Botanical Gardens Of South Africa Self Drive Tour (133639),Holiday Packages to Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Cape Town

Package Overview

Begin your exploration of the flora of South Africa in Johannesburg, with visits to two famous botanical gardens. Then drive to the beautiful Drakensberg Panorama Route to see the cycads & wildlife of the Kruger Lowveld region. Fly on to Durban to see its orchids & other tropical plants, before finishing in the Cape - home to Kirstenbosch, Harold Porter & Karoo Botanical Gardens.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Johannesburg • Nelspruit • Kruger National Park • Durban
• North Coast • Cape Town • Kirstenbosch Gardens • Harold Porter Gardens
• Karoo National Park • Cape of Good Hope

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Day wise Itinerary

Day 1 : Arrival

Arrive at Johannesburg Airport, collect your hire car and drive to your hotel in this thriving city.

Check in and relax under warm blue South African skies in 'Egoli' - the city of gold.
Day 2 : Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens

Today drive 45-minutes west of Johannesburg to the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Krugersdorp.

The area around the Witpoortjie Falls forms the backdrop to the Botanical Gardens, which consist of 30 hectares of landscaped garden and 270 hectares of natural rocky highveld grasslands. The gardens feature a waterwise garden, a cycad garden, succulent rockery, fern garden and arboretum. There is also a breeding pair of black eagles in the cliffs above the waterfall.

The best time to visit the garden is late September to February when the flowering shrubs are in bloom.
Day 3 : Pretoria Botanical Gardens

Today drive 1-hour to Pretoria Botanical Gardens, the headquarters of the South African National Botanical Institute.

These beautiful gardens are divided in two sections by a high quartzite rocky outcrop, with the colder south-facing aspect and warmer north-facing aspect supporting quite different flora. The 50 hectares of developed garden are devoted entirely to South African plants, including savanna, forest and fynbos biomes.

Afterwards we recommend a visit to the impressive Voortrekker Monument.
Day 4 : Drakensberg Panorama Route

Today enjoy the beauty of the Eastern Transvaal on your 5-hour drive to Mpumalanga and the scenic Drakensberg Panorama Route - gateway to the famous Kruger National Park.

At Dullstroom we recommend stopping at the Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Centre which cares for injured eagles, falcons, owls and vultures.

Continue driving via Lydenburg and the scenic Long Tom Pass, from where Boer guns battered the British during the South African War, before checking in to your hotel and relaxing in the warm Lowveld.
Day 5 : Lowveld Botanical Gardens

Today drive to Lowveld Botanical Gardens in Nelspruit.

These gardens are dominated by spectacular rocky river scenery, with the Crocodile River and Nels River creating some wonderful cascades. The 25 hectares of cultivated gardens are surrounded by a much larger area of sour lowveld bushveld vegetation, with the river banks dominated by evergreen forest belts and rain forest. There are also ancient cycads and a variety of shribs. The gardens are also an interesting archaeological site dating back to pre-historic man.
Day 6 : Drakensberg Panorama Route

Today we recommend you explore the splendour of the Drakensberg Panorama Route and drive through the green Blyde River Canyon, the third largest in the world.

Enjoy wonderful views from Graskop Gorge Lift and God's Window, view several lovely waterfalls and visit the unusual Bourkes Luck Pot Holes - cylindrical holes formed from the swirling waters of the Blyde and Treur Rivers.
Day 7 : Kruger National Park

Today enter the world famous Kruger National Park.

Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately and hopefully you will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe before you reach your rest camp.

The Kruger National Park offers a choice of self-catering rest camps, each situated in a different section of the park with its own unique flora and fauna - e.g. Skukuza, Letaba, Olifants, Lower Sabie, Pretoriuskop, Satara and Berg-en-Dal. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable thatched game park bungalows, with each camp having a restaurant and a small shop. Check in, settle in and relax in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide (park fees payable locally on entrance).

Note: You will need your passport to enter the Kruger National Park.
Day 8 : Kruger National Park

Today is devoted to self drive game viewing in the Kruger National Park. We recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (04h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day.

Explore this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary that is the size of Wales, offering magnificent game viewing opportunities and the highest concentration of lion in the whole of Africa. Hope to see several of the Big Five today - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino - as well as many other species before returning to your rest camp for breakfast (or buy provisions at camp and cook breakfast at a picnic spot).

The rest of the morning is free to relax by the swimming pool or enjoy bird watching at camp, before setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive. With nearly 150 different species of mammals and over 100 species of reptiles in the Kruger National Park, you can hope to see cheetah, giraffe, hippo, kudu, crocodiles, sable antelope, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons, wild dogs and many other interesting animals. With over 500 different bird species including eagles, kingfishers, vultures and storks, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed.

After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.

Note: Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in South Africa.
Day 9 : Durban

Enjoy some final early morning game viewing, before driving 2.5-hours to Mpumalanga Airport to drop-off your hire car and connect with your onward flight.

