South Africa family holiday
| country: | South Africa |
| location: | Garden Route, Western Cape |
| departures: | 2008: 19 Oct, 21 Dec, 24 Dec 2009: 5 Apr, 19 Jul, 26 Jul, 29 Jul, 2 Aug, 5 Aug, 9 Aug, 12 Aug, 16 Aug, 19 Aug, 23 Aug |
| price: | From £1629 - £1799 (15 days) per adult and £1489 - £1639 per child including flights from the UK, from £959 - £999 excluding flights |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Game tracking
From Port Elizabeth we travel to the Addo Elephant National Park - one of the very best in the world for viewing the goliath of the animal kingdom.
Addo is famous for its impressive elephant population, but we may also see buffalo, eland, kudu, leopard and a host of other game.
Exploring by 4WD, we then visit nearby Schotia Game Reserve, well known for its lions and its diversity of other wildlife and birds.
Plettenberg Bay & Oudtshoorn
At Tsitsikamma we pause to hike a section of the Garden Route's most spectacular coastline. We view the dramatic Storm's River Mouth, then continue to Knysna. Here the range of activities is endless: try whale-watching (June to November) or hiking around the beautiful Robberg Peninsula. For a change of scene, we visit Knysna and next day head to Oudtshoorn - a small town in the arid hinterland famous for its ostrich farms and the awesome Cango Caves - arguably the world's finest dripstone caverns.
Garden route to Cape Town
Following a dramatic, open mountain route we drive back to the coast via Hermanus. This small town boasts the finest shore-based whale-watching in the world - they even have a 'Whale Crier' who announces whale sightings with blasts on a kelp horn! Finally an exciting coastal drive brings us to Cape Town, capital of the Western Cape. Fringed by a shoreline of cliffs and stunning beaches and dominated by the iconic shape of Table Mountain, Cape Town is also a cultural melting pot - a vibrant, lively city and a great place to end our journey.
From Port Elizabeth we travel to the Addo Elephant National Park - one of the very best in the world for viewing the goliath of the animal kingdom.
Addo is famous for its impressive elephant population, but we may also see buffalo, eland, kudu, leopard and a host of other game.
Exploring by 4WD, we then visit nearby Schotia Game Reserve, well known for its lions and its diversity of other wildlife and birds.
Plettenberg Bay & Oudtshoorn
At Tsitsikamma we pause to hike a section of the Garden Route's most spectacular coastline. We view the dramatic Storm's River Mouth, then continue to Knysna. Here the range of activities is endless: try whale-watching (June to November) or hiking around the beautiful Robberg Peninsula. For a change of scene, we visit Knysna and next day head to Oudtshoorn - a small town in the arid hinterland famous for its ostrich farms and the awesome Cango Caves - arguably the world's finest dripstone caverns.
Garden route to Cape Town
Following a dramatic, open mountain route we drive back to the coast via Hermanus. This small town boasts the finest shore-based whale-watching in the world - they even have a 'Whale Crier' who announces whale sightings with blasts on a kelp horn! Finally an exciting coastal drive brings us to Cape Town, capital of the Western Cape. Fringed by a shoreline of cliffs and stunning beaches and dominated by the iconic shape of Table Mountain, Cape Town is also a cultural melting pot - a vibrant, lively city and a great place to end our journey.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Port Elizabeth |
| Day 2: | Arrive Port Elizabeth; afternoon free |
| Day 3: | Drive to Zuurberg |
| Day 4: | Game drives in Addo Elephant NP |
| Day 5: | Game drive in Schotia Reserve, with 'bush braai' dinner |
| Day 6: | Drive Tsitsikamma NP, then to Knysna. |
| Day 7-9: | In Knysna and Plett Bay; optional whale-watching (in season); visit Knysna and Featherbed Reserve. |
| Day 10: | To Oudtshoorn; visit Cango Caves and Ostrich Farm. |
| Day 11: | Coastal route to Cape Town via Hermanus. |
| Day 12: | Visit Seal Island, Cape Point and Boulders Beach. |
| Day 13: | Cablecar up Table Mountain. |
| Day 14: | In Cape Town; optional visits to winelands; fly Cape Town/London. |
| Day 15: | Arrive London |
travellers' tales
One special moment I shall remember is the magnificent braai organised in Scotia Park after a days game watching. The personal attention of the ranger, the quality and quantity of the food, the free bar, the kindness, the gentle music played around the campfire and the intimacy of the environment made this braai an unforgettable high. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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This tour makes us of local tour leaders who are experts in their own country. On this trip we use a little bus to get around in, with a maximum of 16 people on it. As this tour covers much of the south coast of South Africa, we explore a lot of the wildlife living here. We visit many reserves and national parks where we pay entrance fees, which go towards the welfare and conservation of the park and its animals. We are able to learn a lot from naturalists who guide us through some of the parks that we visit.
During our stay in Cape Town we hope to walk up Table Mountain. We do this on suggested routes and travel down by cable car, both of which ensure that minimum impact is made on the mountain by visitors. We visit Whalesong Costal lodge, where we will go into the township and meet the local people, with whom we have a good relationship. This enables passengers to develop a good relationship with the locals and learn more about the culture of South Africa. We stay in locally owned accommodation and eat great local cuisine too! Our Tour Leaders are all trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference. This then percolates down through those they deal with. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |