Classic South African Adventure

Classic South African Adventure

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Classic South African Adventure

17 Days Starting and ending in UK

Visiting: Johannesburg, Lesedi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, Eswatini, KwaZulu-Natal, Gqeberha, Cango Caves, Cape Town, United Kingdom

Tour operator:

Newmarket Holidays

Tour code:

98923

Guide Type:

Fully Guided

Group size:

20 - 45

Physical rating:

Low

Age range:

21-99

Tour operated in:

English

This tour is no longer available

Tour Overview

An all-encompassing South African encounter, illuminating everything from its epic wilderness to enrapturing coastline.


An inspiring introduction to Africa’s southern tip, interspersed with cultural experiences and anchored around stirring adventures, from the bush to the beach.


Look out for the ‘Big Five’ in the Kruger National Park, learn about the country’s past on the battlefields of KwaZulu Natal and fall in love with the natural beauty of this country along the Panorama Route, Garden Route, and the sweeping Cape Peninsula.

Highlights

  • Spend two nights experiencing the traditions of the Lesedi Cultural Village

  • Set off on a spectacularly scenic drive along the Panorama Route

  • Discover the earliest records of life on Earth with a visit to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site

  • Enjoy a full-day game drive in search of the ‘Big Five’ in the Kruger National Park

  • Venture out on a scenic drive to Eswatini

  • Learn about the battlefields of KwaZulu Natal with an expert historian

  • View the intriguing Cango Caves and visit an ostrich farm

  • Opt for a cruise into Knysna’s Featherbed Nature Reserve

  • Stay and sip on local labels in the heart of the Winelands

  • Visit the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

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Itinerary

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Day One – Fly Overnight To South Africa

Location: Johannesburg

Fly overnight to Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest and most vibrant city.

Day Two – Arrival At Lesedi Cultural Village And Cultural Evening

Location: Lesedi Local Municipality

You’ll arrive in Johannesburg, ready to kick off your African adventure and meet your tour manager. A transfer will then drive you to the Lesedi Cultural Village set within the bushveld, backed by rocky hills and within the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site. Take some time to unwind in your traditionally decorated homestead accommodation, kitted out with modern essentials for a comfortable and enlightening stay.


This evening, after a gastronomic feast of African dishes under the star-speckled sky, you’ll receive the warmest welcome by your Lesedi hosts, Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Basotho, and Ndebele tribespeople. You’ll be introduced to their cultures, enjoy a tour around their homes and watch a performance of traditional music and dancing.

Day Three – Included Tour Of The Cradle Of Humankind And Visit To Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum

Location: Lesedi Local Municipality, Johannesburg

Start the day with a trip north of Johannesburg to the UNESCO-listed Cradle of Humankind where you'll discover the oldest surviving records of life on Earth with fossils dating back over three million years. Explore the craggy caves around this 47,000-hectare world heritage site and witness mankind's journey through the ages, from the earliest hominids to modern man. 


You’ll then return to Johannesburg and pay a visit to the city's moving Apartheid Museum. Exhibits featuring photographs, film footage, text panels and artefacts will provide further insight into the historical background of today’s democratic South Africa.


Following this educational day, you’ll return to Lesedi for your second evening and another delicious dinner in the village.

Day Four – Transfer To The Lodge In The Lowveld Of Mpumalanga And Optional Afternoon Kruger National Park Game Drive

Location: Mpumalanga

Rise early, tuck into breakfast and bid farewell to your friendly hosts at Lesedi. The tour will then set off to a safari lodge in Mpumalanga, bordered by the vast Kruger National Park.


Upon arrival at the lodge, you can settle in, take in the surroundings of the Lowveld, and cool off in the pool, perhaps sipping on a G&T in-between. This property, overlooking the Sable River, is set within the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, a private game reserve that promises a plethora of wildlife sightings during your stay.


Those who are eager to get out there can go for an optional game drive into the Kruger National Park in the afternoon.  


Dinner will be served at the lodge’s on-site restaurant before you get an early night, prepping for the busy next few days.

Day Five – Full-Day Guided Tour And Drive Along The Panorama Route

Location: Mpumalanga

Fuel up with a hearty breakfast and pack a charged camera as today you’ll be venturing along the spectacular Panorama Route, overlooking the Blyde River Canyon. With included stops at the Three Rondavels, a trio of rocky outcrops, Bourke's Luck Potholes, a geological attraction caused by erosion, and God’s Window, named for its sweeping views of the Lowveld, this guided tour will prove incredibly memorable.


Lunch will be enjoyed at the town of Graskop (payable locally), a charming town on the edge of the Drakensberg escarpment, offering views of the lush scenery below.


After an active afternoon, you’ll return to the lodge, kick off your walking shoes and have the evening at your leisure, maybe concluding with a sundowner before dinner.

