April 2009 Tour
Itinerary April 2009
Day 1
Friday 10 April 2009
Meet at 0900 at Sydney Airport.
Depart: AM Flight NZ510 Sydney to Johannesburg
Airline: Qantas
Arrive: Johannesburg at 16:10 pm Aircraft:
Total Flight Time: hours minutes (Non-Stop)
Met by our driver Rodney.
Proceed to Melrose Place Lodge for the night.
Dinner at the Lodge.
Day 2
Saturday 11 April 2009
08h00 Breakfast at Melrose Place.
09h00 To Sandton City for a morning in the Mall.
Opportunity to change money, buy phone cards etc.
Lunch in the Mall
Opportunity to visit Gold Reef City this afternoon
Dinner at a local restaurant
Day 3
Sunday 12 April 2009
Breakfast at the lodge.
Leave at 08h30 to travel through the Eastern Transvaal to Pilgrims Rest (3hrs).
Arrive early afternoon in time to explore the Historical mining Town of Pilgrims Rest
Lodgings at the Royal Hotel.
Dinner in the hotel.
Day 4
Monday 13 April 2009
Breakfast at the hotel.
Leave at 08h30 to travel through the spectacular Blyde River Canyon, stopping at
Various spots for photo opportunities and then down the escarpment to the Lowveld.
Lunch on the way.
Depending on time we have the opportunity to visit Moholoholo Wildlife rehabilitation Centre, or a Silk farm
Tonight is our first night in Manyeleti Private Game Park adjacent to the Kruger Park.
Accommodation is in comfortable en suite safari tents as close to nature as you can get and still be civilized!
Day 5
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Animals and game Park all day
Day 6
Wednesday 15 April 2009
A very early morning is required as we have over an hour to travel to get to our elephant herd for a unforgettable elephant experience. More than just a ride, it is a real chance to get to know some gentle pachyderms and learn more about their individual traits
Day 7
Thursday 16 April 2009
Today we have an unhurried day quietly travelling through the bush looking for the animals. We spend the night in Satara Camp within the bounds of the Kruger national Park and experience the “camp life”. Drinks on the verandah, swim in the pool, open air wildlife movies – it’s all there to choose.
Day 8
Friday 17th April 2009
Hopefully you will not be tired of the animals yet! There are so many to seeas well as the hundreds of bird species, so we may only just be warming up!
Night in Satara Camp
Day 9
Saturday 18th April 2009
Our journey south now begins. We will travel through the park and leave the gates in time to get to Nelspruit in the early afternoon.
I can guarantee an evening full of laughs and splendid Afrikaans hospitality from our hostess Laurie and her helpers Manie and Esther at Emoyeni Lodge.
Day 10
Sunday 19th April 2009
Get your passports out – today we travel through the independent Kingdom of Swaziland to the Kingdom of the Zulu in Hluhluwe – a journey of about 500 kms.
Settle in around the pool of our lodgings called “The Horn and Thorn”.
Dinner at a local hotel.
Day 10
Sunday 19 April 2009
Up early to get to the Imfolosi Park – about an hours drive south.
We spend the day traveling through the Imfolosi/Hluhluwe park in a northerly direction, to come out at the Hluhluwe gate about 19kms from The Horn and Thorn.
We will visit the local craft market at the Centenary Centre, and if there are any animals in the boma under acclimatization, we will see those too.
Dinner at the Hluhluwe River Lodge
Day 11
Monday 20 April 2009
We have a good Zululand breakfast and then off to see more animals.
The local wild Cat rehabilitation center is always worth a visit – see how the variety of special cats are affected by man.
Lunch at a local craft centre, some curio shopping and a chance to see some Zulu culture. Farmers might be keen to travel around with our Host, James, and have a look at his sugar cane, Pineapple, Sisal and game farming operation.
Dinner at our lodge – a Traditional Braai (BBQ) with our hosts James and Jill Domleo.
Day 12
Tuesday 21 April 2009
After breakfast, travel about 2 hours to just north of Durban to the seaside town of Ballito and the beachfront bach where we are staying. Previous experience tells me that we will arrive at lunch time or later by the time we have checked out all the roadside shopping on the way. We may get a midweek church service here in Ballito.
