Drakensberg & Kruger
Hiking Holiday
Operates: / Daily from JohannesburgDuration: / 11 days / 10 nights
Includes: / Transportation, accommodation, hiking with qualified guides, entrance / concession fees, game drives as per itinerary.
Meals as indicated B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner
Highlights: / Hiking in Drakensberg, hiking to top of Amphitheatre (3000 m), wildlife walking trails
Excludes: / Flights, Visas, All Items of a Personal Nature, Gratuities
Notes: / Minimum 2 Passengers
Accommodation: / Tourist class lodges – twin room
Day 1:
Arrive in Johannesburg from your International Flight. Make your way to the complimentary shuttle that will take you to Safari Club Lodge. Arrive at the lodge, check in and spend the rest of the day at leisure.
Overnight Safari ClubLodge(B)
Day 2:
You will be collected at the lodge and transferred to the northern Drakensberg, check in at Cavern Berg Resort (approx. 4 hours drive).
Dinner and overnight: The Cavern. (BD)
Day 3: Goodoo Falls Hike – 8 hrs / 18 km
Grade: C+: Trekking might be strenuous, offering excitement and challenges, with up to 7 – 8 hours walking and occasional scrambling. Walking boots with good ankle support, moulded soles and waterproof, breathable uppers are mandatory for safety and insurance reasons. Chain ladders may be encountered on some routes.
Terrain: Very steep at times and only done with a hotel guide as the paths are not well marked on the escarpment.
Accompanied by an experienced mountain guide from your hotel: Hike from the Top Gate up through Sugar Loaf Gap. Part way up the Sugar Loaf itself, take a right-hand track that goes behind the peak. This leads to Cold Hill, ascending about 500 m. Follow the line of the fence and around Broome Hill. Cross the fence, and proceed down the slope of Plowman’s Kop for about 2 km, where the stream is seen on the right, nestling in the valley. Towards the end of Plowman’s Kop slopes, ease right, dropping gently into the valley, picking up the path to the lip of Goodoo Falls. Swim in the pools and have lunch at the top of the falls.
Hike back to The Cavern by climbing out of the valley. Follow along the contour path around Castle Rocks, around The Diamond and over Surprise Ridge, back to The Cavern.In winter take torch, in case darkness falls before arrival home.
Dinner and overnight: The Cavern. (BLD)
Day 4: “Cavern Big 5” Hike – 8 hrs / 18 km
Grade: B: Hard walking and scrambling, up to an average of eight hours per day.Please note from trekking descriptions the altitudes that are likely to be reached. Weadvise that previous experience of hard mountain walking is essential. Walking boots with good ankle support, moulded soles and waterproof, breathable uppers are mandatory for safety and insurance reasons. Chain ladders may be encountered,so a good head for heights is also necessary. Some routes pass through snow.
Terrain: Very steep at times and only done with a hotel guide. Need a head for heights as there are short climbs over boulders and the descent to Cannibal Cave is very steep.
Accompanied by an experienced mountain guide from your hotel: This hike takes you up Hlolela (500 m and an approximately two-hour climb to 2127 m) via Scilla Gully, and then on to the Bridge of the Battleship. From Battleship hike down towards Venus’ Bath for tea, and then on to the top of Sugar Loaf. Then hike to the top of Cold Hill. Descend from Cold Hill via the Devil's Staircase and Cavern Gap to Cannibal Cavern for lunch. After lunch, hike along Surprise Ridge to Camel’s Hump and then home. There are escape routes back home at several points along the route. This hike, because of the range of habitats it traverses, and the ever-changing view, offers the best chance to see eland. It is the biggest antelope found on earth. Imposing and elegant, its great dewlap is impressive. Both sexes bear tightly spiralled horns, those of the males being heavier.
Dinner and overnight: The Cavern. (BLD)
Day 5: Sugarloaf toWitsieshoek Rest Camp - 7 hrs / 14 km
Grade D+:Moderate terrain. Undulating path with a few steep slopes and fairly easy scrambles.Expect energetic hikes among hills and relatively easy mountain walking.
Accompanied by an experienced mountain guide from your hotel: Head for Sugar Loaf Gap. The path takes you behind Broome Hill. There are various paths and routes and the guide will decide on the path to follow. The path to the WitsieshoekRest Camp is undulating and rises slowly as one ascends towards the camp. Water may be difficult to locate, so make sure to carry some.Vultures often soar over Sugar Loaf. Two species occur here. The Cape vulture is endemic – found only in southern Africa, with its main stronghold in the Berg. It is gregarious, so although foraging birds are widely spread, to survey the most ground, each can see the next, and all will arrive at a carcass within a few minutes. The bearded vulture (lammergeyer) is solitary, preferring old kills, even dry bones that other scavengers cannot manage. If the bone is too big to swallow, the lammergeyer carries it high in the air and drops it on a big rock to crack the bone open. Its rusty colour is a form of make-up, derived from iron-rich rocks, and must be renewed after every moult to impress the opposite sex.
