Privately Guided: Zululand Safari - St Lucia - Durban Tour (133546),Holiday Packages to Durban

Package Overview

Safari Hluhluwe National Park: This wonderful private tour explores the wildlife, scenery & history of Zululand, travelling with your own driver/guide. Hluhluwe is renowned for preserving the rhino from extinction & is home to all the Big Five as well as many other fascinating species. Also visi the Zulu Battlefields & Drakensberg Mountains. English speaking guide, all transfers & game drives included.

HIGHLIGHTS • Durban • Zulu Village • St Lucia Wetlands • Cape Vidal
• Safari Hluhluwe National Park • Big Five Game Drives • Zulu Battlefields • Spion Kop Battlefield
• Drakensberg Mountains • Indian Ocean Beaches

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Day wise Itinerary

Day 1 : Arrival

You will be met at Durban Airport and transferred to the warm North Coast, renowned for its wonderful beaches and excellent holiday weather.

Check into your hotel and relax on the shores of the warm Indian Ocean.
Day 2 : Durban North Coast

Today travel 3-hours from the Durban North Coast with your driver/guide to St Lucia on the Zululand coast.

At Eshowe we stop in the heart of rural Zululand to visit an authentically reconstructed Zulu Village to learn more about their life and culture. After a warm welcome with some energetic dancing, you can view their amazing beadwork and meet a sangoma ("witchdoctor").

We continue to St Lucia where we enjoy a boat ride on the Lake St Lucia estuary where you may see hippos, crocodiles and other wildlife. Forming part of the Isimangaliso Wetlands, this area has been declared a World Heritage site because of its biodiversity and importance to marine conservation. With over 500 different bird species in the region, it also offers outstanding bird watching. We then check into our hotel in this small village.
Day 3 : Cape Vidal Game Reserve

Today explore the wildlife and wild beaches of Cape Vidal Game Reserve, where you can hope to see rhino, waterbuck, kudu and many other species.

You can also browse through the markets in St Lucia village.

Optional excursions include an Ocean Safari to view migrating humpback whales, turtles, dolphins and other sea life (from July to October), deep sea game fishing and game drives into Hluhluwe National Park (pay the park entrance fee locally).
Day 4 : Hluhluwe National Park

Today we travel 30-minutes from St Lucia to Hluhluwe National Park, renowned for its outstanding wildlife.

Check into your Hluhluwe Rest Camp, where game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this famous game sanctuary. Hopefully you will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe or one of the Big Five, before reaching camp. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable self-catering bungalows.
Day 5 : Hluhluwe National Park

Today is devoted to game viewing in Hluhluwe National Park, travelling with your guide in his air-conditioned vehicle.

As you will have the services of a private driver/guide throughout your safari, you will have the flexibility of discussing preferred routings and travelling times with him each day. However we recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (05h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day.

One of South Africa’s most beautiful game parks, Hluhluwe is home to all the Big 5 - lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino - as well as the subcontinent’s largest population of endangered rhino, which this park saved from extinction. Also hope to see giraffe, hippo, kudu, crocodiles, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons and many other interesting animals, before returning to camp for breakfast. With over 300 different bird species, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed.

The rest of the morning is free to relax by the camp swimming pool, before setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive. All game drives will be taken with your guide in his air-conditioned vehicle.

After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the southern hemisphere.

Note: Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in South Africa. Children < 12 are not allowed on open top game drives, but may enjoy unlimited game drives with your guide.
Day 6 : Hluhluwe

After some final early morning game viewing in Hluhluwe, your guide will share with you the history of rural Zululand as you drive 3-hours to the remote battlefields at Isandlwana.

Our first stop is at the old white Fort Nongqayi near Eshowe, built by the British in 1883 to garrison a Zulu peace keeping force. Here there is an interesting museum. We continue to the Zulu heartland of eMakhosini on the Mahlabathini Plain near Melmoth - the Valley of the Kings that was the birth place of King Shaka. The graves and royal capitals of seven Zulu Kings lie in this valley.

