HIGHLIGHTS: Port Elizabeth - Addo Elephant National Park - Tsitsikamma National Park - Oudtshoorn - Cape Town
The Garden Route is Africa's most famous coastal drive, connecting Port Elizabeth with Cape Town and offering something for everyone. Addo Elephant National Park takes us face to face with majestic elephants and other large animals of southern Africa, Tsitsikamma National Park offers a scenic walk that continues beneath the forest canopy and Cango Caves showcases the mysterious subterranean world. For something completely different, we even get to ride an ostrich in Oudtshoorn
Day 1 Port Elizabeth. Today is an arrival day in Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape, but you will need to arrive before 2 pm. to join in today's activities. After meeting up with your tour guide and tour group you embark on a tour of Red Location, which is the oldest township in South Africa. A highlight is sure to be a stop in the local township pub called a shebeen. The shebeen also acts as an informal meeting house and is an important part of township life. We may get to share a few ales with the locals and maybe a few jokes as well.
Day 2 Addo Elephant National Park. (Driving time: approx 1 hour; game drive times variable) Leaving the coast we venture inland to Addo Elephant National Park. Originally proclaimed as a national park in 1931 with the only eleven elephants remaining in the region, it now offers sanctuary to more than 450 specimens. From our campsite located within the park, we take a late afternoon game drive in search of resident wildlife such as elephant, black rhino, Cape buffalo and various species of antelopes, including eland, kudu and hartebeest.
Day 3 Addo Elephant National Park - Tsitsikamma National Park. (Driving time: approx 4 hours; game drive times variable) This morning we enjoy a morning safari around Addo Elephant National Park before travelling along the famous Garden Route to our next destination - Tsitskikamma National Park. En route we pass by the world-renowned surfing Mecca of Jeffrey's Bay. Upon reaching Tsitsikamma National Park we set up camp at Storms River, which is our base to explore this wilderness region. Tsitsikamma National Park covers over 80 kiLometres of rugged coastline with spectacular sea views and striking landscapes. Departing from the mouth of Storms River we hike the beginning of the Otter Trail, following the rugged, rocky shoreline of the coast. We pause along the way to take in the stunning scenery and explore the base of a majestic waterfall before hiking back to camp. One of the most impressive features of the park are the ancient giant trees that tower above the land to form an evergreen canopy.
Day 4 Oudtshoorn. (Driving time: approx 5 hours) We spend the day driving along the Garden Route, passing the seaside towns of Plettenberg Bay and Knysna. We finish with a breathtaking drive over the Swartberg Mountains to visit Cango Caves. Here we take a guided tour through the vast limestone chambers, filled with stalactites, stalagmites and helictites. It is truly a natural underground wonderland that abounds with intriguing formations, some of which are over a million years old For those with a keen sense of adventure there is the option to delve deeper into the cave complex via Jacob's Ladder - a long flight of stairs across a boulder chamber that leads to a smaller, although no less stunning, series of caves. But be warned, this section requires you to crawl along narrow tunnels that are at times only 45 centimetres wide and involves over 400 stairs, so it's definitely not for the faint - hearted Once we emerge from our underground adventure we continue the short distance to Oudtshoorn, where we spend the night.
Day 5 Oudtshoorn - Cape Town. (Driving time: approx 7 hours) In the morning we visit an ostrich farm to learn all there is to know about these huge, flightless birds and their many uses. Oudtshoorn is home to 97% of the world's ostrich population and here we have the opportunity to get up - close and personal to these curious creatures. The most daring amongst us may even want to try their hand at riding an ostrich We then venture further west and travel to the Western Cape. The area around Stellenbosch is the oldest and most famous wine region in South Africa and home to a unique variety of grape called pinotage. Time permitting, we may stop at a winery and sample the enticing local produce before continuing on to the 'Mother City' of South Africa and our final destination - Cape Town. Nestled at the foothills of the dramatic Table Mountain range with captivating views of the Altantic Ocean, Cape Town truly is one of the world's most beautiful cities.
Day 6 Cape Town. Our tour ends after breakfast and you are free to leave any time. However, we do recommend you book accommodation for additional days and stay on to explore the vibrant city of Cape Town and its beautiful surrounding regions. Not - to - be - missed excursions include catching the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain (weather permitting), taking the ferry across to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, and a day trip down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope peninsula.
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