Overnight and dinner: Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge. (BLD)
Day 6: Amphitheatre ascent – 8 hrs
Grade: C+: Trekking might be strenuous, offering excitement and challenges, with up to 7 – 8 hours walking and occasional scrambling. Chain ladders are encountered.
Terrain: Very steep at times and only done with a hotel guide as the paths are not well marked on the escarpment.
Breakfast at the lodge, vehicle transfer to Sentinel carpark. Depart with packed lunches and qualified guide: After filling in the mountain register, you start your hike along a well maintained path which ascends gradually towards the Witches and the Zig-Zags, taking you to the base of the Sentinel massif. From here, you swing right and follow the contour path below the Western buttresses with the land sloping steeply to the north and east giving you wonderful views of the Malutis and the Witsieshoekplateaux. The chain ladders are reached after about 3 kilometres, and after negotiating the two sections of rock wall it is only a short scramble up from there to the escarpment where you can spend the better part of the day in exploration. Walk to the edge of the Amphitheatre, where the Tugela Falls (second highest waterfall in the world) cascades over the cliff-face. Return either via the Gulley of the Chain Ladders. This is usually at least a 6 hour hike and the whole day is set aside for this. Vehicle transfer back to your lodge.
Overnight and dinner: Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge. (BLD)
Day 7: Descent from Witsieshoek to Mahai Camp – 4 hrs
Grade D: A reasonably energetic walks downhill rather than mountains, not too strenuous although some paths may be rough.
Terrain: Downhill on reasonably good paths
Breakfast and depart with packed lunches via Mahai Waterfall to Mahai campsite. The hike will take approximately 3-4 hours and is very scenic with waterfalls, paths below sandstone cliffs and yellowwood forest crossing the Mahairiver.
Your transfer vehicle will meet you once you reach the Visitor’s Centre at the end of the hike. Drive to The Cavern Hotel to collect your luggage (which was left in safekeeping there) and transfer to Johannesburg. (Dinner for own account).
Overnight: Safari Club Guesthouse, Johannesburg. (BL)
Day 8: Johannesburg – Kruger area
06h00 – 06h30: You will be collected from your guesthouse at first light and transferred with a shuttle minibus, to the Greater Kruger National Park. The journey takes approximately 5.5 hours with 2 comfort stops along the way before you arrive in Hoedspruit. From here, you transfer to thebush camp in the Klaserie Nature Reserve. Klaserie Private Nature Reserve forms part of the Greater Kruger Park. The reserve shares unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park and is west of the Timbavati, covering 60 000 ha on either side of the Klaserie River. As there are no fences, wildlife roams free between the major reserves that form the Greater Kruger Park, which include the Klaserie, Timbavati, Manyeleti, Sabi Sands and the Kruger National Park.
The Klaserie is the least commercially developed of all the Kruger Private Game Reserves and as such offers a truly rustic, remote and pristine wildlife experience. This makes it perfect for walking safaris and Big 5 game viewing!The reserve is home to an abundance of wildlife, including lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo. In addition to the Big Five animals that are regularly sighted, you may well encounter giraffe, zebra, warthog, spotted hyaena, baboon, hippo, impala, kudu, vervet monkey, waterbuck, wildebeest, bushbaby, mongoose, duiker, steenbok, klipspringer, genet and bats. You might also see wild dog, cheetah, roan antelope, bat-eared fox, honey badger, porcupine, aardvark, aardwolf, civet, caracal and serval. Birds that are regularly seen are vultures, owls, bee-eaters, rollers, eagles, bustards, hornbills, starlings and shrikes.
The camp facilities include a main area which houses a comfortable lounge area with two sitting areas and a library. The dining room has a large table where, as per safari tradition, everyone dines together to enjoy each other’s company and share stories of the day’s game sightings.There is also a “boma” area with camp fire, perfect for warming you up with your coffee before the morning walk, or for enjoying evening drinks around the fire. In addition guests will experience a traditional South African braaivleis (barbecue) cooked over the open fire. The Greater Kruger area can get very hot in summer and thankfully the camp has a beautiful pool with decking area where guests can relax and siesta during the midday heat between game activities.
