Big 5 African Safaris, accommodated, camping and fully escorted
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11 Nights camping with hot shower facilties
3 Nights Guest House with ensuite facilities
3 Nights Chalets where rooms share facilities
Entrance fees
Use of camping equipment (except sleeping bags & pillows)
Transport in minibus / safari truck
Meals as per itinerary (B, L, D)
Professional guides
Visas
Drinks
Tips and gratuities
Optional activities
Items of a personal nature.
Sleeping bag and pillow
Local payment ZAR1200pp payable in CASH only
A wonderful journey through the Rainbow Nation. Camping, trekking, game viewing, historical and cultural visits through South Africa!
Mpumalanga Panorama Route – sight seeing
Kruger National Park – game drives
Swaziland – mountain walks
Zululand – game drives & cultural village
Drakensberg Mountains – mountain walks
Lesotho – trekking with local guide with pony
Karoo – visit a quaint Karoo town
Addo Game Reserve – game drives
Tsitsikamma – forest and coastal walks
Cape Town – Cape Point & Table Mountain
South Africa
Swaziland
Lesotho
Departing from Johannesburg at 06:30am we head east towards Mpumalanga. A landscape characterised by mountains, panoramic passes, valleys, rivers, waterfalls and forests. We will camp the night in the old gold rush town of Pilgrims Rest, a living museum dating back to 1873. We explore the quaint town, visit Mac Mac falls and God’s Window viewpoint.
INCLUDES:Entrance to Mac Mac falls & God’s Window.
Overnight: Campsite – good ablution facilities & hot showers.
Distance/time:350kms, ± 5 hours, excluding stops for sightseeing & lunch.
Optional Activities:N/A.
Meals Included: LD
Big game country - exciting game drives provide us with excellent game viewing. Spot lion, elephant, rhino and other animals in one of the last African wildernesses. Early morning & afternoon game drives get us close to the wildlife.
INCLUDES: Entrance to Kruger National Park, morning & afternoon game drives.
Overnight: Campsite – good ablution facilities, hot showers, swimming pool, restaurant & shop.
Distance/time:150kms, ± 2 hours + 3x 3 hour game drives.
Optional Activities:Night game drives in National Park open game viewing vehicles.
Meals Included: BLD
The mountainous Kingdom of Swaziland, led by King Mswati III, is one of only 3 monarchies in Africa. Swazi’s are proud of their traditional lifestyle & cultures. We explore the Malolotja reserve on foot to enjoy the mountain scenery, rare birdlife, and the 95m high Malolotja waterfall. Overnight in log cabins with fantastic panoramic views.
INCLUDES:Entrance to Malalotja Game Reserve.
Overnight: Cabin – each cabin sleeps a maximum of 6 people in 2 bedrooms and a loft room which share a ablution facilities, hot showers.
Distance/time:200kms, ± 4 hours, excluding 2-3 hour morning drive out of Kruger, shopping stop in Malelane, Jeppes Reef border formalities & stops for sightseeing etc.
Optional Activities:N/A.
Meals Included: BLD
After visiting craft markets near Mbabane, we re-enter South Africa. Mkuzi Game Reserve is a safe haven for the endangered black rhino. We have a full day to game drive and stop at waterhole hides and watch game come down to drink. In the afternoon we visit a local Zulu village to learn about their culture, traditions and lifestyle.
INCLUDES:Entrance to Mkuzi Game Reserve, morning and afternoon game drive & Zulu village visit with local Zulu community guide.
Overnight:Campsite – good ablution facilities, hot showers & swimming pool.
Distance/time:300kms, ± 4 hours, excluding border formalities + game drives in Mkuzi.
Optional Activities:N/A.
Meals Included: BLD
Moving further south to the base of the Drakensberg (Dragon Mountains). We have two nights at the foot of the mountains allowing time for walking along beautiful mountain stream paths, looking for Bushman rock paintings or just enjoying spectacular views.
INCLUDES:Morning and afternoon hikes in the Drakensberg Mountains.
Overnight: Campsite – good ablution facilities, hot showers.
Distance/time:400kms, ± 6 hours, excluding stops for sightseeing & lunch. The last 50km is a slow gravel road.
Optional Activities:N/A.
