Is s safari on YOUR Bucket List?

Join us on this amazing 12-day, 11-night adventure in South Africa! 

This tour includes nine game drives to see the wild African animals; visits at sanctuaries for lions, elephants and monkeys, including a chance to walk with elephants and lions; and tours of the Cradle of Humankind, Soweto, and the Apartheid Museum.

It also includes a 3-night visit to Cape Town, including airfare there and back, and tours of Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, the Boulders penquin colony, and a full-day tour of the winelands.

There is a limit of 10 guests on this tour to give each guest a chance to best see the wildlife from the safari vehicles. We are only traveling in malaria-free areas!

We offer 3 optional excursions if you'd like to extend your trip:
•  3-day add-on excursion to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe;
• 2-day extension in the amazing city of Cape Town, and
• 3-night extension to the famous Kruger National Park!

Stop dreaming; start packing!!

Remember: Africa is a third world country! You are not in Kansas anymore!

Roads are bumpy and dusty, WiFi is spotty, electricity may go off at odd times, and everything happens on Africa time (really S-L-O-W)!  

This escorted tour includes a reasonable amount of walking and requires an average level of physical fitness. 

• On game drives, we will spend much of our time driving over rough dirt roads in open air safari vehicles, which have high ground clearance and require some agility to get on and off. During game drives, you may come into proximity of wild animals whose actions can be unpredictable. Certain inherent risks are involved which should be considered at your own discretion.

• Many days we leave early in the morning. 

• There will be limited bathroom stops. 

• Meals may be delayed for unforeseen reasons. We'll try to have snacks available, but if you have blood sugar issues, please bring any snacks you know you may need. 

We find our guests are happiest when they can roll with delays and last-minute changes that may happen in the unpredictable world of African travel. 

The best things you can bring with you are flexibility, patience, and a sense of humor!

Because temperatures can change dramatically throughout the day,  the key to a comfortable safari outfit is layers. You should pack and wear layers to adjust to the wide range of temperatures you can experience on a typical day. While the morning can be freezing, by midday it can be hot. Layers will save you.

Best colors to wear on safari  

The basic rule on dressing for safari is to go neutral. Ideal colors to wear on safari are greens, browns, olives and khakis. Other neutral colors are fine too. When trying to spot wildlife you’ll have the best chance if you blend in as much as possible with your surroundings. 

Unless you are seriously tracking wildlife on foot, which we are not, the color of your clothing is really NOT that important.  

Navigating dirt roads in an open-top vehicle means that you'll get covered in dust.  You should avoid wearing· white and very pale clothes that show the dust and dirt, and is hard to get out!

Also avoid bright colors, which can attract insects.

Here is a suggested packing list: 

1-2 pair chinos or other light pants 

1 pair jeans 

1 pair shorts or capris 

4-5 tee shirts 

1-2 long sleeve tee shirt 

1 fleece jacket 

1 light puffer jacket or down vest

1 warm hat 

1 pair sturdy sneakers/hiking shoes 

1 pair sandals, like Tevas 

Underwear and socks-6 to 8 of each

Sunglasses

Optional: bathing suit

Sunscreen (SPF 30-50), mosquito repellant, small flashlight

Keep it light, because there is a restrictive weight limit on the domestic flight to Cape Town.

Your domestic flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town flight entitles you to one free checked bag weighing up to 44 pounds and one piece of hand baggage weighing up to 15.5 pounds, plus a laptop bag or small handbag.  Any bag weighing between 44-70 pounds will incur a heavy bag fee of about $25 at the airport.

Remember, there is laundry service at all the places we are staying, and they are relatively inexpensive, quick, and convenient. 

All accommodations provide shampoo and body wash, but not conditioner. Most provide hair dryers.

Currency

The rand (ZAR) is the official currency of South Africa.  As of May 2024, $1 USD equaled 18.48 South African Rand. You can either buy Rand at home and bring it with you, or get it from an ATM when you arrive in Africa. It is difficult to convert US dollars to Rand when you are in South Africa, so we don’t recommend this option.

Adapters

In South Africa the power plugs and sockets are of type D, M and N, so you will need an adapter for electrical appliances from the United States. The standard voltage is 230 V and the frequency is 50 Hz.

WiFi

Free WiFi service is available in the rooms and common areas at all of our accommodations. In some places, it is better than others. If you need to be sure to have WiFi at all times, you can rent a mobile hot spot at the airport upon arrival in Johannesburg starting at about $30.

Laundry

Laundry service is available at Mziki Lodge, Cradle Moon Lodge, and Villa Rosa. It is very inexpensive. Average costs are: 

T shirts, blouses, or shorts: $1

Jeans, trousers or dresses: $1.75

Socks and underwear: 75 cents

All travelers should be up to date on routine vaccinations while traveling to any destination.  These vaccines include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, varicella (chickenpox), polio, and your yearly flu shot.

Most travelers get these vaccines  because there is a risk of these diseases in South Africa:

• Hepatits A: CDC recommends this vaccine because you can get hepatitis A through contaminated food or water in South Africa, regardless of where you are eating or staying.

