South Africa
Guided Tour
South Africa
19.10 – 31.10.24
Binoculars at the ready?
Click here for the next South Africa tour in 2025:
Supervised tour including a small guided hike by me at Robberg Nature Reserve. On site, we were guided by two enchanting tour guides and were well informed!
Thanks to Erni for the northern route and thanks to Sonja for the southern route!
Our African Dream came true…
Brief Overview of the Itinerary
Day 1 Arrival
Day 2 Johannesburg
Day 3 Panorama Route
Day 4 Hazyview – Kruger National Park – Swaziland 1 night
Day 5 Swaziland-Hluhluwe Game Reserve
Day 6 St. Lucia Estuary
Day 7 Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Tsitsikamma National Park
Day 8 Robberg Nature Reserve-Oudtshoorn
Day 9 Wine region & Cape Town
Day 10 Cape Town – Chapman’s Peak – Cape Point – Boulders Beach
Day 11 City tour – V&A Waterfront – Robben Island
Day 12 Free time & return journey
Day 13 Return journey
Itinerary at a Glance
Day 1 Arrival:
My 11-member travel group and I started from Vienna Airport on a great South African adventure. From Vienna we took a night flight via Istanbul to Johannesburg. It is very pleasant to fly overnight, so you do not get out of your sleep rhythm.
Day 2: Having arrived safely, we were warmly welcomed by our tour guide Erni Pretorius and from there we went directly to the interesting Voortrekker Monument.
Erni Pretorius/Guide in the north
Impressive Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria
This monument is a monumental structure with stylistic elements of Art Deco, which stands near the city of Pretoria in South Africa. The massive granite structure was erected in honor of the Voortrekkers, who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854 in thousands to settle other areas of today’s South Africa. Its design comes from the architect Gerard Moerdijk, who was born in the Waterberg district. The Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig is said to have served as a template during the design work.
We were able to recover well from the long flight and enjoyed our first coffee at the beautiful monument. The city tour through Pretoria was also extremely interesting and the beautiful purple colored Jacaranda trees were uniquely beautiful. Erni told us all sorts of interesting facts about the Nelson Mandela City. 🙂
Day 3: The next day we went into the interior to the Blyde River Canyon. Bizarre rock formations and incredibly spectacular views down into the deep canyon.
The Blyde River Canyon is a 26-kilometer-long canyon, up to 800 meters deep and mainly made of red sandstone. It is located on the Panorama Route northeast of Johannesburg and is considered one of the great natural wonders of Africa.
The 4th day took us to what is probably the most famous national park in South Africa! The Kruger NP lived up to its name and we were speechless when we saw the first giraffe live. Once in a lifetime experience….
Yes, and there she was, the first giraffe in the wild…I was speechless and I think most of my guests were too. Except perhaps Karl, our well-traveled super hero who has already visited all the NPs. But even Karl looked very satisfied and happy. 🙂
Kruger National Park
The Kruger National Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa. It is located in the northeast of the country in the Lowveld landscape in the area of the province of Limpopo and the eastern section of Mpumalanga. Its area extends from the Crocodile River in the south to the Limpopo, the border river to Zimbabwe, in the north. The north–south extension is about 350 km, in the east-west direction the park is on average 54 km wide and covers an area of around 20.000 square kilometers, comparable to the size of Saxony-Anhalt. This makes it one of the largest national parks in Africa.
A heartfelt thank you to my travel guest, Reinhard Brandner, for the kind permission to use his great photos that were taken on our trip. Thank you Reini … 🙂
Day 5: After the Kruger NP, the next day we continue towards the Swaziland–Hluhluwe Game Reserve. Before that, we go straight through the Kingdom of Swaziland, with beautiful nature and other great impressions.
Eswatini, officially Swaziland until 2018, traditionally also kaNgwane, is a landlocked country in southern Africa with approximately 1.2 million inhabitants. It borders South Africa and Mozambique. The national holiday is September 6, the anniversary of independence in 1968. The form of government is de facto an absolute monarchy. The two largest cities in the country are the administrative capital Mbabane and the economic center Manzini. The seat of government is Lobamba.
The Hluhluwe National Park
The Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, located 280 km north of Durban, is one of the oldest game reserves in Africa. It covers 960 km² of mostly hilly terrain and is located in central Zululand in the province of KwaZulu–Natal in South Africa. The park is named after the two rivers Hluhluwe and Mfolozi, which flow through it.
*Here, too, we were very lucky on our game drive and were able to admire rhinos, for which the park is known, buffalo, elephants, warthog, Pumbaa, giant dung beetles and even lions bestaunen. Our park ranger also explained a lot to us and we were again fascinated by so much wildlife! 🙂 Another eventful day came to an end.
Day 6: Today we went to the lagoon of St. Lucia. The best way to get to know the lagoon is on a boat tour. No sooner said than done, we boarded our booked excursion boat and explored the crocodile and hippopotamus habitat for the next 2-3 hours. You get comprehensive information about the animal and plant world. The Goliath heron also made an appearance and our Reini was able to capture numerous different bird species photographically with his pointed camera.
The Goliath Heron
The Gold Weaver Bird
The Goliath heron is a bird species from the heron family within the order Pelecaniformes. With a height of 135 to 150 centimeters, it is the largest recent heron in the world. It therefore also hunts in deeper waters than its related species. Its distribution area is now predominantly Africa. However, there still seems to be a small residual population in South Asia.
