South Africa 12 days

This morning following breakfast, you will be transferred back to OR Tambo Airport to collect your hire car and continue to Ukuthula Bush Spa nearby Pretoria where you will be able to relax and enjoy spa treatments of your choice in a beautiful game reserve setting.

Ukuhtula means ’Silence’ in Xhosa and Zulu. This is a charming place offering a stunning indigenous and timeless garden. Forget your troubles at the door and let the tranquility as well as the warm welcome of our most attentive team make you feel immediately relaxed. Come to Ukuthula, get refreshed and pampered in a complete change of scenery, just 30 minutes east of Pretoria and one hour from Johannesburg.

Ukuthula is a day bush spa with a difference. Born out of a love for Africa fused with the French spirit of its owner. An original and unique blend of the best Africa and Europe has to offer.
Each unforgettable visit to Ukuthula involves an invigorating mix of massages, steam baths and exquisite food and drink, all enjoyed within the calm and soothing atmosphere of the African bush filled with an abundance of birds and wildlife; leave feeling relaxed refreshed, reinvigorated… and ready to return.

Overnight: Ukuthula Bush Spa
Meals: Breakfast and dinner

Day 3: This morning following breakfast, you will depart Ukuthula and begin your journey towards the Panorama Route. We suggest you depart Ukuthula at about 10am and take a leisurely drive to Bohms Zeederberg as only the following day will you be visiting all the main attractions of the area.

We recommend that you visit the town of Pilgrims rest on this day en-route to Bohms as you may not have time the following day. The town is richly imbued with a diversity of natural, cultural and historic gems. The uniqueness of this historic village is vividly evident in its museums and historic sites.
It offers the visitor a fascinating window into the past, and captures the spirit of a bygone era and its people in their quest for gold.

Day 4: Full day to explore the wonders of the beautiful Blyde River Canyon. The Blyde River (also known as the Motlatse) Canyon Nature Reserve is situated in Mpumalanga and, with legendary viewing points such as God’s Window, offers some of the most spectacular views in South Africa. Activities range from hiking and swimming to scenic drives.

Seek out the water-eroded Bourke’s Luck Potholes where prospectors searched for gold.

The Blyde River Canyon is the third largest in the world and has been renamed the Motlatse River Canyon.
The 29.000ha Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve is carved out of nearly 2,5km of red sandstone and is one of South Africa’s most remarkable geological features. Also known as the Motlatse Canyon, it is the third largest canyon on Earth and is situated below the confluence of the Blyde (’joy’) and Treur (’sorrow’) rivers.

This Mpumalanga nature reserve stretches for 60km from just north of the little town of Graskop, up to the Abel Erasmus pass. You’ll get stunning views of the Escarpment from legendary viewpoints such as God’s Window, where on a clear day, you can see as far as Kruger Park and Mozambique.

Other natural attractions include Bourke’s Luck Potholes, where Tom Bourke, a 19th-century gold rush prospector, is said to have made his fortune. Water erosion over millennia has carved cylindrical sculptures from the canyon’s red and yellow rocks which are interspersed with rock pools.

From the canyon look out eastwards to the Three Rondavels or Three Sisters, three massive spirals of dolomite that rise from the far wall of the canyon. A single quartzite column, aptly named the Pinnacle, rises from the wooded canyon, offering more spectacular vistas.

The environment varies from high mistlands to the drier and warmer lowveld around the Blyde River Dam.
You’ll find more than 1 000 species of flora in the reserve, including several species of endangered cycads, and, in spring, carpets of wild flowers. Try to visit at least one of the nearby several beautiful waterfalls.

Bird and animal life is abundant. Spot Verreaux’s eagle, the rare bald ibis which nests on the cliff ledges, and all five species of South African primates, including vervet and samango monkeys, chacma baboons and both species of bushbaby.

Overnight: Bohms Zeederberg
Meals: Breakfast and dinner

Day 5: This morning following breakfast, you will depart Bohms and make your way via Hazyview up towards the Klaserie Game Reserve where you will spend the next 3 nights at Baobab Ridge.
This private lodge within the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve offers guests an up-market, clean, comfortable and affordable wilderness experience. Here guests can have an authentic and memorable bush experience. This small and intimate private lodge with only 7 private cottages (sleeps maximum 16 guests), gives guests a feeling of serenity, far away from the masses. The lodge can also be booked exclusively, giving our guests the ultimate private luxury safari.

As a part of the greater Kruger National Park, the Klaserie has no fences into the Kruger and can offer guests the Kruger experience in open game viewers at flexible times. The Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, as well as it’s neighbour the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, is known for good game viewing, especially for the unique white lions.

Family owned and run, this lodge gives guests a place they can call a home away from home in a private and very comfortable bush lodge setting.

Days 6 – 7: Full Day exploring the Klaserie Game Reserve with your guide. You will enjoy two 3 hour game drives each day.

Overnight: Baobab Ridge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 8: This morning following breakfast and a final morning game drive, you will depart the Klaserie Game Reserve and make your way South into another private reserve called the Manyeleti Game Reserve. The Manyeleti Game Reserve lies adjacent and open to both the Sabi Sands Game Reserve on its Northern boundry and is open to the Kruger National Park on its Eastern Boundry.

Honeyguide Mantobeni has been designed to reflect Hemingways Africa. There are 12 tents which are nestled in a Tamboti grove overlooking a dry river bed. Our reception area is comprised of a large sitting area, an outdoor area with a splash pool & sun loungers, a bar and an extensive climate controlled wine cellar. Game visiting the nearby watering hole can be seen from the swimming pool deck which adjoins the reception area.

The tents at Mantobeni Camp are furnished with king size beds (we can convert these to twins should this be required), mosquito nets and soft leather couches. Each tent has an en-suite bathroom with a sunken concrete bath, double shower, his & hers basins and a separate toilet.
The tents are each set on a wooden platform that has 5 steps leading up to the tent. There is soft lighting within the tent and we do provide mosquito repellent for our guests.

Days 9 – 10: Full days exploring the Manyeleti Game Reserve with your guide. You will enjoy two 3 hour game drives each day.

Overnight: Honeyguide Mantobeni
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

This morning following breakfast and a final morning activity, you will depart Honeyguide and make your way back towards Johannesburg. You will be spending your last night in the beautiful town of Dullstroom which lies exactly half way between Kruger Park and Johannesburg.

Stonecutter Lodge is situated between Dullstroom and Lydenberg. This 63 hectare estate lies in the heart of fly-fishing in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The scenic property is surrounded by mountains and has two well stocked trout fishing dams and 3 kms of free-flowing river supporting wild and stocked trout.

The luxury accommodation comprises self-catering family houses, Stone Cottage and Trout House or spacious executive studios (Cobbles) for couples. All of the accommodation is stylishly furnished and is serviced daily. The Lodge DSTV package includes all sport channels, movies and news programmes. Internet (wi-fi) is available at the main lodge.

Overnight: Stonecutters Lodge
Meals: Breakfast and dinner

This morning following breakfast, you will depart Dullstroom and make your way back to Johannesburg for your onward arrangements.