Included in the Feature Tour:

• 15 Nights accommodation in a variety of lodges and guesthouses
• 13 breakfasts
• 5 lunches and 9 dinners
• Nature drives, rock art excursions, canoeing, botanical walks, archery & hiking in the Cederberg
• Game drives, wilderness walks, star-gazing & visit to Bushman Craft village in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
• Car rental for 16 days group K (Hyundai IX35 or similar) including unlimited kilometres and maximum insurance
• Personalized travel book with information and route description

Itinerary 16 day self-drive tour:

Day 1 & 2: Riebeek Kasteel

Arrive at Cape Town International Airport. Collect your rental car and travel to the Riebeek Valley. Riebeek-Kasteel is one of the oldest towns in South Africa and still part of the Winelands at only 75km from Cape Town. Founded by Jan van Riebeeck, this town is often called ‘the best kept secret of the Western Cape’.

Accommodation suggestion: Royal Hotel

Day 3 & 4: Paternoster

Visit the West Coast National Park on the Langebaan Lagoon with an abundance of indigenous flora and fauna, and a birding hotspot. Not only can you see flamingos and pelicans, but many mammals as well such as wildebeest and eland.

Your base for the next days is friendly Paternoster, with a rustic, idyllic character one would expect from a tiny Mediterranean Island. It is one of the last traditional fishing villages on the West Coast, with whitewashed houses and pristine beaches.

Accommodation suggestion: Paternoster Dunes Boutique Guesthouse

Day 5 & 6: Cederberg Mountains

From the coast you travel inland to the Cederberg Mountains where the landscape is completely different, with a dramatic beauty. The twisted sandstone rock formations hold delicate Bushman rock art. Bushman tribes have lived in these ancient mountains for 120,000 years and over 130 rock art sites have been preserved, affording you a glimpse into their lives and culture. The Cederberg also has an exceptional botanical diversity, and farmers cultivate the world-famous healthy rooibos tea, found only in the Cederberg of South Africa.

Accommodation suggestion: Bushmans Kloof Wilderness

Day 7 & 8: Namaqualand

Cross into the Northern Cape where you find a vast region known as Namaqualand. This arid region extends over 1000km along the West Coast all the way up to the Orange River. After the winter rainfall spectacular wild flowers invade the countryside and you can see an explosion of flowering plants from one horizon to the next. Visit little historic towns such as Nieuwoudtville with its waterfall and quiver tree forest.

Accommodation suggestion: Agama Tented Camp

Day 9 & 10: Springbok

Explore the Namaqua National Park and Goegap Nature Reserve, with hiking, eco-trails, day drives, mountain-bike and 4x4 routes on offer in and around both reserves. Your are based in Springbok, the largest town in Namaqualand, from where you can do excursions to the spectacular desert mountain scenery of the Richtersveld National Park.

Accommodation suggestion: Naries Namakwa Retreat

Day 11 & 12: Augrabies

Few sights are as awesome or a sound as deafening as water thundering down the 56m Augrabies Waterfalls when the Orange River is in full flood. The local Khoi people named it the Place of Great Noise. The Falls are situated within the Augrabies Falls National Park with beautiful views over the gorge, klipspringers, rock hyrax and kokerbomen (quiver trees).

Accommodation suggestion: Augrabies Rest Camp or Dundi Lodge

Day 13-15: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park stretches over an area of 3.5 million hectares, almost twice the size of the Kruger National Park. It offers stunning scenery, excellent birding and overpowering silence.

Enjoy fantastic sunset game drives on the pan or an after- dinner drive to explore some of the night creatures the Kalahari has to offer. Walk with bushman trackers through the dunes and learn all about your natural surroundings, visit the cultural village to see the Bushmen crafters at work and have access to telescopes to enjoy some of the best star-gazing in Southern Africa. This is truly a place to experience, not just observe!

Accommodation suggestion: Xaus Lodge

Day 16: Upington

Leave the Kgalagadi Park behind and travel to Upington where you hand in your car at the local airport.  Depending on the time of your flight to Johannesburg or Cape Town we can add another night in Upington.

* Optional extra Canoe or Rafting Trip:
Add an exciting canoe trail on the Orange River to this tour! The Augrabies Canoe Trail is a true wilderness safari down the almighty Orange River. Trips start from the Augrabies Waterfall National Park. Or if you want more adrenaline pumping adventure, go rafting. You can choose from mild to wild and from a day activity to a 3 day trip.