Day 13
Wednesday 22 April 2009
No hurry today. We can breakfast at our beach cottage which has been in my aunts family for about 50 years, and then decide on our movements.
Options today include a visit to the Natal Sharks Board laboratory, shopping at the enormous Gateway Shopping Center, visit a Bird Sanctuary or just quietly chill at the beach. There is also a dear little mall in Ballito if you choose to look at some shops.
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 14
Thursday 23 April 2009
Breakfast at the cottage and a leisurely drive through the valley of 1000 Hills. We stop at Phezulu Cultural Village for lunch, a tour of the Reptile Park and some Zulu Culture.
Then wind up the escarpment from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and on to our next overnight stop in the rural area of Karkloof. About 150 km drive in all.
We spend the night at the quaint “ Thistledown” country house and are hosted by Norma and Norman Maguire. Norma’s dinners are to die for!
Day 15
Friday 24 April 2009
A leisurely morning start ad a huge breakfast – I know- I’ve had one before!.
We will meander the 200 kms to Underberg through the Midlands of Natal and have the opportunity to visit many craft establishments. These may be a leather works ( fantastic shoes, hats and bags!) or a nougat factory or any one of literally hundreds of interesting nooks and crannies – we will decide with the help of a comprehensive guide.
At Underberg we will be at about 6000 feet above sea level and in a totally different climate to that which we have been experiencing up to now.
We stay at “The Banks” Guest house – the home of my parents – John and Edith Taylor.
They are both keen bowlers and love to meet guests from all over the world. They live on the roughly 1200 ha dairy farm that my brother Tinny now runs.
Dinner at “The Banks”
Day 16
Saturday 25 April 2009
Breakfast at “The Banks” and then a day trip to Lesotho, an independent Kingdom
10 000 feet above sea level. This tiny Kingdom boasts the highest “low point” of any country in the world!! Test the “African Massage” up Sani Pass and have lunch at the highest pub in Africa.
Even though we will probably all be exhausted by the end of the day, there is still dinner to see to at a local restaurant.
Day 17
Sunday 26 April 2009
Breakfast at “The Banks”
Choices abound in this sleepy little village.
St Michael and All Angels Anglican church has a morning service in English and an evening service in Zulu and the Catholic church offers a Zulu service.
The local Museum has been judged one of the best small museums in the country. Dairy and beef farm tours are available, a tiny cheese factory that makes delicious exclusive cheeses and have names for all their “Ladies” ( cows), San rock art, many art studios – the list goes on..
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 18
Monday 27 April 2009
Early breakfast as we bid farewell to the mountains and head for the airport in Durban – a comfortable 2 and a half hours drive.
Arrive at the airport at 12h00.
Depart at 14h25 Flight SA617 Durban Louis Botha Airport to Cape Town
Arrive in Cape Town at 16h40 where we will be met by our local guide Pete.
Settle in to Le Petite Vignoble guest house for the next 4 nights.
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 19
Tuesday 28th April 2009
Breakfast at the guest house followed by a busy day.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Victoria and Albert Water front, Table Mountain, The Castle…..
Day 20
Wednesday 29th April 2009
Stellenbosch and the Winelands…..
Day 21
Thursday 30th April 2009
…Robben Island ,Cape Point , Simon Town, Boulders Penguin Colony and Hout Bay….
Our time in Cape Town is packed. We may swap attractions around in order to fit in with the vagaries of the weather as the Table Mountain Cable Car is not open if it is too windy up on top! Don’t worry – we fit it all in somehow.
Dinner at a local restaurant for the “Last Supper”!
Day 22
Friday 1 May 2009
Today we say farewell to the fairest Cape and South Africa as we head to the airport and the journey home to New Zealand.
Depart: 12:40 PM Flight SA334 Cape Town to Johannesburg
Airline: SAA – South African Airways
Arrive: Johannesburg International at 2:40 pm
Total Flight Time: 2 hours (Non-Stop)
Boeing 737-800 Jet
I will leave you here at 16h30 .
Your flight should be ready for the whole check in process by now.
Please see your tickets for your onward flights to Australia and New Zealand