Kruger, Cape & Kalahari

Fly overnight from London to Johannesburg. 

Take a connecting flight from Johannesburg to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. Continue by transfer to the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve where you spend the next three nights at Kirkman's Kamp. The Sabi Sand Game Reserve is one of the most famous game viewing destinations in the Greater Kruger National Park. It offers a prime South African game viewing experience, combining unrivalled Big Five game viewing as well as other large game. Twice-daily game drives will see you traverse thousands of hectares of private reserve with a tracking team and ranger, while guided walks are also a recommended option. You're likely to see the Big Five as well as the lesser-known Little Five, which includes Rhino beetles, elephant shrews, leopard tortoises, buffalo weavers and ant lions.

Stay: Selati Camp (Superior)

Take a flight to Cape Town and transfer to the Queen Victoria located on the world renowned V&A Waterfront. Set within a precinct of heritage buildings along Portswood Road, it's in a calming location away from the frenetic pace of the main Waterfront, benefitting from all the shopping precincts, the harbour, the restaurants and other must-see attractions but in a more relaxed area. The hotel also has views of the majestic Table Mountain, the City Bowl, Cape Town Harbour and the Atlantic Ocean. 

Whilst staying in Cape Town, there are a number of optional excursions that you can take. Visit Table Mountain, where you can embark on a fantastic cable car ride to enjoy the splendid views or Cape Point, the most southwestern point in the continent of Africa that is a spectacular sight and home to some breathtaking bays. Alternatively, visit Robben Island, an island in Table Bay with a fascinating Dutch colonial history. If you're a wine connoisseur, go to the picturesque Cape Winelands that are only a 45-minute drive from Cape Town. Verdant vineyards and Cape Dutch architecture are the iconic images of this region, however the hospitality and fantastic cuisine come as a pleasant surprise to all who visit.

Fly by light aircraft to the Northern Cape, then transfer to Tswalu Kalahari, the largest private game reserve in South Africa. Its 100,000 hectares are in a part of South Africa few visitors make the effort to reach: the vast Kalahari, a timeless stretch of shifting desert sands, semi-arid grassland and open savannah.

Tswalu is unique because it combines the typical Kalahari savannahs and sand dunes with the Korannaberg Mountains, whose sheltering influence helps to sustain a magnificent array of wildlife. Species seen on more traditional safaris abound, such as zebra, buffalo, giraffe and white rhino. But there is much to see here that's less common elsewhere in South Africa: roan and sable antelope; tsessebe, springbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest and eland; cheetah, black rhino and black-maned lions. Meerkat viewing is fantastic (Meerkat Manor was filmed nearby) and two of the reserve's colonies have grown to trust people and allow close observation. This is also one of the best places on earth to view aardvark and pangolin.

The reserve's Motse lodge accommodates no more than 20 guests at a time, housed in lagaes (suites) built from local stone, rich red clay and Kalahari thatch. Each has a spacious bedroom with an open fire, an en suite bathroom with indoor and outdoor shower and a private sundeck overlooking a waterhole. The main house offers an infinity pool and secluded spa, and daily activities include game drives, horseback and walking safaris.

Take a scheduled charter flight to Johannesburg and connect here for your international flight home.

Breakfast included

Arrive in London, and continue your onward journey home. 

Blog: Best African Safari Experiences