12 day - Meander to South Africa's best kept secrets and experience Lesotho 

Day 1: Cape Town. 1-hour drive

Meet us at your centrally located hotel to start this tour for Cape Town's most famous icon: Table Mountain by the Aerial Cableway to take in the natural beauty and stunning views. The first botanical garden in the world to be established (in 1913) to protect local flora, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in the UNESCO-listed Cape Floral Kingdom follows. Lunch is at an African cuisine restaurant. Visiting the first winery in the country: Groot Constantia and taste their export quality wines and learn more about wine making on the cellar tour. From here you go to Boulders Beach near Simon’s Town, home to one of the few land-based penguin colonies in the world. We choose one of the numerous restaurants in the vicinity to have dinner, and overnight at Simon’s Town Quayside Hotel (or similar).

Day 2: Cape Town to Hermanus. 2,5-hour drive

First visit is Cape Point where the two oceans meet, and part of the Table Mountain National Park. You ascend the viewpoint with the Flying Dutchman Funicular. Drive along the scenic Chapman’s Peak drive and then picture the colourful houses at Bo-Kaap, formerly known as the Malay Quarter. Head out to Stellenbosch and visit the Spier Wine Farm for chocolate and wine tasting on the banks of the Spier dam. You leave for Hermanus, home to the world’s best whale-watching when in season and overnight at the Windsor Hotel (or similar) where you have dinner. (B)

Day 3: Hermanus to Wilderness. 6-hour drive

Starting our journey to the Garden Route, we meander to the town of Oudtshoorn with Route 62. This route delivers an unforgettable South African travelling experience. Along the way there are sweet small towns to explore, home-baked farmstall goodies to taste and plenty of wineries, also Ronnie's Sex Shop, which had visitors from all over the world, judging by the graffiti on its wall.

After visiting the Cango Caves for a Heritage Tour, we head down the scenic Outeniqua Pass and onto the green forests and beaches of the Garden Route. Overnight at the Wilderness Hotel (or similar).

Day 4: Wilderness to Jeffreys Bay. 3-hour drive

A short drive brings us to Knysna where you can choose one of the following activities to do: a boat ride for a “Dolphin Encounters” excursion of 1,5 to 2 hours at Ocean Blue Adventures, or do a Tsitsikama Canopy Tour at Stormsriver Adventures if weather not allows.

Our last stop for the day is at Jeffreys Bay, home to the best right hand surf break in the world! Overnight at Surf's up Accommodation @Supertubes (or similar).

Day 5: Jeffreys Bay to the Addo Elephant National Park. 2-hour drive

From here we go to the Addo Elephant National Park while being on the look out for Humpback Whales at Nelson Mandela Bay, (Algoa Bay) between the months of August and December. Addo Elephant National Park conserve a wide range of biodiversity, landscapes, fauna and flora. It is home to all of Africa's Big 7: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, rhino, the Southern right whale and the great white shark.

A night game drive follows dinner at their restaurant: "Cattle Baron is famous for its steaks, having won several awards for the Best Steakhouse in South Africa. The signature dish is chateaubriand, a fillet flambéed with brandy and served with mushroom sauce and béarnaise sauce." Overnight is here in a cottage.

Day 6: Addo Elephant National Park to Kei Mouth. 4-hour drive

Leaving the Addo National Park, we head North to the spectacular Wild Coast town of Kei Mouth, where you can have an optional cruise on the Great Kei, watch Fish Eagles feed and see cycads growing in the wild. It is a bird watchers paradise! You can have an optional Wild Coast Horseback Adventure or you can just relax on the spectacular Kei Mouth's sandy beaches. Overnight at Neptunes Cove, Kei Mouth (or similar). https://www.keimouth.co.za/

Day 7: Kei Mouth to “The Hole in the Wall”. 4,5-hour drive

You drive along the roads of the Transkei, and see how the Xhosa people still live in their traditional rondawel huts, with farm animals grazing by the side of the road against the backdrop of the Drakensberg in the distance! We veer off the N2 to “The Hole in the Wall”, one of South Africa's most famous tourist attractions. The locals call this "izi Khaleni" which means place of thunder. During certain seasons and water conditions, the waves clap in such a way that the concussion can be heard throughout the valley. If you want to have a real authentic traditional experience, sleep in a rural rondawel (separate sleeping and ablution huts) of a traditional Xhosa village and taste a home-cooked meal. You also have the choice to stay at the 3 star Hole-in-the-Wall Hotel.

