once in the early morning and again in the late afternoon. Depending on water levels, you’ll also be able to go out in the camp’s boat. Another exciting activity is to go ‘on foot’ with one of the Guides! Seeing animals at ground-level and up close is exhilarating and not to be missed!
Camp: Duma Tau
25 Feb – Thu – Okavango Delta, Botswana
Today, we’ll be collected from Duma Tau and transferred by light charter aircraft to our second camp: Chitabe. Chitabe is situated in a private area in the south-east of the Okavango, on one of the most beautiful islands in the Delta. It has all the Okavango scenery with open floodplains, waterways, marshlands, dry acacia, mopane woodland, riverine areas and open grasslands. This variety of habitats creates an abundance of wildlife to be seen, including elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, reedbuck, and impala. Wild dogs are also occasionally sighted. Night drives provide opportunities for guests to see nocturnal creatures such as civet, serval, genet, pangolin, porcupine, and aardwolf.
Camp: Chitabe – Chitabe’s East African-style tents are built on elevated wooden decks amongst the trees. Each tent has twin beds, en-suite facilities, and indoor as well as an outdoor shower. The thatched dining area, pub and lounge area are built on raised decks to provide superb views across the floodplain, and a pool allows guests to cool off in the heat of the day. Activities include day and night game drives in open 4x4 jeeps, nature walks and spectacular bird watching. Chitabe also has two elevated hides located in the reserve, where guests can experience a “sleep out” under the stars in full comfort and safety.
26 Feb – Fri – Okavango Delta, Botswana
Another day in heaven! Each outing can be different since animal sightings are totally dependent on what “Mother Nature” has in store for us! The rest time between drives can be spent reading, swimming, or, with the assistance of one of the Guides, walking through the bush seeing the animals ‘at their level’!!
Both of the camps that we use, Duma Tau and Chitabe, offer many ‘extras’ such as high tea and hors d’oeuvres, refreshments while on activity, all non-premium brand beverages, and complimentary laundry service.
Camp: Chitabe
27 Feb – Sat – Okavango Delta, Botswana
Last chance to have some of that ‘free’ laundry taken care of! This will be our last full day in the bush before heading back to civilization.
Camp: Chitabe
28 Feb – Sun – Pretoria, South Africa
You’ll have the opportunity to go on one more early-morning game drive before returning to camp for brunch. We will then be collected from Chitabe and transferred by light charter aircraft to Maun Airport where we check-in for our commercial flight on Air Botswana back to Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon arrival we will be met and transferred by private coach to Pretoria where we will spend one night.
Hotel: Whistletree Lodge – Located in Queenswood, a quiet Pretoria suburb, this hotel combines an atmosphere of old world charm with a unique modern style and modern amenities. Each of the twelve rooms is individually decorated with fine antiques. There is also a heated swimming pool, a sauna, bar, and tennis court with floodlights for evening play. We will have dinner and breakfast at the hotel.
01 Mar – Mon – Blue Train
After breakfast, we will be collected from Whistletree Lodge and transferred to the Pretoria Railway Station where we will check-in for the Blue Train. We will spend one night on board in Deluxe Cabins on a fully inclusive basis – including all meals and snacks, sightseeing excursion accompanied by a qualified tour guide, all alcoholic and other beverages (except French champagne), 24 hour butler service and bar facilities. Being spoiled for one night is not all bad! The schedule is as follows:
850am – Depart Pretoria. From the Jacaranda City, the Blue Train glides past the gold fields of the Witwatersrand, the grain, fruit and sunflower farms of the northern Cape, on to Kimberley, seat of South Africa’s original diamond rush.
510pm – Arrive Kimberley. There will be a brief stop in this historic town for a sight-seeing excursion.
705pm – Depart Kimberley. The train moves through desolately beautiful Karoo “thirstlands” into the emerald green Hex River Valley, where most of South Africa’s export grapes are grown.
Train: Blue Train – What a magnificent way to travel! From the luxury of a private lounge at the railway station, you will enter your carriage of rich gold, deep blues, warm wood paneling, and meticulously crafted fittings. By day your private suite is an elegant and relaxing haven. As night falls it is magically transformed into a romantic boudoir of soft, glowing light, fine white cotton linen and down duvets. All suites have en-suite marble-floored bathrooms with baths or shower and white towels. Prepared by gourmets for the pleasure of gourmets, dining on the Blue Train is a memorable experience! In keeping with the classically romantic ambience of the dining car, lunch aboard the Blue Train is an elegantly casual affair, while dinner is more formal. A fine selection of South African wines is provided to complement each course at both meals. Breakfast is equally delightful!