Day Six – In Search Of The ‘Big Five’ In The Kruger National Park

Location: Kruger National Park

It’s officially safari time! Khaki gear and sun cream at the ready, you’ll arise early, with a breakfast pack in hand, and be transferred to Kruger Gate of the Kruger National Park where you’ll be met by your friendly, knowledgeable ranger and an open-air 4X4 vehicle and then set off into the park for a full-day safari. Home to the ‘Big Five, the Kruger National Park is one of the world’s largest reserves, teeming with ecosystems and wildlife.


The safari will pause for a break and a spot of lunch at a rest camp inside the park, where you can buy lunch and stock up on snacks and souvenirs. You’ll then commence with your game-viewing excursion before heading back to Kruger Gate, where you'll be picked up by the driver and travel to the lodge.


Freshen up and experience a special final dinner as a group with your newly found friends.

Day Seven – Scenic Journey To Eswatini

Location: Eswatini

Today, you’re in for a longer journey, but there will be lots to see along the way.


The tour will cross the border into the compact Kingdom of Eswatini, a former British Protectorate. En route, you’ll stop over at a collection of curio shops and cultural centres (potentially the Ngwenya Glass Factory and Swazi Candles company) then continue into KwaZulu Natal to your delightful hotel in the countryside.


Take a stroll around the lovely gardens, brimming with sunbirds and paradise catchers before enjoying dinner at your leisure tonight.

Day Eight – Drive From Eswatini To Kwazulu Natal

Location: Eswatini, KwaZulu-Natal

The tour is back on the road again after breakfast for a visit to the Zulu battlefields area.


You’ll stop for lunch and arrive at your next lodge. You really can’t beat the views of the sunsets from this corner of the world, which will be followed by dinner at the in-house restaurant.

Day Nine – Visit To Battlefields Of Kwazulu Natal

Location: KwaZulu-Natal

After an early breakfast, you’ll visit the nearby battlefields of KwaZulu Natal, with lunch packs provided. Here, you’ll be met by a specialist battlefields guide who’ll introduce you to the tumultuous history of the Zulu Wars, the battlefields of Isandlwana and, most famously, Rorke’s Drift, the latter immortalised in the 1964 movie Zulu.


You’ll return to the hotel later today to relax and have dinner.

Day 10 – Fly From Johannesburg To Port Elizabeth

Location: Gqeberha, Johannesburg

Another early start this morning sees you return to Johannesburg airport and fly south to bustling, friendly Port Elizabeth. A hugely popular beach resort, modern ‘PE’ still offers glimpses of Victorian grandeur and is fringed by pristine stretches of sand.


Upon arrival, you’ll meet your tour manager for the next few days and transfer to your overnight hotel – ideally located across from the beach and within walking distance to an array of dining options.


Muse over a pre-drink on the viewing deck, keeping your eyes peeled for dolphins or whales before seeking out a dinner spot.

Day 11 – Travel Along The Garden Route And Optional Featherbed Eco Experience

Location: Gqeberha

Port Elizabeth is the gateway to the Garden Route, which you’ll experience today. This incredibly picturesque drive will take three hours in total, concluding in the seaside town of Knysna. You can choose to take an optional cruise here, crossing the lagoon to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, riding a tractor around the reserve, and then stopping for lunch in the milkwood forest.


Alternatively, you can meander around the Knysna waterfront and have lunch at one of the sea-facing restaurants.


By late afternoon, you’ll travel to a new lodge, set on a hill overlooking Mossel Bay, for a two-night stay. Arrive in time to watch the sunset then dinner this evening will be for your account.

Day 12 – Included Visit To The Cango Caves, Heritage Guided Tour And Ostrich Farm

Location: Cango Caves

Oudtshoorn, ‘the Ostrich Capital’ of the world, is on your agenda today. However, you’ll start by visiting the world-renowned Cango Caves, with their stalactites and stalagmites formed over millions of years.


You’ll then venture to the heart of the ‘Little Karoo’ plain to visit the Safari Ostrich Show Farm in Oudtshoorn for a guided tour of the property. The world’s strangest, largest, and often most valuable bird has been farmed here for 130 years, first for its plumage and more recently for its high-protein, low-cholesterol meat.


After the tour and lunch, you can potter around the town of Oudtshoorn at your own pace before returning late afternoon to the lodge. The rest of the day is at your leisure, perhaps take a dip in the pool before dinner, which is on your account.

Day 13 – Travel To Cape Town And Visit To The Cape Winelands

Location: Cape Town

Start the day with breakfast at the lodge, check out and then depart for Cape Town.


You’ll get your first taste of this sublime province with a tour of the verdant Cape Winelands region, stopping off at the towns of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch.  