Meals Included: BLD
We travel through the towering red sandstone cliffs of Golden Gate en route to Lesotho. Quaint villages and towns offer interesting stops along the way. We cross the border and head to southern Lesotho to our overnight chalets at Malealea. This lodge nestled in the mountains forms our base for two nights. The next morning we are up early and spend the day trekking with local guides and their ponies through the rugged mountains.
INCLUDES: Trekking with local guides and a pack pony.
Overnight: Chalets – twin rooms with shared ablutions, hot showers restaurant & bar.
Distance/time:370kms, ± 8 hours, excluding stops for border formalities sightseeing & lunch.
Optional Activities:N/A.
Meals Included: BLD
Descending from the Lesotho highlands we make our way into the great Karoo. It covers most of central South Africa and is a vast semi desert. It has become famous for its sheep and ostrich farming industries, and roadside stalls selling handmade windmills.
INCLUDES:
Overnight: Chalets – twin rooms with shared ablutions & restaurant.
Distance/time: 370kms, ± 8 hours, excluding stops for border formalities sightseeing & lunch.
Optional Activities:Guided tour of the town.
Meals Included: BL
A conservation success, Addo Elephant N.P. offers a unique wildlife area, famous for the Addo Elephants. We head out on game drives in search of elephant, black rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard. Evening viewing at the floodlit waterhole allows us to watch the nocturnal animals.
INCLUDES: Entrance fees to Addo Elephant National Park, afternoon & morning game drives.
Overnight: Campsite – good ablution facilities, hot showers, restaurant, bar, shop & floodlit waterhole.
Distance/time:276kms, ± 3½ hours – a long day! Excluding stops for sightseeing & lunch + game drives.
Optional Activities:Night game drives in National Park open game viewing vehicles.
Meals Included: BLD
Indigenous Tsitsikamma forests surround the campsite at Storms River mouth, and there are walks up the Storms River Gorge and along the rocky coastline. There is an option of the world’s highest bungi jump (own expense). Whales may be seen in season (July to November).
INCLUDES: Entrance fees to Tsitsikamma National Park.
Overnight: Campsite – good ablution facilities, hot showers, restaurant, bar & shop.
Distance/time:220kms, ± 3 hours excluding stops for sightseeing.
Optional Activities:Bungi jumping, whale watching & treetop canopy tour.
Meals Included: BLD
After visiting “The Heads” in Knysna, a town nestled on a tranquil lagoon we travel south along the Garden Route towards the Hottentots Holland Mountains. We stay in a UNESCO protected biosphere reserve, which has remained isolated and remarkably unspoilt so close to the larger towns of the Western Cape. We enjoy and afternoon walk in this wonderful wilderness area.
INCLUDES: Afternoon walk.
Overnight: Campsite – good ablution facilities, hot showers.
Distance/time:510kms, ± 7 hours excluding stops for sightseeing & lunch.
Optional Activities:N/A.
Meals Included: BLD
Visit Stellenbosch, for wine tasting and a cellar tour. Explore Cape Town and the “mother city’s” many attractions; visit Cape Point, the Cape of Good Hope, Chapman’s Peak drive, the harbour at Hout Bay, enjoy the famous beaches and the V&A Waterfront. Optional visit to Robben Island (own expense). Meals at a variety of local restaurants (own expense).
INCLUDES: Cellar Tour, entrance fees to Penguin colony & Cape Point National Park.
Overnight: Guesthouse / hotel – twin rooms with en-suite facilities, swimming pool & restaurant .
Distance/time:160kms, ± 2 hours + winelands tour & full day Cape Peninsular tour on day 17.
Optional Activities:Robben Island cruise, Shark Cage diving, Seal Colony visit.
Meals Included: B
We climb Table Mountain in the morning admiring the views over Table Bay and Cape Town. Spend the afternoon catching up on last minute curio shopping or just lazing on the beach absorbing the Cape’s sunshine. Tour ends at +/-18:00pm. Swagman tours reccommends that you do not book any onward travel arrangements on this day due to possible travel delays.
Meals Included: B
Lesotho Pony Trek: We trek for a day through the mountainous regions of Lesotho. Ponies have been used for hundreds of years by the Basotho as transport through the Drakensburg.
Our stay in Lesotho supports the Malealea community. Local guides, village accommodation and some of the fresh produce used in the lodge are sourced from the local villages in a responsible and sustainable method. Thus providing income, and better living standards for the Malealea villages and the local community.