02 Mar – Tue – Cape Town, South Africa
Late this morning, the distinctive shape of Table Mountain appears in the distance as the Blue Train approaches the cosmopolitan city of Cape Town, where the journey ends at approximately 12.00noon. We will be met at the train station and transferred to our hotel where we will ‘base’ ourselves for the next five days.
Hotel: Cape Grace – This member of Small Luxury Hotels is situated on the West Quay of Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred Waterfront on its own promontory and is the perfect link between the ‘old city’ and the vibrancy of the waterfront. The hotel’s architecture celebrates the French influence upon Cape history. All of the ninety-two bedrooms have large French doors which open on to views of Table Mountain, the yacht marina, or the working harbor. Each guest room is luxuriously appointed with a lounge area, walk-in dressing room, and en-suite bathroom with separate shower and double vanities. There is a restaurant, a bar, a full spa, and a pool.
03 Mar – Wed – Cape Town, South Africa
Our tour of Cape Town begins this morning by taking the new Rotair cable car to the top of Table Mountain (1036 meters above sea level). We will have the opportunity to walk around the top and experience the spectacular views of the city and the surrounding areas. After our descent from the top of the mountain, we continue our tour by visiting the city’s botanical gardens called Kirstenbosch Gardens. These are located on the ‘back side’ of Table Mountain and offer tremendous insight to the numerous plants, flowers, and trees indigenous to South Africa. From there we drive through town via the Bo-Kaap, the Cape Malay quarter and along Government Avenue where the original settlers planted their vegetable gardens. Today, the street is home to the South African Museum, Cultural History Museum, Houses of Parliament, National Gallery, and St. George’s Cathedral.
Finally, we visit the District Six Museum, which highlights the horror of the forced removal of citizens from their homes in that district during the 1960’s. The museum contains a collection of memorabilia donated by former residents of the area and their descendants. We return to our hotel at approximately 1pm for lunch and an afternoon at leisure.
Hotel: Cape Grace
04 Mar – Thu – Cape Point
We’ll start our tour today with a scenic drive along the Atlantic Seaboard coast passing the seaside suburbs of Sea Point, Bantry Bay, Clifton, and Hout Bay. We’ll stop along the way to enjoy magnificent views of the Twelve Apostles on the Atlantic coast side of Table Mountain before continuing along one of the finest scenic coastal drives in the world. We keep heading south until we reach the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve which is a beautiful untouched area of Olifants Bay. We drive through the Reserve to the tip of Cape Peninsula where we walk up to the lighthouse at Cape Point. From this vantage point, we will enjoy spectacular views of False Bay!
After lunch, we will return along the False Bay coastline to Boulders Beach, home to the only penguins found on the continent of Africa, the African Jackass Penguin. We then return to Cape Town over Boyes Drive with views of the fishing village of Kalk Bay and the seaside towns of St. James and Muizenberg.
Hotel: Cape Grace
05 Mar - Fri – Winelands Region
Today we enjoy a full-day tour of the Cape Winelands, nestled below the spectacular Boland Mountains about 50 minutes drive from Cape Town. We focus on the Cape’s “wine route” towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franschhoek. We start with a visit one of the wineries to “sample the wines” that are now well-known world-wide!
We’ll then visit Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa, where we will have time to walk along the old streets and visit the shops and galleries. We will drive down Dorp Street, with its beautiful Cape Dutch houses and see the different architectural styles that existed in the Cape in the 17th century.
Our lunch will be on the grounds of the historic estate of Boschendal which boasts some of the most beautifully preserved Cape Dutch buildings and period furniture in the Cape. This estate offers insight into how the early Cape settlers lived. Weather permitting, our picnic lunch will be a highlight before we head back to Cape Town and our hotel.
Hotel: Cape Grace
06 Mar - Sat – Cape Town
Enjoy your day at leisure! Visit a museum, take a trip out to Robyn’s Island, sit in a sidewalk café along the waterfront and watch the world go by, sample some of the offerings at the spa, go to high tea at the hotel…. the choices are numerous and ALL up to you! Tonight you are invited to a special Farewell Cocktail and Dinner Party there at the hotel.
Hotel: Cape Grace
07 Mar - Sun – Depart South Africa
Last chance to shop for those souvenirs and gifts for the family! We will be collected from the hotel and transferred to the airport where we check-in for our flight to Johannesburg and connecting flight back to the USA.
08 Mar – Mon – USA
Arrive home. Whew!! |