Sample the region’s award-winning wine labels with two tastings and choose a charcuterie platter of local produce for lunch. While doing so, sit back and soak up the backdrop of rolling vineyard-covered hills and valleys dotted with villages built in ‘Cape Dutch’, Edwardian, and Art-Deco styles.


Late afternoon, continue to Cape Town, one of the world’s most beautifully located cities, and weather permitting, ascent to the summit of Table Mountain in a cable car. Alternatively, you can visit the mountain on day 14.


The hotel for tonight is within walking distance from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, offering top-quality restaurants, bars, theatres, and shops for you to survey at your leisure.

Day 14 – Cape Peninsula Guided Tour

Location: Cape Town

Today, the tour will travel along one of the world’s most dramatic coastal roads, Chapman’s Peak Drive, towards the Cape Point Peninsula. You’ll go by the Atlantic Seaboard via Sea Point, Clifton, and Camps Bay, stopping at Llandudno look-out point. Next up is Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak, Cape Point and then the Good Hope Nature Reserve.


An included lunch stop (lunch payable locally) will take place in Simon’s Town, one of South Africa’s oldest towns, looking out over the harbour and False Bay.


On the drive home, you’ll have the chance to amble around Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens after receiving a short introduction from your guide.


If a visit to Table Mountain was not included the day before, you can fit it in today’s itinerary, weather permitting.

Day 15 – Day At Leisure With Optional Robben Island Tour

Location: Cape Town

You can choose to visit Table Mountain as a group if the weather didn’t permit the previous four days. Alternatively, you have a full day to seek out the delights of Cape Town in your own time. Perhaps hike up Lion’s Head, roam through the Company’s Gardens or visit the Two Oceans Aquarium. A fun way to take in the city is on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, with more than 30 stops.


The recommended optional excursion is to Robben Island, the ‘former’ home of Nelson Mandela. You’ll set off to this World Heritage Site early in the morning and experience a tour around three and a half hours. Travelling via ferry, you’ll arrive at the island for a 45-minute bus ride and then visit the prison museum.


For your last dinner, GOLD Restaurant is highly recommended with its Cape Malay and African-inspired menu, and live entertainment.

Day 16 – Afternoon Transfer To The Airport

Location: Cape Town

Make the most of your last day in Cape Town, before transferring this afternoon to the airport and the return overnight flight.

Day 17 – Arrive Back In The Uk

Location: United Kingdom

Arrive back in the UK after an enlightening South African experience.

What's Included

  • 14 nights’ carefully chosen bed and breakfast accommodation, plus two nights on the aircraft

  • Two nights in Lesedi Cultural Village and a cultural evening

  • Day trip to the Cradle of Mankind World Heritage Site and Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum

  • Full day guided tour and drive along the Panorama Route, including God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, Three Rondavels Lookout

  • Full day game drive in the Kruger National Park

  • Scenic drive through Swaziland

  • Guided Battlefields tour, including Isandlwana and the Battle of Rorke’s Drift

  • Visit to Knysna Waterfront

  • Visit to Cango Caves, heritage guided tour and Safari Ostrich Farm

  • Exploration of the Cape Winelands and two wine tastings

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What's Not Included

Itinerary changes

Occasionally, for operational reasons, we may have to change the order of the excursions on your holiday. The final day-by-day itinerary will be confirmed on your Final Travel Documents, which you will receive approximately three weeks prior to your departure.

Hotel transfer times

The transfer time from the airport to your hotel is approximately one hour.

Passports and visas

A visa is not required for UK citizens travelling to South Africa, but your passport must be valid for six months beyond the date of entry to the country and have two adjacent blank pages. Special entry rules apply for children under 18 years.

Foreign Office Travel Advice

Visit www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice to find out the latest Foreign And Commonwealth Office travel advice for your holiday destination, as well as information about passports and visas.

Luggage allowance

You are permitted to take one suitcase per person on the aircraft, which should not exceed 23kg.

Special requirements

If you have notified us of any special requirements, please check that they have been noted and acknowledged. This is especially important with any dietary needs you may have.

Disabled access

The majority of our tours involve a certain amount of walking, including a short walk from the coach stop to the town, attraction or venue you're visiting. If you are bringing a wheelchair, please let us know at the time of booking so that appropriate arrangements can be made. In many developing countries access is sometimes not as easy as at home. Should you have walking difficulties, getting around monuments and attractions may be harder and, in some cases, impossible. Should you have any concerns whatsoever please do contact us prior to travel.

Travel vaccinations

Requirements and advice can vary over time, and from person to person, so please contact your GP about eight weeks before your trip to check whether you need any vaccinations or any other preventive measures.

Changes to your hotels

Should circumstances require, we reserve the right to accommodate you in alternative hotels, of a similar standard, nearby. Full details of your hotels will be sent with your Final Travel Documents.