The Gold Weaver bird occurs in East Africa and Southeast Africa, in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania. The distribution area includes plains on the coast, river valleys and floodplains, mainly within 50 km inland up to 1800 m altitude.
Numerous hippos in action
Could we experience live when boarding the boat from St. Lucia… Meerkat relatives are widespread in large parts of Africa and Asia, they all live in groups with complex social structures.
- Black: The distribution area of the macaques
- Yellow: The distribution area of the other cheek pouch monkeys
Day 7: Due to the long distance, we are continuing by plane today. Near Durban/ King Shaka International Airport it takes 1h 35 min. to Port Elizabeth.
985 km would have been a long bus ride and so it is not difficult for us to admire the landscape from the air.
Once there, Sonja Ewald, our local tour guide from Port Elizabeth, welcomes us. With her we go to the Tsitsikamma National Park and to the well-known Stroms River Suspension Bridge.
Sonja Ewald/Guide in the south
Day 8: The next morning we head to Plettenberg Bay, from where I take my guests on one of the most beautiful hikes in the nature reserve on the Garden Route in the Robberg Nature Reserve. Following the hike, we go to the beach, where Fritz and I jumped into the floods of the Atlantic. Mind you, daredevil successfully passed. 🙂
*The Robberg Nature Reserve is located on a peninsula, 8 km south of the popular holiday resort of Plettenberg Bay. It is not only a
Around noon we drive over two panoramic passes (George and Outeniqua Pass) until we reach the famous Cango Caves. There we go deep inside and we are amazed at how big and long the cave actually is.
The Cango Caves are a cave system in the South African province of Western Cape and are considered one of the most beautiful cave systems in the world. The cave system is located in the Swart Mountains and consists of three sections with a total length of over four kilometers.
Cango Caves… Our cave guide even sang for us. Unique and unforgettable.
Last but not least, we went to Oudtshoorn to the ostrich farm. There we learned everything about the breeding, care and lifestyle of the interesting birds.
In the pictures you can see Gabriela and me feeding the ostriches….what an adventure of a special kind!!!
Day 9: What would the wine region of South Africa be without wine tasting? It just does not work and that is exactly why we went over mountain passes and the Route 62 to Robertson. At a winery we taste different fine wines and enjoyed the extremely tasty cold platter with fresh fruits, fine cold cuts and spicy cheese. Simply wonderful…Cheers!!!
Brigitta & Fritz Lamprecht testing the fine wine
Wine tasting and a cold platter gloriously conclude the travel day towards Cape Town.
Cape Town
The last three days were entirely dedicated to the beautiful city of Cape Town.
Cape Town is located in the southwest of the Republic of South Africa, directly on Table Bay of the Atlantic Ocean.
Among other things, Cape Town is famous for its landmark, the Table Mountain. Its distinctive, plateau-shaped surface dominates the city’s skyline, along with Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, and Devil’s Peak.
With our tour guide Sonja, we drove up the famous Signal Hill. Impressive views of the city and Cape Town Stadium awaited us.
Cape Town – Waterfront
In the evenings and on weekends, half of Cape Town gathers at the former harbor area, the Cape Town Waterfront, in close proximity to the World Cup Stadium. From a dingy area adjacent to the city center, the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront became one of Cape Town’s most significant tourist attractions.
And so we visited the wonderful Waterfront with many shops, restaurants, and entertainments. Likewise, the view of Table Mountain and a great stop for refreshments were not to be missed.
Botanical Garden
Naturally, the botanical garden of Stellenbosch University was also a must-see!
From palm trees along the path, past shrubs with red, orange, yellow-blooming proteas that lead to a pond with elegant water lilies. While an incredible variety of native and exotic plants awaits discovery, the tranquil atmosphere is pleasantly relaxing. With our tour guide Sonja, we discovered the botanical garden with all its unique features.
What is there to discover?
The botanical garden of Stellenbosch University houses the oldest and largest public bonsai collection. Here, visitors can admire the miniature trees, which are kept small only through proper care and technique. The grounds also feature a variety of fynbos, including the protea, South Africa’s national flower. Another special feature is the bird of paradise flower, whose bloom actually resembles a colorful bird. With a yellow–blue bloom, the plant is referred to as “Mandela’s Gold”.
Boulders Beach
Another highlight is Boulders Beach, a stretch of beach located in Simon’s Town on the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. It is home to a colony of African penguins. At Boulders Beach, there is a visitor center that grants access to Table Mountain National Park. Thus, we spent ample time observing the cute African penguins extensively and, of course, taking photos.
And then we stood at the southwesternmost point of South Africa: Ta-da!
On the last day before our journey home, we decided to visit the famous Cape Town Aquarium.
Cape Town’s Two Oceans Aquarium is home to unique marine animals that live off the coasts of South Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. We caught a glimpse of life beneath the ocean’s surface around Southern Africa, including microscopic creatures, magnificent fish, penguins, turtles, sharks, stingrays, rare seahorses, and colorful clownfish.
Conclusion
And so, an eventful, informative, and incredibly beautiful journey came to an end. We met wonderful people, enjoyed South African wine, saw the African savanna, wild animals in their natural habitat, ostriches, caves, and much more.
Conclusion
And so, an eventful, informative, and incredibly beautiful journey came to an end. We met wonderful people, enjoyed South African wine, saw the African savanna, wild animals in their natural habitat, ostriches, caves, and much more.
In short, it was 'elephantastic,' as Sonja would say!!! Many thanks to my fellow travelers, local guides, and drivers!
Your Travel Host, Monika
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Click here for the next South Africa tour in 2025!
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