Tripology

An Exciting Interview with Arthur Frommer

Big Five Safari 2009

Print Email

Detailed Trip Description

In this tour of South Africa we see Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Cape Buffalo. Experience Africa with us, we are South African citizens now living in the USA. We invite you to join us on our unique tours and wildlife safaris to Southern Africa. We speak the local languages and have extensive knowledge of the African Culture and the country as a whole. We are both certified South Africa Fundi Tourism Experts certified by South African Tourism. Enjoy excellent cuisine together with superb South African wines. Great souvenir shopping, African art, skins and hides, diamonds, and Kruger Rands.

Print Email
 

Trip Itinerary

Day 0 - On the Plane

 
In Flight.
Commercial Flight

Depart from the U.S.A. for South Africa.


Day 1-2 - Johannesburg

 
Addo Elephant Park/ Riverbend Lodge.
Commercial Flight

Arrive in Johannesburg and fly directly to Port Elizabeth.

Johannesburg Commercial Flight picture
Hotel

Transfer to Riverbend Lodge. The lodge is situated in the heart of the Eastern Cape. Stay at Riverbend Lodge for 2 nights.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Activities:2 Game Drives per day.

Adventure

Situated within a 17 000 ha private concession area of the Addo Elephant Park, River Bend Lodge offers a chance to unwind, to enjoy fine cuisine, relax in ultimate luxury and to encounter the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Cape Buffalo. The cuisine at River Bend is the perfect blend of traditional old world food and Pan-African world fusion. Matched with the finest wines from around the country, this is a gastronomic experience. While at the lodge you can watch herds of Elephant feeding a short distance away, listen to the songs of some 300 bird species, enjoy a personalized game drive into the mountains and discover varying vegetation from thick forested valleys, open savannah plains to hillsides rich in Fynbos. Game drives & guided walks are conducted inside the Addo Elephant Park and in the 5000ha Private Intsomi Reserve. The region is home to over 300 bird species including the ever elusive Narina Trogon or Knysna Touraco in the forests on the mountain slopes, the Blue Cranes nesting in the grassland or the majestic Black Eagle soaring overhead.


Day 3 - South Africa

 
Tsitsikamma/ Tsitsikamma Lodge.
Safari

After departing from the Addo Elephant Park, we travel to Tsitsikamma on the Garden Route. At Tsitsikamma Lodge the rustic cabins blend beautifully with their surrounding areas. They do not impose on the bush. Built entirely of wood, these unique freestanding cabins offer spectacular mountain and forest views. Each of the cabins is stylishly furnished. The cabins all have private deck from which to view the surroundings. Their cosy wooden restaurant on the premises has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere and a large welcoming fireplace. One can sample some of their delectable meals.

South Africa Safari picture
Food and Dining

If one is in need of a home cooked meal authentically made in a South African kitchen, visit the Wooden Restaurant which also offers a fine selection of South African wines to enjoy with your dinner. They serve a five course buffet dinner and a full English breakfast.

Hiking

While at the lodge you can also take in a nature trail walk. Take an invigorating walk on one of our trails or hike our Famous Striptease River Trail.

Hotel

Accommodation: 1 Night at Tsitsikamma Lodge. Meals: Bed and Breakfast


Day 4-5 - Oudtshoorn

 
Oudtshoorn/ Chandelier Lodge.
Safari

Travel along the Garden Route to Oudtshoorn. Chandelier Game Lodge & Ostrich Show Farm is located between the lush green Garden Route and the wide-open spaces of the Klein (Little) Karoo, with the Outeniqua and Swartberg mountain ranges as backdrop. A unique feature of Chandelier is their luxury en suite tented accommodation. The tented chalets offer a unique bush experience – quality is in the detail. The chalets are placed on wooden decks in the bush and great care has been taken to assure privacy and spectacular views.

