Day 1

Depart the U.S and begin your South African Adventure!

Day 2 – Cape Town

You are met at Cape Town airport by our representative and handed your travel documents. You travel into Cape Town and check in at the 4-star Winchester Mansions, situated on the Atlantic seaboard with uninterrupted sea views. It is five minutes’ drive from the trendy Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. This charming and gracious hotel offers its guests understated elegance and service. The luxurious rooms have sea or mountain views. Sip sundowners whilst viewing the spectacular ocean sunsets and relax around the decked pool. There is an in-house spa offering health and beauty treatments. The Winchester Mansions’ in-house restaurant, Harvey’s, is fast becoming a culinary hot spot in Cape Town. Hard to find among Cape Town restaurants today, Harvey’s offers discerning diners an appetising taste of traditional Cape cuisine. The Harvey's Bar, adjoining the restaurant, allows you to enjoy arguably Cape Town's best view - the sun slipping into the Atlantic - while sipping a long cocktail on the terrace. The rest of this afternoon is at leisure to relax or you can take an optional half-day city tour of one of the one of the world’s most beautiful cities. You will visit the historic Castle and the Bo-Kaap Malay Quarter with its narrow cobbled streets and colourful mosques. You view the Houses of Parliament and then, weather-permitting, you will ride the cable car up Table Mountain to enjoy the view over Cape Town and across Table Bay to Robben Island (cable car fare is not included in tour price). If the weather is inclement, you will be taken on a scenic drive up Signal Hill. You will be dropped off at the hotel after the tour. Accommodation: Winchester Mansions or similar (B)

Day 3 – Cape Point

Today is at leisure in Cape Town. We suggest you either take a tour or self-drive along the coast around the Cape Peninsula to Cape Point. You travel along the Atlantic seaboard via glamorous Clifton to the quaint seaside village of Hout Bay. Here you can take a boat ride from the fishing harbour out to the seal colony on Seal Island . Continue via the scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive to Cape Point. Looking at this dramatic promontory jutting into the sea gives one an idea why early sailors nicknamed it the Cape of Storms . You then follow the coastline northwards via Simonstown, where you can visit the penguin colony of Boulders Beach. A leisurely drive through the leafy southern suburbs will bring you back to the hotel in the late afternoon. Accommodation: Winchester Mansions or similar. (B)

Day 4 – Robben Island and the V&A Waterfront

We suggest you spend this day at leisure exploring the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is a five minute drive from the hotel. If you do not have a hire car, your hotel concierge will call a taxi for you. The Waterfront is Southern Africa’s trendiest shopping precinct and is a great place to look for gifts. You can take a ferry from the Waterfront across Table Bay to Robben Island. An ex-prisoner takes you on an extensive tour of the prison, which includes a visit to Nelson Mandela’s cell, the limestone quarry and the old leper colony. Today you will take a half-day Cape Malay Tour, which includes a hand-on cooking demonstration in a Cape Malay home followed by lunch. This afternoon you could visit the Waterfront’s Two Oceans Aquarium, which is highly recommended for the insight it gives into life in the two oceans off the southern tip of Africa – the cold Atlantic Ocean and the warm Indian Ocean. Alternatively, you may like to relax on one of the trendy beaches of Camps Bay or Clifton. Museum lovers can wander through the South African Museum and the National Art Gallery. This evening would be a good time to go up Table Mountain if the weather was inclement on Day One. Tonight you may like to try one of the fine quayside restaurants at the Waterfront. Accommodation: Winchester Mansions or similar. (B)

Day 5 – Cape Town to the Winelands

This morning you travel to the Winelands, with its backdrop of majestic mountain ranges and lush valleys and vineyards. If you are self-driving, we suggest you stop for a wine tasting and cellar tour at Fairview and Boschendal Estates. A scenic drive over the Helshoogte Pass (Hell’s Heights) takes you from Stellenbosch to the Franschhoek Valley, where you check into Auberge Clermont or similar.
This magnificent Auberge has been created in an old wine cellar amid vines laden with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and the classic Bordeaux Reds of France. There are just six deluxe en-suite rooms on a working wine and fruit farm with an ambiance, style and feel of a little corner of Provence in South Africa’s Winelands. Enjoy the luxury of splendid bedrooms individually decorated in the colours and moods of Provence. Loft rooms are light and stylish with great views. Pool rooms overlook the plum orchards and majestic mountains beyond. A tennis court and swimming pool are great for summer fun. Linger over a delightful breakfast served in your room or on the terrace under 140-year-old oak trees overlooking the plum orchards. Overnight: Auberge Clermont in Franschhoek or similar. (B)

Day 6 - Winelands

We suggest you spend today following the Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek Wine Routes. You can either self-drive or arrange a tour through your hotel concierge. You can stop for tastings at wine estates along the way and you will have the chance to purchase some of the wines you have tasted. Other sights worth seeing in the Winelands are Stellenbosch, the “town of oaks” and South Africa ’s second oldest town. In Franschhoek itself you can visit the memorial to the French Huguenots, who sought refuge from religious persecution in Europe and settled here in the late seventeenth century. Paarl, with its three imposing granite domes and monument to the Afrikaans language, is also an interesting stop. Franschhoek is known as South Africa ’s gourmet capital. For lunch visit La Petite Ferme – a feast of culinary delights. For dinner you might like to try Le Quartier Français Restaurant, which has been rated by Restaurant Magazine in London as one of the world’s 50 Best Restaurants. Another excellent Franschhoek Restaurant is Haute Cabrière. A combination of fine wine and food, the elegance of the cellar venue and the breath-taking views have put Haute Cabrière in all the top 10 listings in South Africa. Overnight: Auberge Clermont in Franschhoek or similar. (B)

Day 7 – The Winelands to Amakhala Game Reserve

You depart Franschhoek and travel to Cape Town airport to catch a flight to Port Elizabeth. From Port Elizabeth you travel to the Big Five game reserve, Amakhala. Upon check-in at 13h00, you are served lunch at reception. At 14h30 you are transferred by landrover to Bush Lodge.
Feel invigorated by the sounds and fragrances of the African bush, while lounging on your personal deck, or viewing wildlife from within your plunge pool. Built in the bush, against a back drop of aloes and indigenous fauna and flora, these luxurous, secluded tented rooms offer an exceptional romantic experience.
This late afternoon/evening game drive is an opportunity to search for nocturnal animals, such as the elusive bat-eared fox, aardvark, black-backed jackal, aardwolf and the curious spring hare. You return to the lodge in time for a sumptuous safari cuisine dinner. Overnight: Amakhala Game Reserve or similar. (BLD)

Day 8 – Amakhala Game Reserve

This morning after a light breakfast you are taken on another game drive. Game drives at Amakhala bring you face to face with a multitude of game species, ranging from the mighty Big Five (lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard) to tiny blue duiker and rock Hyrax. Relax in your room after breakfast or if you feel like a pamper visit the new whisper room. Afternoon game drive followed by dinner. Overnight: Amakhala Game or similar. (BLD)

Day 9 – Amakhala Game Reserve to Port Elizabeth

This morning you are taken on your last game drive at Amakhala. After brunch you bid farewell to this African wonderland and are transferred by landrover to reception. You travel back to Port Elizabeth airport and board your flight home.