15 Day Eastern Circle

$2810-3468 USD

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Safari summary

On this tour we visit highlights like Kruger National Park,Hluhluwe National Park,Durban,the Drakensberg mountains and Johannesburg.
This tour is a must for everyone that wishes to see and experience a variety of cultures,landscapes and wildlife!

About this tour

	Tour type	Custom, tailor-made, private
	Main focus	Game drives
	Activity level	Easy activity
	Best months	January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
	Countries	South Africa
	Parks	Hluhluwe Umfolozi Kruger

Itinerary

Day 1

Kruger

Day 1 On your arrival we will be there to welcome you at O.R. Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. There are Atm’s and Beauro De Change available at the airport which makes this the perfect place to acquire Rands.. Depending on the time you arrive, we will then depart on a short tour of the city. If there is anything you need, we can also take you to a mall to do some last minute shopping, should your flight not allow for this please send us a list and we will happily do this for you provided you send us a list. Tonight you will be staying in a bed & breakfast in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. We will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant tonight and we will give you a short briefing of the tour. Day2 After an early breakfast, we leave Johannesburg. It will take about a 7 hour drive to get to the north of Kruger National Park. Kruger National Park is the most famous national park in Africa and the most successful effort of conservation on the planet. We will have lunch and enter Kruger at the most northern point of the park. All the animals that are associated with Africa can be found in Kruger including the big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino) and many other species. The northern section of the park is a long way from the busy camps of the south. Here we will get the feeling we are in a private area of the park. The north is lined with beautiful ravine forests and is a great place to find big herds of elephant and buffalo. Our camp this evening is Punda Maria, the facilities found here include a swimming pool, a hide that overlooks a waterhole, a small shop, and the flycatcher trail (a 20-minute trail famous for its bird-life and interesting vegetation).

Day 3

Limpopo

Day 3 We start before sunrise today as this allows us the best opportunities to find animals and the best light for photography. A quick coffee and we are off heading further to the north. This route takes us through fairly open country where we may find big herds of buffalo and elephant. We stop for breakfast at Pafuri picnic site and then proceed further to Crooks Corner, the meeting point of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers. Here there is a great view over the floodplain, and it is the point where South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique meet. We then head slowly back to camp stopping at the many waterholes along the way checking for any animal activity. We will have lunch at camp and then spend some time to relax by the swimming pool or the bird hide before going on an afternoon drive checking for any predators on the move. We will have another traditional meal around the fire as we spend our last night in the far north.

Day 4

Day 4 We start the morning at 5:30 am and enjoy a cup of coffee in the dark before we pack our vehicle and leave the camp. On the way we will keep our eyes peeled for the animals to be found in this area, the rare antelope of the park, including tsetsebe, sable, roan, and hartebeest. It is 176 km to our next camp, Letaba, and we will stop for breakfast and a picnic lunch on the way. Here we will find rolling granite plains where we can find large herds of wildebeest, zebra, and elephant. Letaba camp has one of the best river views in the park and is home to the great Elephant Hall. This is a museum dedicated to the 7 famous "Big Tuscers" that once lived in this area. This is elephant country, so we hope to find some big herds and some big elephants. Dinner will be at camp when we return and then its time to rest for the next day or you can catch a documentary at the amphitheater.

Day 5

Day 5 This morning we will leave our camp at 6am head further south to our next camp, Satara. It is a 67 km drive to Satara; which takes us through some excellent game viewing territory and we will have breakfast on route. This camp is situated in the heart of lion territory and also offers great opportunity to find wild dog. The camp facilities include a well-stocked shop, a view of a waterhole and a swimming pool. We will have lunch at camp and some time to relax. This afternoon we will go on a game drive along the N’wanetsi river road. The drive takes us along the river with dense vegetation on one side (great for leopard) and open plains on the other (good for cheetah) and is well known for lion sightings. The area is also very good for spotting white rhino and has large herds of buffalo, blue wildebeest, zebra, kudu, and giraffe. We will enjoy dinner at camp while hopefully listening to the roaring of lions and laughing hyenas.

Day 6

Day 6 This morning we will leave Satara and travel south to the next camp, Berg en Dal. It will be a long day and we will be driving through some exciting areas. There will be great chances to find elephant, buffalo, and rhino today. We will stop at Skukuza on route, this is the main camp in the park. You will have some time to relax and enjoy the river views on offer at the camp. Lunch will be a meal at your own expense and after we will continue south. Taking a slow drive and allow you ample time to enjoy any wildlife sightings along the way. Arriving at camp in the late afternoon, you will have some time to rest and relax before we serve dinner. Tonight you will go out in an open safari vehicle on a sunset/night drive, armed with powerful spotlights. If you are lucky you will spot some of the nocturnal animals that inhabit the park like, civet, genet, and porcupine.

Day 7

Day 7 Today we are up and packed to go just after the sun rises. Our journey today will take us through the Kingdom of Swaziland. A small landlocked country inside south Africa’s border. We travel by huge sugar cane plantations and through the Royal Hlane game reserve back toward South Africa. We exit Swaziland into Zululand the cultural heartland of South Africa and home of the Zulu’s. The area is lush, green and mountainous. We will pass by many game reserves and the drive is beautiful. Hluhluwe National Park is the most beautiful park in the country, it is situated in the mountains and provides amazing photographic moments. We will stop at crafts market today for any African gifts you may want to buy. Once the shopping is done, we will enter the park and drive up the winding hills to our lodge, Hilltop. There is a swimming pool, large shop, bar, restaurant and unparallelled view points. We will be having dinner at the restaurant tonight and take some time to recharge.

