14 DAY FIRST SOUTH AFRICAN FAMILY TOUR

An excellent mix of family delights, roller-coaster amusement and safari grandeur in South Africa

Day 1 : Sun City

Visitors will be met and welcome upon arrival at the O R Tambo International Airport and shuttle transferred on two-hour drive to the Sun City Resort, North West province. Sun City was established by the hotel mogul Sol Kerzner and formally opened on 7 December 1979. Adjoining Sun City Resort, is the beautiful Pilanesberg Game Reserve, which will delight game viewers as it is a malaria free zone and home to the Big 5. The vast Sun City Resort complex, nearly 20 km in circumference, is an enormous, opulent extravaganza of luxurious hotels, glittering entertainment centres, restaurants, gaming rooms, shops, discos and extensive, beautifully landscaped grounds. Sun City Resort is rated among the world’s most unusually conceived, and most lavish, inland resorts. At the time of its inaugural, it was located in Bophuthatswana. As Bophuthatswana had been proclaimed an independent state by South Africa’s apartheid government, and permitted to provide “immoral” entertainment (in the eyes of the South African government) such as gambling – which was forbidden in South Africa. It is the perfect location to begin an extravagance family tour of South Africa. The afternoon is spent at leisureliness experiences of many entertainment possibilities at Sun City.

Overnight:  Palace Hotel
Meals:  Breakfast

Day 2: Sun City

The day is devoted at leisure exploring the resort with its several activities. The Sun City Resort is appropriately christened “Africa’s Kingdom of Pleasure”, as it offers stunning amusement for everybody. The resort contains extensive sports facilities, beautiful casinos, gourmet restaurants, and star-studded performances. From theatre shows to the games arcade for children, safaris and slots, golf to horse riding, and Lost City to the Valley of Waves, experience the Pilanesberg Game Reserve from above on a hot air balloon safari.

Overnight:  Palace Hotel
Meals:  Breakfast

Day 3: Sun City

The day is devoted at leisureliness. Sun City exploration activities that offer visitors an array of new and thrilling experiences. Adventure Centre offers the ultimate in outdoor thrills and adrenaline-fueled fun. Some of the great adventure activities on offer are 4×4 quad biking through the Letsatsing Game Park accompanied by experienced guides, Master the art of archery using a modern re-curve bow, take part in a drum circle and learn to play the Djembe drum are some of the activities on offer to visitors. and are some of the activities on offer to guests.

Overnight:  Palace Hotel
Meals:  Breakfast

Day 4 : Madikwe Game Reserve

After breakfast, guests will be shuttle transferred to the Madikwe Private Game Reserve that borders Botswana. The reserve is located between the northern bushveld and Kalahari sandveld, hosting both ecosystems. Due to the variety of eco-zones and vegetation, it guarantees a wide diversity of bird life and game. An afternoon game drive provides visitors with the opportunity to experience the area in search of the Big Five and other species.

Overnight:  Madikwe Safari Lodge
Meals:  Full Board

Day 5 : Madikwe Game Reserve

The re-launch of game began early in 1991, shortly before the perimeter fence had been concluded. Operation Phoenix was the biggest game translocation assignment in the world, with more than 8 000 animals of 28 species being released into the reserve. The region now houses to cheetah, elephant, giraffe wild dog, leopard, zebra rhino, buffalo, lion, spotted hyena, and many species of herbivores and antelope family. Two game drives and a bush walk will give visitors the opportunity to be close to the various animals, offering a memorable encounter.

Overnight:  Madikwe Safari Lodge
Meals:  Full Board

Day 6 : Madikwe Game Reserve

Early morning and late afternoon game drives in this exceptional region are the spotlight of the day. Enjoy a diversity of sightings, from the elegant elephant that personifies Africa in its own strange way, to the uncommon black rhino – smaller than the white, but infamous for its erratic temper. The big cats and many different grassland game species give you a glimpse of Africa in all her glory. The focus is on interpretive game viewing, with the ranger enhancing guests’ perception of the animals through their expertise of the customs and behaviour of the various species.

Overnight:  Madikwe Safari Lodge
Meals:  Full Board

Day 7 : Pretoria

A brief charter flight will ferry guests to the O R Tambo International Airport, where they will be met and shuttle transferred to their hotel. If time permits, guests will embark on a short tour of South Africa’s capital city – Pretoria. The Union Buildings, with its impressive views of the city, will be on the schedule. The building currently houses the office of the South African president. Designed by the famous British architect Sir Herbert Baker, it is considered as one of the country’s architectural stroke of genius.