Arrive at Durban Airport, collect your hire car and drive to your hotel on the warm North Coast, renowned for its wonderful beaches and excellent holiday weather.

Check in and relax on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
Day 10 : Durban Botanic Gardens

Today drive to Durban Botanic Gardens which is home to a wide collection of sub-tropical trees, palms and orchids. It has a lake with water lilies and pink lotus, an orchid house and an interesting collection of cycads.

Afterwards we recommend a visit to uShaka Marine World situated in the old harbour area that is being extensively re-developed. Here you have the opportunity of viewing large indigenous sharks of the Indian Ocean and a wide variety of other marine animals, including the opportunity to interact with dolphins, seals and penguins.
Day 11 : Pietermaritzburg Botanical Gardens

Today drive 1.5-hours to Pietermaritzburg Botanical Gardens in the Natal Midlands.

These beautiful gardens are situated on an ancient floodplain and hillside, at the edge of a mist belt that creates a wonderful atmosphere when the mists roll in. They were originally established to conserve rare and endangered indigenous plants, and today are filled with lush vegetation and seasonal blooms such as bougainvillea that thrive in the intense heat of this part of the world.
Day 12 : Cape Town

Drive to Durban Airport for your onward flight.

Arrive Cape Town Airport, collect your hire car and drive to your hotel in this beautiful city, within sight of Table Mountain.

Check in and relax in your magnificent surroundings.
Day 13 : Cape Town

Today is free for independent sightseeing in Cape Town.

We recommend you purchase a day pass onboard the convenient Hop-Off Bus, which stops at all Cape Town’s key sights and beaches. The "Red Route" bus stops at the Table Mountain base station, where you can buy a ticket to ascend by cable car and enjoy one of the world’s most famous views. Continue to Camps Bay beach and the many attractions of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.
- Hotspots : Camps Bay
Day 14 : Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Today drive to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens regarded as one the most beautiful botanic gardens in the world, nestled on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain (pay entrance fee locally).

Bequeathed to the nation by Cecil John Rhodes, the garden was established 1913. There is an avenue of camphor trees, a beautiful protea and fynbos garden, useful plants garden, sculpture garden and a dell garden as well as a world class collection of indigenous South African flora. Wonderful summer sunset concerts are held in the gardens on Sunday evenings from December to March.
Day 15 : Harold Porter Botanical Gardens

Today drive 2-hours from Cape Town along the scenic coastal route through Gordon’s Bay and along the False Bay coast to Harold Porter Botanical Gardens near the small seaside town of Hermanus.

Harold Porter Gardens are renowned for their fine collection of fynbos (meaning "fine bush"), with 10 hectares of cultivated fynbos and 190 hectares of natural fynbos shrubland vegetation.

Afterwards we recommend a visit to a local wine estate for some wine tasting. From July to November, you can also see southern right and humpback whales which come to Hermanus to breed each year and the best location for land-based whale watching in the world.
Day 16 : Cape Town

At leisure to relax and explore the "Mother City" of Cape Town.

Many optional activities are available in this beautiful city. You can visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned (advance booking essential in season) and explore the vibrant Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

You can visit world famous Kirstenbosch Gardens or simply relax on golden Camps Bay beach – the choice is yours.
- Hotspots : Camps Bay
Day 17 : Cape Town

Today drive 2-hours from Cape Town through spectacular semi-desert scenery to Karoo Desert Botanical Gardens, the only true succulent garden in the Southern Hemisphere.

Set in magnificent surroundings at the foot of the Hex River Mountains near Worcester, Karoo Desert Botanical Gardens showcases plants from the arid regions of South Africa including tree aloes, euphorbias, wild grapes and a great variety of smaller species. The gardens offer a kaleidocscope of colour from August to mid-October, when Namaqualand daisies and vygies provide a dazzling display.
Day 18 : Hout Bay

Today we recommend a full day exploring the beautiful Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve peninsula.

Start with an optional short boat trip from Hout Bay to view Cape Fur seals at Seal Island and continue via Chapman’s Peak Drive to spectacular Cape Point where you may see baboons, ostrich and perhaps even dolphins or whales in season (July/November).

On the return journey we recommend driving through naval Simons Town and visit the resident penguin colony at Boulders Beach. You can also make a short stop at the world famous Kirstenbosch Gardens, before returning to your hotel in the late afternoon.
Day 19 : Departure

Drive to Cape Town Airport for your flight home.

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Inclusions

Hotel
Sightseeing

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Price & Rates

No of pax	Age Limit	Price per pax (Rs)
Adult	Above 12 years	$ 2268 / Adult

* Mentioned prices may vary depending upon date of travel, hotel availability, surge pricing and seasonal rush.

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Package Start From

Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa

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Terms & Conditions

Payment Terms & Methods :
* Some Advance Percentage of total booking amount
* Airfare/Transport fare to be paid full at one time in advance.

Cancellation & Refund Policy :
* Upon cancellation, refund will be made after deducting the Retention Amount.
* Retention Amount varies as per the number of days left before your package start date.

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