The camp consists of five chalets, ensuring an intimate and personal safari experience, as well as a pool, lounge and dining area and the traditional “boma”. Each chalet has an en-suite shower/WC. As with many safari camps in Africa, the en-suite facilities are separated from the main room area by an open doorway. This could obviously be uncomfortable for guests travelling together who are not that familiar with each other. Please bear this in mind.
In the afternoon, an introductory game-walk/drive followed by dinner.
Dinner and overnight: WildernessCamp. (BD)
Day 9/10: Safari
On the walking safari, guests will be led by experienced and professional game rangers through a wildlife area rich in game including lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo as well as hyena, hippo, giraffe, zebra and a whole host of other wildlife. In addition to walking safaris, Big 5 game drives and night drives are offered allowing guests to participate in a full spectrum of safari activities.
Walking Safaris
Each Walking Safari begins with a comprehensive demonstration on how to behave when encountering animals. All Walking Safaris are led by qualified rangers who have had intensive specialized training in approaching dangerous game. In addition to allowing you to view the larger mammals on foot, the rangers will give you an insight into the bush that will surprise you. They will explain the animal tracks and what animals passed through during the night, in addition to the sophistication of termite mounds and other interesting facets of the bush that go unnoticed on game drives. The chance to walk amongst wildlife allows you to fully immerse yourself in African smells and sounds. The main aim of a Kruger Walking Safari is to help you appreciate the nature around you, and to provide you with detailed explanations of spoors, vegetation and the ecology in general – an unmatched wildlife experience that you will remember lifelong.
Game Drives
One of the main aims of going on safari is to go on a game drive. On game drives you are able to get a lot closer to big game. The animals are generally habituated to the vehicle. This means that they are used to the vehicle approaching them and know that it never causes them harm. This enables to you to get within five to tenmetres of the large animals – and safely! All game drives are conducted in open 4 x 4 Toyota Landcruisers. No roof allows you 360 degree views, perfect for wonderful photographic and video opportunities. The afternoon game drives generally leave at 4pm and stop for sundowners, and then continue into the night drive on your way back to camp.
Night Drives
The night drives allow guests the opportunity to see the nocturnal animals not encountered during the day. Your chances of seeing leopard in particular are a lot higher at night and with a bit of luck you might even encounter the predators such as lion and leopard hunting. During the night drives, your tracker uses a powerful spotlight to search for nocturnal animals. Expect to see a wide variety of animals not normally seen during the day, including leopards, hyenas, aardvarks, bat-eared fox, porcupines, bush babies, bushbucks, mongoose, genet cats and nocturnal birds like owls and nightjars.
Daily Schedule
One of the unique advantages of a small safari camp is that the activities can be tailored to your specific needs. For example, if the guides hear lions roaring close to camp at night, they will often knock on your door and ask if you would like to go and find them. In addition, if guests want to only go on game drives this too can be arranged. However, a typical day at Africa on Foot would be as follows:
05h00Wake-up call
05h30Coffee and a light breakfast
06h00Depart on morning game walk
09h00 - 10h00Return to camp
11h00 Brunch
Mid-dayRelax, sleep or enjoy the pool
15h00Tea and a light lunch
16h00 Depart on afternoon game drive and
night drive
19h00 - 20h00 Return to camp and drinks at the bar
20h00 Dinner
21h00 Drinks, coffee or tea around the
camp fire
Dinner and overnight: Wilderness Camp. (B,L,D)
Day 11: Transfer to Johannesburg
Today is the last day of your walking safari, and we will still go out for one last walk. Sniffing the typical scents of the bush you’ll realise how much you’ve learned already! After breakfast it’s time to pack up and pay the Conservation Fee and any extra drinks you’ve consumed in our camp.
Then we reluctantly say our goodbyes and transfer you back Johannesburg Airport. Arrive at the Airport and check in for your flight home. (B)
Rates are subject to Change and Exchange Fluctuations (Updated 24 May 2017)
Drakensberg & Kruger Hiking HolidayPrivate guided Tour – Min 2 pax / 11 days /10 nights
(min. 2 pax) / Currency / Per Person Sharing / Single Supplement
1 Nov 17 – 31 Dec 17 / from / to Johannesburg / ZAR / 26 895 / 2 890
1 Jan 18 – 31 Oct 18 / from / to Johannesburg / ZAR / 28 865 / 3 320
*Rates are not valid for seasonal stays at:
- Cavern Berg Resort: 2017: 22-25 Sep
2018:15 Dec 17 - 10 Jan 18; 1 - 5 Mar ; 28 Mar - 15 Apr; 16 Apr - 1 May; 22 Jun - 8 Jul; 8-12 Aug
21-24 Sep; 18-22 Oct
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Inspirations Travel and Tours (Pty) Ltd
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