Overnight:  Royal Elephant
Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Day 8 : Garden Route

After breakfast, visitors are shuttle transferred to the OR Tambo/Lanseria airport. A flight of just less than two hours will convey them to the town of George, where they will be met by their tourAfrika guide and make a stopover at Knysna before reaching the town of Plettenberg Bay. En route a visit is made to the Knysna Elephant Sanctuary. The sanctuary offers a safe haven for African elephants and an elephant interaction is experienced. Experience the celebrated Knysna forest along with the African elephants on a guided nature walk across the fynbos at an elephant pace. The heads for the overnight destination of Plettenberg Bay.

Overnight:  Fynbos Ridge
Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Day 9 : Garden Route

After breakfast, visitors will stopover at the Birds of Eden Sanctuary and Monkeyland. The Birds of Eden is the world’s leading dome, covering two hectares over a gorge of the native forest. The sanctuary has its own inexplicable ruin behind a waterfall. The sanctuary’s dome includes the power to fuse thunder and make brief spells of rain from an irrigation system in the dome structure. Covered vantage points within the gorge have been set up for use during these short rain storms. Like Monkeyland, Birds of Eden boasts its own canopy walk. Monkeyland is the world’s first free-roaming multi-specie primate sanctuary and it’s goal is to generate consciousness around the dilemma of primates to demonstrate that, with a superior understanding of our primate cousins, we can all live in coherence.

After a relaxing lunch, visitors will embark on a boat cruise starting off from the Plettenberg Bay Harbor. The Discovery Cruise will classically offer visitors with the opportunity to look for dolphins and visit the seal colony on the Robberg Peninsula. During the whale season (May to November), visitors will have an opportunity to be within a couple of feet of some of the biggest creatures on the planet when they embark the Premium Cruise.

Overnight:  Fynbos Ridge
Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Day 10 : Garden Route

The day is spent at leisure relaxing on one of the fine beaches in the area. Wildlife lovers will be charmed by the gorgeous fynbos, which draws an extensive range of birds and butterflies, and superb views of the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains enveloping the region.

Overnight:  Fynbos Ridge
Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Day 11 : Cape Town

On this day of the extravagance family tour, visitors will retreat back to George, where they will board a flight departing for Cape Town. Visitors will be met at Cape Town International and we will dedicate the afternoon to visiting Table Mountain, which is part of the Table Mountain National Park. The mountain is a pronounced landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town. The cable car will take guests all the way to the top from where they will enjoy spectacular views of the Cape Peninsula, Robben Island and Lion’s Head. Guests will then be assisted with check-in at their hotel.

Overnight:  Cape Grace
Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Day 12 : Cape Town

The remarkable Chapman’s Peak Drive, cut into the 650m high Chapman’s Peak, the tour traverses across the Noordhoek town to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. A botanic and picturesque delight, the reserve is home to numerous antelope species, as well as an abundant variety of blossoming plants and birds. The icing on the cake is bound to be the stride to the apex of Cape Point, it is said the turbulent sea waters of the Atlantic collide with the unruffle Indian Ocean.

The tour traces back to Cape Town via False Bay. Guests will make a stoppage at Boulders Beach, an appealing sheltered harbour which contains a tumble of mammoth circular rocks on a sandy shore. The rocks are perfect points for viewing the antics of the cluster of mainland-based African penguins.

Overnight:  Cape Grace
Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Day 13 : Cape Town

A 40-minute drive will take visitors to the hub of the South African wine-producing region. Visitors will visit the Spier Wine Estate. Adults will have an opportunity to taste some of South Africa’s finest wines while the children will have the opportunity to go into a compound with a tame cheetah. Spier is also the residence to the Eagle Encounters Raptors Rehabilitation Centre. Witness how ancient falconry techniques are used to train them to hunt. We head back to Cape Town in the late afternoon.

Overnight:  Cape Grace
Meals:  Breakfast & Dinner

Day 14 : Departure

A morning stopover is made to the Two Oceans Aquarium. The Two Oceans Aquarium on the V&A Waterfront displays the unbelievable variety of marine life found in the Indian and Atlantic seas. With over 3 000 living sea creatures, including fish, sharks, penguins, and turtles. The visitors will experience one of the best marine life collections in the world. Visitors are transferred to Cape Town International Airport after the aquarium visit, for a flight back to their country of origin. The extravagance first class family tour of South Africa should be imprinted in your memoirs forever.

Overnight:  None
Meals:  Breakfast