Day 8

Day 8 We have a relaxed morning today with breakfast at 8 am, then its off to explore the park. Hluhluwe National Park is famous for it’s Save the Rhino Campaign in which they are helping to save the black and white rhino from extinction. The park provides excellent opportunities to view these animals amidst amazing backdrops. There are also many of the lesser seen antelope species like nyala and we will try to find some big herds of buffalo and elephant. After lunch, we cross through the park and will enter Imfolozi. This is the western section of the park; it is lined with thick jungle like forests flowing over the surrounding the hills. Hopefully we find a leopard in this area. Tonight we will stay at Mpila and enjoy another good night's rest in the comfortable accommodation at the lodge. This will be our last night in the territory of the big five and we will take some time to reflect on our experiences over dinner around the fire.

Day 9

Day 9 We will go on one last early morning game drive at sunrise today searching for our favorite animals. We have breakfast when we return back to the lodge and then we will leave the park. There is another big African craft market that we will stop at before we travel towards the west to the amazing beaches of the Dolphin Coast. It is a 4 hour drive to the beach side just north of Durban, we will be staying at a beach cottage, a short walk from the beach. We will have lunch when we arrive and then go to the biggest shopping malls in the southern hemisphere, The Gateway. Here we will restock all our supplies and you will have some time to do some shopping of your own. The afternoon will be spent soaking up the sun and enjoying the sound of the waves and warmth of the Indian ocean. The Indian Ocean in this area has a year round temperature of around 20’C, which is comfortable to swim in or to take a leisurely walk along the beach at sunset.

Day 10

Day 10 Today we will take you to visit Durban and some of the highlights of the city. The first stop will be at the Moses Mahbida stadium. Here we will catch a funicular to the top of the stadium arch, this is where the best views of the city and the beaches can be found. Next we will drive the golden mile, Durban's famous beachfront, to uShaka Marine World. The uShaka is the world famous sea world and entertainment area. Here you can enjoy some time at the beach. You can also visit the aquarium that houses many fish that can be found in the Indian Ocean. You will also have time to enjoy lunch at one of the many restaurants found at uShaka. After uShaka we will take you on a drive through the city and back to the chalet in Umhlanga. Tonight we will enjoy dinner at another local restaurant.

Day 11

Day 11 Leaving the coast behind us, we travel inland to the Drakensberg Mountains, the largest and highest mountain range in Southern Africa. We take the scenic route through the midlands and will stop at some of the attractions on route, including an old military fort, a very high waterfall, a small brewery, a small chocolate factory, a cheese factory, farming stall, and some small art galleries as well as a picnic spot for lunch. We will drive through the beautiful scenery and high up into the Drakensberg Mountains to our camp in the Drakensberg World Herritage Site. We will arrive in the afternoon and have dinner around the fire after we have settled in. We will stay here for 2 nights.

Day 12

Day 12 This morning after breakfast at 7:30 am, we will go on a 4 hour hike in the Drankensberg. We will go to the top of the mountain by our camp and view some ancient rock art galleries. The view from the top of these mountains is breath taking and seemingly endless. The rolling hills and mountains just look to go on forever. We will have a packed picnic lunch which we will enjoy in the fresh mountain air while our eyes feast on the views. When we return we will have some time to relax and we could go for another hike in a different area if you'd like, go fly fishing for trout, go horse riding, play a game of golf or tennis, enjoy some bird watching or just enjoy the camp facilities. Tonight dinner will be at our camp and if the sky is clear we will have a look at the different star constellations and planets seen from South Africa.

Day 13

Day 13 This morning we will leave the camp after breakfast and travel further up the mountain range. We will take some time to explore the small mountain towns and visit a vulture feeding site. We will pass the beautiful area known as Little Switzerland and stop at Sterkfontein dam, through to Golden Gate National Park. This park is high in the mountains and has many species of animals we would not have seen. Black wildebeest and mountain zebra are found here. We will stop at a traditional Sotho village to give you an idea of how the rural people live in the mountains and to have a look at the African crafts made in this area. Towards the afternoon we will drive between the towering sandstone cliffs of Golden Gate, these cliffs are astonishing and the colors seem to change constantly between dark red and pale yellow. Our camp tonight will be directly under one of these amazing rock formations, we plan to arrive in time to climb to the top, enjoy a drink and view the sunset.

Day 14

Day 14 After a relaxed start to the day, we pack up and head back to Johannesburg. We will stop in some very unique, art infused towns such as Clarens and enjoy lunch en route. Late in the afternoon we will arrive in Johannesburg and will be staying at a guest house in the northern suburbs. We will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and enjoy our last night together as a group. Please note that we do offer extensions/add-ons to this tour so please feel free to enquire.

Day 15

Day 15 Today's itinerary will depend on the time of your return flight. You may choose to visit the Johannesburg malls and crafts markets to do some last minute shopping or take advantage of one of our many day tours. We will transfer you to the airport 3 hours before international departure. This tour is also offered as a camping tour, we have all the necessary gear to make a fun and pleasant camping experience. Please ask us if you are interested.

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