Oudtshoorn Safari picture
Adventure

Each en suite unit has a private observation deck from where guests can spot various game species on their way to the water hole. Chandelier hosts a large population of antelope – 23 species in total. You may even spot the elusive black backed jackal or catch a glimpse of the rare, indigenous leopard. Chandelier consists of 3500 ha of succulent Karoo, river bush veldt and Cape “fynbos”. The 122km of “land rover tracks” make game viewing safaris on Chandelier an unforgettable experience, creating timeless memories. Large numbers of game such as Sable Antelope, Lechwe, Waterbuck, Bontebok and Kudu are free roaming the rolling hills. Spot the Giraffes from the comfort of the land rovers.

Safari

While at Chandelier Game Lodge we will also get the opportunity to visit the Cango Wildlife Ranch. The ranch is famous for its Cheetah breeding programme. Take the Catwalk, a raised walkway which leads you through natural bushveld where Africa's Big Cats live. Here you will see cheetah, lion and jaguar in action in their natural habitat. At the head of the picturesque Cango Valley lies the spectacular underground wonder of the Klein Karoo - the Cango Caves.

Sightseeing

Here we will go on a guided tour to learn more about this amazing cave.

Hotel

Hotel : Stay in Luxury Tented Chalet, Chandelier Lodge.
Accommodation: 2 Nights.
Meals: Bed and Breakfast.
Activities: Ostrich Tour with Braai Dinner, Cango Caves Tour, Cango Wildlife Ranch.


Day 6-7 - South Africa

 
Garden Route/ Garden Route Game Lodge.
Safari

The Garden Route Game Lodge was started in 1999 as an ambitious project to restore an area of once degraded farmland to its former glory and stock it with game that previously occurred there. Today a large variety of wildlife including the BIG 5 are once more at home in this private game reserve.

South Africa Safari picture
Adventure

Morning and evening game drives are led by experienced and knowledgeable game rangers who share their knowledge of big game as well as the many other antelope species, birdlife and local African folklore. Garden Route Game Lodge is currently home to giraffe, white rhino, lion, elephant, buffalo, kudu, zebra, wildebeest and 24 more species that make up a total of more than 400 animals. Garden Route Game Lodge is home to 7 lions which originally came from Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. When the Garden Route Game Lodge was started in 2000, provision was made to accommodate the lions and provide them with a sanctuary where they would be protected. So it was with great fanfare that the lions arrived at the Garden Route Game Lodge on the 31st March 2000. The lions have adapted well to their new environment in the Western Cape. We hope that their story of survival will provide visitors with an educational experience and enlighten them on the plight of these magnificent beasts. Our elephants were trans-located from the Kruger National Park and arrived at Garden Route Game Lodge in 2001. They are both orphans that survived the last cull that took place in Kruger National Park in 1994 after which culling was discontinued. The Cheetah Conservation Centre was established in 2002 to provide visitors to the Garden Route Game Lodge with an insight into the plight of this critically endangered species. A percentage of revenue from each guest that stays at the Lodge is allocated to the purchase of collars for cheetah in the wild.

Hotel

Hotel : Stay at the Garden Route Lodge
Accommodation: 2 Nights.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner.
Activities: Game Drive.


Day 8-10 - Cape Town

 
Cape Town/ Constantia Manor.
All-Inclusive Resort

Constantia Manor Guest House is situated in the heart of the Constantia Winelands in Cape Town.

Sightseeing

While visiting the area your guide will do a Cape Point Tour as well as a Winelands tour with you.

Hotel

You will depart the hotel at 08h30 for the Cape Point Tour, and flank the colder Atlantic Ocean en route to Hout Bay. Once a fishing community and now one of the most popular residential areas, the harbour still has a charm of days gone by.

Adventure

A chance to join the M.V "Circe" for a half hour cruise to "Seal Island" or for the not so adventurous, the fish market "Mariners Wharf" is a must.

