The Greatest Outdoors: Ten-Day South African Tour

Through the plane window, you will be able to see an elephant trail, which is just a line of trees that lie in ruin from the pachyderms. Once on the ground, you can see the culprits who are an exuberant herd that is full of flapping ears and roving trunks. Your safari has just started, and soon you will be able to see other members of the Big Five. Buffalo may huff and puff loudly as they stare in your direction, lions may bask on a dusty savannah, watching you pass with one eye open, and you will probably spot rhinos on your first day. Most of South Africa is untouched, and in the Kruger, you will see an untouched land that is populated by many thousands of wild animals.

After landing in the Kruger, you will spend a day in the south of the park. This area is the most visited by tourists, and there can be a fair number of other vehicles, but it is also home to the highest animal populations. The herds are large whether buffalo, elephant, zebra, springbok or kudu. It will be an excellent place to become accustomed to different animals and how they behave, especially when you hang out at watering holes. After a game drive, you will settle into a small and comfortable camp, where there will be time to nap and to watch antelope as they walk past before an afternoon drive in the Kruger.

Over these two days, you will really explore. Rather than a safari that sticks to one private reserve, you will discover the Kruger’s depth and nuance. This wilderness is larger than many US states and is home to more than ten different ecosystems. There are no fences, and the animals move freely and often on ancient migratory routes. To the west, you will find mountainous wilderness and scenes of pure drama such as big cats who are hunting for their prey, but traveling north, you can discover open bushveld and vast arid expanses on which it is easy to find animals upon the horizon.

White rhinos march all over the Kruger and are likely to be one of your major highlights. Perhaps, a mother will wander past your vehicle with her calf, ambling quickly to keep pace. Maybe, you see a large male with a look of melancholy in his eye. Although they are known to live solitary lifestyles, the Kruger is also a place where you can see rhinos as they socialize, especially during twilight hours. Elephants are another big highlight, especially when they use their trunks as snorkels or playfully wallow in the mud. There are also giants you may not know yet such as hartebeest or the truly impressive eland antelope.

These two days will be spent in Kruger National Park, and you will stay in small camps. Such camps help to complete your immersion in the outdoors, particularly with the smells and sounds that filter through the night. While these camps do not have the luxury or amenities as those in the Sabi Sands, they have everything you need for a comfortable stay in nature. Evening fires keep the hyenas away, and nature will sing an evening soundtrack. For day two, you will travel east and tour the watering holes that sustain hundreds of thousands of animals. Then, on day three, you will be in the far north of Kruger, absorbing a quintessential, African savannah.

You should remember that none of the animals are ever seen in isolation. You may watch buffalo as they scare warthogs away from water or monkeys as they keep guard for the antelopes. You should also remember that an African safari is always unpredictable, so there will be quiet moments and quiet areas. Sometimes, you will need to stop and look more closely, especially when seeking leopards and cheetahs. You may go an hour without seeing much, but then cross a ridge to find a herd of endangered and magnificent nyala. You can also suddenly discover that the land appears empty because a lion pride has scared everything else away from the area.

You will complete your safari experience with a game drive to the airport that crosses some of the Kruger bushvelds. After flying to Cape Town, you will be lead straight toward the penguins. Many hundreds of African penguins nest on Boulders Beach, and you can admire them as they waddle and dive. From here, the road continues, hugging the coast before crossing a rugged escarpment that is populated by springbok. Wild and wondrous, this final piece of the peninsula is buffeted on all sides by roaring waves, and eventually, it thins to nothing but a small peak, where a lighthouse stands at the very southwestern tip of Africa.

Cape Town is the most convenient base for exploring the Cape. Yesterday, you could travel south to Cape Point, but today you will venture to the West Coast. Sand dunes dot the landscape here, and vast, empty beaches gaze across Table Bay to the city and mountain. The interior is rough and rugged with the odd zebra or kudu that skips around the town. You will visit a San bushman center, where the history of these ancient people is narrated by a San guide. They will show you some basic skills such as animal tracking and building shelters. Then, they will take you on an adventure through the reserve.

You can choose to go by mountain bike, which allows you to cover more distance, or to walk and really inspect animal clues. You can also choose not to do either and spend more time at your next destination of West Coast National Park. This coastal park is one of South Africa’s best secrets and is home to floral landscapes and some dazzling vistas. You can find beaches that feel hundreds of miles from the rest of the world and wander trails that often look out onto whales and dolphins. From this national park, it is 90 minutes back to Cape Town with various possible stops along the way.

Table Mountain stands majestically above Cape Town. It is an imposing structure, which is a feat of nature that has stood for over 600 million years. Most visitors stick to two places on the mountain: the cable car station at the summit and Platteklip Gorge, which is the shortest and toughest hike up the mountain. Today, you will have a private guide who will customize a day of hiking on Table Mountain just for you. Platteklip is an arduous slog without a view before the summit. Instead, you can hike Kasteelspoort, which is an easier route that presents stupendous Atlantic views. Avid hikers should consider India Venster or even Devil’s Peak.

Summiting Lion’s Head is an easier hike and has the advantage of offering a view that includes Table Mountain and the city. There are some superb hikes at the summit as well, including one that loops around three reservoirs. Another option is to hike the Contour Path, which essentially circumnavigates the mountain at a height of 2,000 feet. There is something for almost all fitness levels, and you can also choose to descend in style on a scooter or mountain bike. As with the last two days, you can choose from some superb Cape Town restaurants this evening, and possibly one in Constantia that is complete with a lingering view toward the ocean.

You will fly to George this morning where you will be picked up by a local guide. The Garden Route is one of the world’s most temperate landscapes and is home to large, indigenous forests, rolling cliffs, and open beaches. It is very different from the Kruger and Cape, especially when you start today’s adventure near the town of Wilderness. You will paddle a canoe down a meandering river before disembarking deep within the trees. Here, there is a narrow walking trail that leads to an unknown waterfall. Elsewhere in Wilderness, you can try paragliding, surfing, or taking a stroll into the highlands. Knysna is tonight’s destination, and you will arrive in time to see the famous Knysna Heads at sunset.

Cliffs rise and fall along South Africa’s southern coastline, and they are covered in indigenous forest with some of the trees jutting out at near-vertical angles. The mist rolls in from the ocean and flickers through this forest, elevating the sense of a mysterious land. There are very few roads here, so you must explore along hiking trails. One trail runs all along the coast and takes four days to complete. You do not have the time to complete this world-famous Oyster Trail but can hike a short section of it. There are also trails that lead to deserted beaches, and then those that cross farmland before disappearing into luscious, woodland reserves.

Mountain biking is another option over these two days. You can cycle to waterfalls, go downhill to a partially forested beach, and rush around single track trails. Tsitsikamma can also be used as a base to explore more of the Garden Route, including the famous surf destination of Jeffreys Bay or the arid mountains that lie two hours north. You will be sleeping inside Garden Route National Park in a private log cabin that will be perched just above the waves. Here, you can sit around an outdoor fire, listen to the growling surf, and spend two more evenings in South Africa’s great outdoors.

There will be some time for a final activity this morning such as a Segway tour in Tsitsikamma. From the forest, it is roughly two hours to Port Elizabeth International Airport and your outbound flight.