Holidays to South Africa - The Western and Eastern Cape Self-Drive Ref: SD008

Day 5
Graaf Reinet to Cradock (155kms/97 miles)
After breakfast, take a short tour of Graaff Reinet itself. Visit fascinating Graaff Reinet Museum comprising four buildings. The Reinet House is a cultural history museum and boasts a huge grapevine planted in 1870. The Old Library houses fossilized Karoo reptiles from 200 million years ago, and a reproduction of San paintings. In the Old Residency there’s a collection of sporting rifles. The Urquart House contains antique furniture, a peach-pip kitchen floor and a genealogical research centre. Continue to Cradock and visit the Olive Schreiner House, o­ne of the oldest dwellings still standing in Cradock. Olive Schreiner, together with Karl Marx’s daughter started the feminist movement. Your accommodation for the evening is a collection of restored 1840 houses in Market Street. Before enjoying dinner you will be treated by a Xhosa singing group telling the story of the Xhosa people through their song and dance. This is truly a very special treat! Breakfast Included
Overnight(1): Die Tuishuise - Cradock

Day 6
Cradock to Addo National Elephant Park (230kms/144 miles)
Enjoy breakfast and check out. Today you have the opportunity to view elephants at close quarters in undulating bushveld that comprises the Addo Elephant National Park. This park was proclaimed in 1931 when o­nly eleven elephants remained in the area – today this park forms part of a very exciting expansion into the “Greater Addo”, a bio-diversity and tourism flagship. At the moment it is home to approximately 350 elephants as well as many other mammals including species such as the nocturnal aardvark, duiker, caracals, bushbuck, bushpigs, eland, grysbok, red hartebeest etc. Enjoy an open-vehicle game drive in this park accompanied by a ranger.
Overnights(2): Addo Elephant

Day 7
Addo Elephant National Park
Spend the day at leisure or take game drives through the park.

Day 8
Addo to Port Elizabeth (65 kms/41 miles)
Travel to the “Friendly City” of Port Elizabeth and do a short introductory city tour. See the unusual Horse Memorial, a magnificent statue erected and dedicated to horses killed during the South African War (1899 - 1902). Visit the Donkin Reserve, proclaimed a public open space in perpetuity by Sir Rufane Donkin. It includes a stone pyramid monument in memory of his late wife, Elizabeth, after whom the city was named. See the Lighthouse, built in 1861, the Campanile, a carillon of 23 bells, and the Feather Market Centre, erected to store ostrich feathers before being shipped overseas. Continue to your hotel situated opposite beautiful golden sands and a sparkling ocean.
Overnights(2): Holiday Inn Garden Court - Kings Beach.

Day 9
Port Elizabeth
Two days to relax by the warm Indian Ocean before continuing your drive along the Garden Route. Perhaps visit o­ne of the “Big Five” private game reserves a short drive from Port Elizabeth. (BB)

Day 10
Port Elizabeth to Plettenberg Bay
(240 kms/150 miles)
After breakfast start the second half of your Garden Route journey. Stop in the beautiful Tsitsikamma Forest and walk the short trail to the Big Tree. Continue to Tsitsikamma National Park, o­ne of the country’s longest, narrowest and loveliest parks, encompassing nearly 80 km of the Cape’s coastal strip. A number of rivers and streams cut through deep ravines to discharge into the Indian Ocean. Here there are cliffs, caves, golden sands and a myriad rock pools. The valleys and mountain slopes are clothed in a rich variety of forest trees and shrubs, and o­n the narrow coastal plains the evergreen forests give way to fields of fynbos. Roughly in the middle of the park is the mouth of the Storms River. A short walk takes you to the suspension bridge across the river, affording superb views of the sea. Perhaps visit o­ne of the many seafood restaurants in Plettenberg Bay this evening .
Overnight(1): Lily Pond Country Lodge - Plettenberg Bay

Day 11
Plettenberg Bay to Knysna
(45 kms/28 miles)
Continue to the quaint town of Knysna and catch a boat this morning across the lagoon to Featherbed Nature Reserve. Ride up the Western Head by trailer pulled by a “Unimog” 4 x 4 vehicle. Take an optional guided walk down through the Reserve with magnificent views to the sea, and inland over the lagoon. Your lunch will await under the trees before you are ferried back to Knysna. Explore the waterfront, the work of local artists, and perhaps try the local oysters for which the town is famous. (BB)
Overnight(1): Knysna Hollow - Knysna

Day 12
Knysna to Cape Town
(495 kms/309 miles)
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and check out. Continue via Wilderness and George to Mossel Bay named by Paulus van Caerden, the Dutch navigator, as mussels were the o­nly nourishment he could find there. Visit the Maritime Museum, the Granary, the Cultural Museum, Post Office Tree and the Shell Museum and Aquarium. Continue past Albertinia, Riversdale and Heidelberg to Swellendam with its stunning setting at the foot of the Langeberg, its oak-lined streets and historic Cape Dutch buildings. As you approach Cape Town you’ll be passing famous names of the Cape Winelands, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl. Why not knock o­n a cellar door? Continue to your Cape Town hotel, situated o­n the famous V & A Waterfront.
Overnights(3): Cullinan Hotel - Cape Town

Day 13
Cape Peninsular Tour
Leave after breakfast to explore the Cape Peninsula. First take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain for spectacular views of the city and ocean. Drive to the “Republic of Hout Bay”. Take a boat trip to Duiker Island, a seal and sea bird sanctuary or visit the “World of Birds”, renowned for its wonderful selection of indigenous and exotic birds. Continue to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point where supposedly the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. Return up the eastern side of the Cape, stopping at Boulders Beach to see the rare colony of Jackass penguins. See Simons Town navy base and the “Historical Mile” – a row of attractive Victorian buildings lining the road. Continue to the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Walk o­ne of the many trails to view the huge variety of indigenous trees, flowers and fynbos. This evening perhaps browse the shops and enjoy a meal at o­ne of the Waterfront restaurants. (BB)

Day 14
Cape Town
Your last full day is at leisure in Cape Town. There are many optional excursions from which to choose. Perhaps take a tour to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and his colleagues were imprisoned, or a Township tour. Maybe a helicopter flight over what Sir Francis Drake described as the “fairest cape in the whole circumference of the world”. Spend a little more time in the winelands, or just soak up the sun o­n o­ne of the fabulous beaches!

Day 15
Cape Town to UK
Return your hire car to Cape Town International Airport in time for your flight home to London Heathrow.