Day 8: Spend another day at “The Hole in the Wall”, at a spectacular beach in the area, do a hike along the coast, explore Coffee Bay and mingle with the locals during a traditional Xhosa village experience. (https://mg.co.za/article/2019-04-23-mini-guide-to-coffee-bay-eastern-cape)

You can choose just to relax the entire day. No or little driving.

Day 9: “The Hole in the Wall” to Underberg. 5,5-hour drive

After a relaxed and visiting some of the most beautiful and unspoiled beaches in the world, we drive to the town of Underberg, situated at the foot of the 1,904 m Hlogoma Peak (place of echoes) in the foothills of the southern Drakensberg which is located in the the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage Park next to Lesotho. We book into our guest house and get ready for a day tour into Lesotho on the next day. We stay at the Sani Window B&B. (or similar)

Day 10: You start a Lesotho Tour (approximately 9 hours) with a 4x4 via Sani Pass to experience an adventure of climbing to a height of 2874 metres above sea level. You will stop at breath taking view sites along the Sani Pass and pass two border posts. Enjoy lunch at the highest Pub in Africa at The Sani Mountain Lodge and continue into a living Basotho village, where you will learn more about Lesotho and its people - the hardy mountainous Basotho folk. On your return to Underberg, you stay at the Sani Window B&B. (or similar)

Day 11: Underberg to the central uKhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage Park. 3,5-hour drive

Leaving Underberg, we head to Howick to visit the Mandela Capture Site. From here we take the road North on the Midlands Meander and visit some of the craft shops at the Thokozisa Lifestyle Centre. Once at the Champagne Valley area at the Drakensberg, you get the option to do a Canopy Tour, a helicopter flight over the main Drakensberg escarpment or to attend a Drakensberg Boys Choir concert if available on a Wednesday. Spend the night at the Monks Cowl Resort (or similar).

​Day 12: Drakensberg to Johannesburg. 4,5-hour drive.

Breakfast follows the drive back to Johannesburg where you will visit the Apartheid Museum and Gold Reef City, an amusement park located on an old gold mine which closed in 1971. The park is themed around the gold rush that started in 1886 on the Witwatersrand, the buildings on the park are designed to mimic the same period and you can learn how Johannesburg came to be, how gold was discovered on the reef and descend 75 meters underground. You will be dropped off at your hotel or the OR Tambo airport from here.

(Accommodation not included)

Add an optional day for a Big 5 game drive at the Pilanesberg National Park - 7,5-hour return drive, or any other day tour from our website.

Meet us at your centrally located hotel or Table Mountain at the Aerial Cableway between 07:00 am and 07:30.

OR Tambo International Airport Johannesburg or your hotel close by

-Camera

-Hat and sun protection lotion

-Mosquito repellant

-Wear comfortable shoes and bring along a jersey or jacket.

• Accommodation as per itinerary
• Entrance fees
• National Park fees
• Breakfasts 
• Driver/guide
• Professional guide at specialist venues
• Transport by private vehicle

• Excess luggage charges (where applicable)
• Lunch, Dinner
• Alcoholic drinks
• Activities indicated as optional
• Food and drinks, unless specified
• Gratuities (recommended)
• Travel insurance; Flights; Airport transfers; Porterage; Visa fees

• A booking requires a deposit of 40% of the total price.
• The rest of the payment has to be paid 60 days before the tour start.

• Cancellation 60 days or more before departure: Amount paid less upfront costs. These upfront costs are disclosed to you when you use the Site to complete the transaction and may represent out of pocket expenses of Amatungulu Tours for tickets, transportation deposits and other additional expenses.

Cancellation 59 to 31 days before departure: 50% of tour price, if paid in full.

Cancellation less than 30 days before the start of the tour: 100% cancellation fee. (no refund)