Sightseeing

The tour continues over the famous Chapman’s Peak drive, with a 200 meter drop on one side of the coach and a 200 meter rise on the other, as we make our way south, following the Atlantic Ocean until we reach Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Said to be the romantic meeting place of the two mighty oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian, Sir Francis Drake the Explorer once called it "the fairest Cape that we saw in the whole circumference of the Globe". And rightly so, it must be the highlight of any visit to the Mother City, if not South Africa.

Sightseeing

Our l lunch stop is at the Fish Hoek Galley (to own account – alternatives possible). We pass the naval base of Simonstown as we continue along the Indian Ocean, en route to see the Jackass Penguin Colony which has become well established at Boulders Beach near Simonstown. Our last stop of the day is at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, home of some 3 500 species of Southern African fauna and flora. We return to the hotel at about 17h30, having seen the best the Cape has to offer.

Private Car Service

The next day you will depart from the hotel at 09h00 for your tour of the Winelands, and head north to Paarl.

Sightseeing

Our first stop this morning is the "Taal Monument". Not only does this give the group a cultural background to some of the languages of this country, but being situated on the summit of Paarl Rock, it offers the most fantastic view of the surrounding area.

Wine

Our morning wine tasting will be at Nelsons Creek Estate. After a tour through their cellars, you will get a chance to sample some of their local wines.

Sightseeing

A brief city tour of Paarl follows before we make our way to Franschoek. This little village nestled amongst the mountains can easily be mistaken as being in Switzerland.

Food and Dining

After a short tour of the little town, enjoy a cheese and wine tasting at Charmonix Estate with the option of lunch on the estate (optional – to own account) – maybe a chance to try some of the fresh trout that Franschoek is known for.

Sightseeing

After lunch the tour continues to the famous Boschendal Estate for an afternoon tasting of their wines before we reach Stellenbosch. The backdrop of the Hottentots Holland Mountains, the white gabled Cape Dutch homesteads and the oak lined streets and lanes all blend in to give this place a charm that will not be quickly forgotten.

Hotel

Return to Cape Town to be back at the hotel by about 17h30.

Hotel

Hotel : Stay at Constantia Manor.
Accommodation:3 Nights
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner.
Activities: Winelands Tour, Cape Point Tour.


Day 11-13 - South Africa

 
Pilansberg/ Bakubung Lodge.
Commercial Flight

We will fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

Safari

Then you will be transferred to the North West Province where we will end this wonderful Big 5 Safari off in the Pilansberg National Park.

Hotel

Arrive at the Bakubung Lodge which is known for its award winning hospitality. The lodge is situated in the heart of the Pilansberg National Park. The rooms at the lodge are all thatched roof rooms. The chalets curve into a horse hole around the outside entertainment areas giving an air of intimacy whilst under the African skies.

Adventure

Gametracker vehicles depart late afternoon and take you on an African adventure through 55000 hectares of the Pilansberg Nature Reserve, home of the Big Five. On your journey you will encounter Lions, Leopards, Elephant and Buffalo as well as many other animals. Your host will be an experienced game ranger who will welcome any questions you might have regarding the wildlife, birds and plants. You are then transported to our boma where all guests will be welcomed with a glass of sherry. Dine under the African sky, surrounded by the sound of the bush. Since late 1979, thanks to Operation Genesis - the largest game translocation ever undertaken at the time, tourists have been able to take note of nature's alphabet - from aardvark to zebra. The park boasts healthy populations of lion, leopard, black and white rhino, elephant and buffalo - Africa's "Big Five". A wide variety of rare and common species exist with endemic species like the nocturnal brown hyaena, the fleet-footed cheetah, the majestic sable, as well as giraffe, zebra, hippo and crocodile, to mention but a few. Bird watching is excellent with over 300 species recorded. Some are migrants, others permanent inhabitants; some eat carrion or live prey; others eat seeds, fruit or tiny water organisms. There is a self-guided trail in the Walking Area at Manyane Complex in the east, which offers environmental education whilst enjoying game viewing and bird watching on foot. Also at Manyane is a walk-in aviary with over 80 species of indigenous birds. Pilanesberg exists within the transition zone between the dry Kalahari and wetter Lowveld vegetation commonly referred to as "Bushveld". Unlike any other large park, unique overlaps of mammals, birds and vegetation occur because of this transition zone. Springbok, brown hyaena, the red-eyed bulbul, and camel thorn trees usually found in arid areas are found co-habitating with moist-area-limited impala, black-eyed bulbul and Cape chestnut trees.

