12 Day Cape & Garden Route Highlights

On arrival at Cape Town International Airport, guests are met by an African Sands representative who will present them with their self drive tour itinerary, all the vouchers for the tour, a map book of South Africa as well as a GPS on which a suggested travel route has been pre programmed.

After looking through the documentation, guests will have the opportunity to ask the African Sands Representative any questions they may have. All of our team have years of experience in conducting tours throughout South and Southern Africa. They should be able to answer any questions guests might have regarding their self drive holiday. Guests will then be assisted by the African Sands representative with the collection of their hired car.

Make your way into Cape Town and check in at your 4 star hotel.

The time in Cape Town is at leisure to explore the “Mother City’” of South Africa.

Cape Town has many attractions, but the highlights of the city are:

• Table Mountain – enjoy a cable way ascent to the summit of the mountain (weather permitting).
• Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens – set against the majestic Table Mountain, the gardens have a rich botanical diversity (over 5 000 species).
• Robben Island – infamous island where former president Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years.
• Cape Peninsula – highlights of this full day excursion along the Peninsula’s beautiful coastline include a drive along the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive, a boat trip from Hout Bay to view the Cape Fur Seal Colony, a visit to Cape Point in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve (the Continent’s most south-western point), and the Penguin colony inhabiting Boulders Beach in Simons Town.
• The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – a popular retail destination with both local and international visitors featuring a myriad of fine restaurants, pubs and retail outlets.
• The Two Oceans Aquarium – with more than 300 species of marine life, the aquarium demonstrates the rich bio-diversity in the oceans that surround the Cape.
• The famous Clifton beaches

(Your consultant is available to help you with the final choice and plan your activities.)

Situated only an hour outside of Cape Town is the seaside town of Hermanus, this section of the coast is famous for its high concentration of whales, pleasant swimming and beaches and nature walks. The peak of the whale watching season is in September, although the season stretches from July to November.

There are lots of activities in Hermanus to keep everyone busy including:

• Bird watching
• Boating
• Fishing
• Golf
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Shark diving
• Shopping
• And most importantly…. Whale watching (take the flight of the giants to see these creatures form the air!)

From Hermanus, you will drive approximately 4 hours to Knysna along the world famous Garden Route. Knysna is situated in an area of dense forests, unique flora, wide bays, rocky sea cliffs and numerous rivers all set against a dramatic mountain backdrop. The town itself is a postcard perfect, vibrant seaside village. Fresh oysters and champagne make for lazy days at the picturesque waterfront and the lagoon can be explored via water taxi’s and sunset cruises.

Highlights of the area are:

• Oudtshoorn – visit the prehistoric Cango Caves, a working Ostrich Farm and (time permitting) the Cango Wildlife Ranch.
• Knysna – enjoy a half day excursion to the scenic Featherbed Nature Reserve, take an early morning ‘Ocean Safari’, visit the Knysna Elephant Park, sample the local oysters or play a round of golf at one of the fine local golf courses.
• Knsyna is a popular shopping destination with many arts and crafts on sale.
• There are a host of different beaches nearby with some excellent scuba diving, surfing and whale and dolphin watching tours.
• Plettenberg Bay – visit ‘Monkeyland’ (a wonderful primate sanctuary), the adjacent ‘Birds of Eden’ sanctuary, the tranquil Elephant Sanctuary, take an an early morning ‘Ocean Safari’ or simply relax on one of the town’s golden beaches washed by the warm Indian Ocean.

Drive a further 3 hours up the coast to come face to face with the Big Five in one of South Africa’s malaria free Eastern Cape game reserves.

The private game lodges in the Eastern Cape offer guests a wonderful safari experience in a Malaria-free setting!  It is ideal for family travel or for passengers not keen on taking anti-Malaria prophylaxis.  Most of the lodges are home to Africa’s ‘Big Five’ - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.  Unlike the Kruger National Park / Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, the terrain in this region is mountainous and very scenic.  The ‘standard’ programme at these lodges includes 2 daily game drives in an open Land Rover with specialized rangers and trackers – one in the early morning to view the game as it begins to stir, and a second in the late afternoon into the early evening (the perfect time to view the predators as they go on the ‘hunt’).  In addition, guests may be invited to enjoy a bush walk after a sumptuous breakfast.

After an early morning game drive at the game reserve and breakfast, guests will check out of their rooms and make their way to Port Elizabeth Airport.

Guests will return their hired car to Port Elizabeth Airport.

Flight from Port Elizabeth to either Cape Town or Johannesburg to connect with international flight home (flight not included)