• Typhoid: You can get typhoid through contaminated food or water in South Africa. CDC recommends this vaccine for most travelers. 

Some Travelers: Ask your doctor what vaccines you need based on where you are going, how long you are staying, and what you will be doing,.

• Hepatitis B: You can get hepatitis B through sexual contact, contaminated needles, and blood products, so CDC recommends this vaccine if you might have sex with a new partner, get a tattoo or piercing, or have any medical procedures.

• Malaria: When traveling in South Africa, you should avoid mosquito bites to prevent malaria. You may need to take prescription medicine before, during, and after your trip to prevent malaria, depending on where and when you are going, and if you are spending a lot of time outdoors or sleeping outside. Talk to your doctor about how you can prevent malaria while traveling. 

PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS NO MALARIA PRESENT IN THE AREAS WE VISIT ON THIS TOUR!

But malaria is present in Zimbabwe near Victoria Falls, and in Kruger National Park. if you are adding extensions to Victoria Falls or Kruger, speak to your doctor about the possibility of malaria prevention medication

• Yellow Fever: THERE IS NO YELLOW FEVER PRESENT IN THE AREAS WE VISIT!

Immunization is only required if you are traveling from a country with risk of YF virus transmission. 

Spanning more than a mile across the cliffs between Zimbabwe and Zambia—Victoria Falls is known as the largest sheet of falling water in the world. A little over a mile wide and 351 feet high, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one-and-a-half times as wide and twice as high as Niagara Falls! The spray from the falls typically rises to a height of over 1,300 feet, and on a clear day, you can see the mist from the falls from up to 30 miles away.

With a flight time from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls of only 1 hour and 40 minutes, it’s easy to add a short side trip to see this natural wonder of the world before or after your South Africa tour. We’ve put together an exciting 3-day, 2-night excursion for our guests.

After pickup from the airport and a transfer to your hotel, we’ll see the sun dip below the horizon during a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River Africa’s fourth largest river. Relax onboard with a drink as you look for hippos, elephants, and buffalo that come to the water’s edge to drink at the end of the day. We'll have dinner at the hotel.

The next morning, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of Victoria Falls and discover the best spots for photo opportunities. Well have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, and then visit a cultural and craft market. 

The rest of the afternoon is free for you to explore the village and shops, relax by the falls, or take advantage of one of the many available activities – from bungee jumping and helicopter rides over the falls, to swimming in Devil's Pool at certain times of the year. We'll be happy to provide you with a list of available optional activities and their prices.

Tonight we'll share dinner at the hotel. 

The next morning after breakfast, we’ll head back to the airport for the flight back to Johannesburg.

The price for this tour is $695 per person, double occupancy. Single supplement is $130. This does not include the price of the round-trip flight from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls.

This excursion includes: 

·  2 nights accommodation, with breakfast

·  Sunset cocktail cruise on the Zambezi River

·  Guided tour of the falls

·  Lunch at Rainforest Cafe

·  Visit to cultural and craft market

·  Day 1 and 2 dinner at the hotel

·  Airport transfers

Cape Town, located at the southernmost tip of Africa, is one of the most magnificent parts of the world, a paradise full of exquisite scenery, beautiful beaches, two oceans – the icy Atlantic and the warmer Indian Ocean – and a wide variety of attractions to make any holiday-maker happy. It is often voted the most beautiful city in the world,

Our tour includes three nights in Cape Town, and we cover a lot of ground in that time.

But guests often wish they had a couple more days here to explore more and enjoy the vibrant  city.

This optional extension provides you with two additional nights at the beautiful Villa Rosa. We can help you schedule area hikes or additional tours, such as to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years, or to the gorgeous beachfront town of Hermanus, whale capital of South Africa.

Cost for this optional excursion is $500.

Kruger National Park

Some people want to add on a visit to the famous Kruger National Park, the largest game reserve in Southern Africa. The park spans an area stretching for 217 miles from north to south, and 37 miles from east to west, which makes it bigger than the country of Ireland.

We will leave Johannesburg early in the morning, and drive six hours to the Kruger. We spend three nights at the luxurious Maqueda Game Lodge.

In Kruger, we spend two full days on games drives. Routes travelled within the park will mainly be determined by the sighting reports we get from other rangers.

We'll get lunch each day in the park, and dinner will be at the lodge.

On our last day, we'll start back to Johannesburg stopping on the way at the Chimp Eden Institute, the first and only chimpanzee sanctuary in South Africa. The goal of the sanctuary is to rescue chimpanzees that have survived the bush meat trade, been orphaned, traded in the illegal pet market, or rescued from the trauma of appearing in circuses or other entertainment venues. The chimps here live out their lives in a risk free environment, provided with the necessary attention to recover from the trauma they have experienced. 

Cost for this optional excursion is $600.

NOTE: Malaria is present in the Kruger. We strongly recommend that you see a doctor before your trip and obtain preventive medication.