National Parks

A 110 kilometres peripheral Big Game fence was erected over some very rugged terrain, 188 kilometres of visitor roads have been developed and more than 6 000 head of game were introduced during the Operation Genesis game translocation programme. Thus, while wildlife resources are rapidly declining in most developing countries in Africa, Pilanesberg National Park is one of the few areas where this trend has been dramatically reversed. For this far-sighted action the North West Province (Previously Bop Parks) and its people have received worldwide acclaim and recognition. The challenge that lies ahead is to further develop and manage Pilanesberg National Park in such a way that the conservation, cultural, recreational and economic benefits of this far-sighted action can be optimally utilised to the benefit of current and future generations.

National Parks

Geologically, the area is world famous. Its structure, termed the "Pilanesberg National Park Alkaline Ring Complex" was formed by volcanic eruptions some 1 200 million years ago. Ancient, even by geological time scales, this extinct volcano is the most perfect example of an alkaline ring complex. There are only two other alkaline volcanoes in the world, in Russia and in Greenland. Neither is as clearly defined as Pilanesberg National Park. A number of rare (but not necessarily economically important) minerals occur in Pilanesberg National Park. Pilanesberg National Park clearly rates high amongst the world's outstanding geological phenomena.

Hotel

Hotel : Stay at Bakubung Lodge.
Accommodation: 3 nights.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner.
Activities: 5 Game drives.


Day 14 - Johannesburg

 
Safari

Today we will enjoy our breakfast and the last of what the awesome Bakubung Lodge in the Pilansberg National Park has offered us on this unforgettable Big 5 Safari with Ntaba Tours.

Commercial Flight

Saying goodbye, we will make our way to the airport from where we will fly from Johannesburg back home.


Day 15 - On the Plane

 
In Flight.
Airport Transfer

Arrive back in the U.S.A. from South Africa.


Request more info

Not the trip you were looking for?

 

You may also start a free trip request below and get matched with up to three travel specialists who can help you plan your travel:

Create Trip Request

 

Submit Inquiry to Travel Specialist

Trips you may also be interested in

14 Day South African Wildlife Tour
An African Experience second to none awaits you on this magnificent tour. Visiting various National Parks, Game Reserves and the World Renowned Kruger National Park, will give you a satisfying Game Viewing experience. A once in a Lifetime Boat Cruise on the Olifants River, viewing Game drinking from the water, ...
Augrabies Falls and Kgaladi Transfrontier National Park
Augrabies Falls is located in a remote area of the Northern Cape 820km from Cape Town. At the Falls the Orange River drops 56 meters. The gorge at the Falls is 18km long. The sight and power of the water will not be easily forgotten. During this six day tour ...
Richtersveld National Park 4X4 Adventure
The Richtersveld National Park is 875km from Cape Town, it is the most underdeveloped and inaccessible wilderness area in South Africa and is only accessible by means of 4 X 4 vehicles. The Park is 162 445 hectare mountain desert at the most extreme north end of South Africa.
South Africa Kruger & Cape Discovery
Visit the ‘hot spots’ of South Africa. Game drive in search of the“Big Five” in Kruger National Park, tour the Cape Peninsula, and enjoy the beauty of the famous Garden & Wine Routes. You will fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town to get a great overview of South Africa without ...
Search for travel inspiration