Itinerary changes

Occasionally, for operational reasons, we may have to change the order of the excursions on your holiday. The final day-by-day itinerary will be confirmed on your Final Travel Documents, which you will receive approximately three weeks prior to your departure.

Optional Robben Island excursion

The optional Robben Island excursion must be pre-booked due to limited availability. If you wish to book this excursion, we encourage you to do so as early as possible we cannot guarantee availability if not booked six weeks prior to departure.

Check out our Q&As

  • Are vaccinations required for this tour?

    Requirements and advice can vary over time, and from person to person, so please contact your GP about eight weeks before your trip to check whether you need any vaccinations or any other preventive measures.

  • How long has the tour company been trading?

    Since 1983

  • Vaccination Requirements

    Your health and safety are pivotal to our operations, and every customer travelling on a tour with us must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Fully vaccinated means that you have had the full course of an approved vaccine a minimum of 14 days prior to your holiday. We also recommend that you travel with proof that you’ve been fully vaccinated.

  • What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?

    Our company’s mission is to enrich lives and improve wellbeing through travel. A big part of that is ‘Travel for Good’. Our ‘Travel for Good’ hub is our first step in a long journey to reduce carbon, offset anything we produce as a company and travel without harming the planet or the people of the destinations we go to.

  • What policies are in place for Covid-19?

    Please contact us for latest Covid-19 policies

  • Fitness to Travel

    We strive to give all our customers full care and attention, but we do need to know at the time of booking if there are any special needs or requirements. It is particularly important that we are advised of any disabilities and also if you intend to bring any specialist equipment such as a wheelchair with you. Please make sure that you make us aware of any requirements.

Reviews of this operator

Mr Albert Owen  

Help is at hand at Newmarket holidays

04-Jan-2023

I tried to book myself on line for an Andre Rieu concert in Vienna but I didn’t manage to complete the booking. I rang the next day & spoke to Sharon who was very helpful. I am a 76 year old pensioner & not totally au fa with the internet. However, Sharon went through it step by step & I felt more confident. She completed the booking for me & said she would also send a paper copy.

Iain Moir  

Newmarket Holidays…top dollar!

06-Jan-2023

Having booked late the service we received from Newmarket staff has been excellent - helpful, friendly, painstaking and above all going further than we could really expect to ensure our requests were all satisfied. We would like to particularly thank Naima for her attention to detail and perseverance in following up our queries. This is the first time we have tried NH but it wont be the last

Miss F J Murphy  

This is the third holiday I have taken…

05-Nov-2021

This is the third holiday I have taken with Newmarket Holidays. They made it easy to change from the Holiday I originally booked to one in the UK. The tour leader was excellent as was our driver, both of whom went the extra mile to ensure we had a lovely holiday. There were difficulties at the hotel due to COVID but we were made very welcome and the staff went out of their way to help us. So I have no complaint about Newmarket's choice of hotel. I am a single traveller and normally do not like to travel in groups but the laidback atmosphere of Newmarket Holidays is fine.

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Caroline N, GB  

Hurrah for Eddie and Simon, Newmarket's highlands duo!

26-Oct-2021

Very happy time on an action packed trip to the Scottish highlands. Eddie as tour manager and Simon as driver. Eddie shared his passion for Scottish history and between them they treated us to many unscheduled cultural stops that enhanced our holiday. They went above and beyond all the time. Train trips were amazing and views unforgettable. Hotel was welcoming and food was good. Hot water aplenty for bath. We wanted to escape to another world for a few days and we truly did. THANK YOU. Chris and Caroline

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Tony King, GB  

Canada October 2021

28-Oct-2021

We have returned from our long overdue trip to Canada Niagara Falls to the Rockies stating in Toronto and finishing in Vancouver. Well we happened to be the first trip back after the Coiid outbreak and it was so good to go. The company had made sure we were all safe and masks were worn where ever they had to be but this did not dampen the trip at all, the Tour directors ( guides ) were brilliant and we saw and did so much it was a fantastic trip which I would recommend to everyone, defiantly one for the bucket list.

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Book with Confidence

  • Low Deposit

    Newmarket Holidays requires a minimum deposit of 35% or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 60 days before departure.

  • Cancellation Policy

    We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of newmarket holidays charges.

    Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.

    At 55 days before tour starts: Forfeit 50% of booking price.

    At 48 days before tour starts: Forfeit 75% of booking price.

    At 34 days before tour starts: Forfeit 90% of booking price.

    At 15 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.

  • Vaccination Requirements

    Your health and safety are pivotal to our operations, and every customer travelling on a tour with us must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Fully vaccinated means that you have had the full course of an approved vaccine a minimum of 14 days prior to your holiday. You can find the travel restrictions for different countries on www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. We also recommend that you travel with proof that you’ve been fully vaccinated.