Afterwards we continue to our battlefields lodge, following the Zulu army's line of advance to Isandlwana. Check in and enjoy dinner, whilst absorbing some of the fascinating history of this great conflict between Britain and the proud Zulu Kingdom.
Day 7 : Zulu Battlefields

Today enjoy a full day exploring the poignant Zulu Battlefields.

After an updated briefing, your guide will recount the events leading up to the fateful battle of Isandlwana, where in 1879 the mighty British army suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in its history following the controversial invasion of Zululand. See for yourself the events portrayed so passionately in the film Zulu Dawn, as the regiment was wiped out almost to a man by 20,000 Zulu warriors.

After returning to your lodge for lunch, we visit the famous mission station at Rorkes Drift where later that day a handful of British soldiers (outnumbered 30-to-1) fought off over 4,000 Zulu warriors for almost 12 hours. This battle - unforgettably brought to life by Michael Caine in the film Zulu - saw 11 Victoria Crosses awarded, which is more than in any other engagement in the history of the British Empire.

We continue to Fugitives Drift where two young officers attempted to carry the Queen's colour to safety, before returning to our lodge.

Recommended Reading:
The Day of the Dead Moon - David Rattray
Brave Men’s Blood – Ian Knight
Day 8 : Drakensberg Mountains

Today we travel 4-hours to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains, recognised as a World Heritage site for its vast collection of Bushman rock art paintings.

We follow the Boer line of advance, stopping at the Talana Hill battlefield and museum, where the first battle of the South African War (Anglo Boer War) of 1899 took place and where khaki was worn for the first time. We continue to Elandslaagte and Ladysmith, which was besieged for 118 days by the boers. Here we can visit the small Siege Museum. On Christmas Day, the Boers fired a carrier shell without a fuse into the town containing a Christmas pudding, two Union Flags and the message "Compliments of the Season". This shell is still kept in the museum.

We continue to Spion Kop, where one of the bloodiest battles took place in efforts to relieve Ladysmith. Visit the mass graves atop Spion Kop hill and see for yourself how poor military decisions affected the outcome of this battle. Incredibly three future world leaders were in the area at the time this battle took place - Winston Churchill as a young newspaper correspondent, the future Mahatma Gandhi as a stretcher bearer, and Louis Botha as the Boer general who would go on to become the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa.

Continue to the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains. Known locally as the "Barrier of Spears", this mountain range is the backbone of Southern Africa and runs all the way down from the Great Rift Valley. Check into your mountain resort in this area of unspoilt natural beauty.

Recommended Reading:
Boer War – Thomas Pakenham
Day 9 : Drakensberg Mountains

At leisure to relax in the Drakensberg Mountains and enjoy the facilities of your resort, with superlative scenery and fresh mountain air making it ideal for walking holidays at any level of fitness. Your hotel will organise guided walks each day – typically one short walk and one long walk, or a walk to a Bushman painting.

The mountains also offer an outstanding location for bird watching – particularly raptors, but also sunbirds, waxbills and the numerous other species found in the grasslands, riverine scrub and natural forests.

Your hotel has a swimming pool and offers many activities in or near the resort including golf, horse riding in the mountains, fly fishing for trout, tennis, lawn bowls, badminton, mountain biking, table tennis, darts and pool.
Day 10 : Natal Midlands

Enjoy the beauty of the Natal Midlands on your 3-hours transfer to your beach hotel on the Durban North Coast, renowned for its wonderful beaches and reliably warm holiday weather all year round.

Travel to the harbour city of Durban and continue along the North Coast. Check into your hotel and relax in lush sub-tropical surroundings on the shores of the warm Indian Ocean.
Day 11 : Durban

Today we recommend an optional tour of the highlights of Durban.

We start with a visit to uShaka Marine World, situated in the old harbour area that is being extensively re-developed. You will have the opportunity of viewing large indigenous sharks of the Indian Ocean and a wide variety of other marine animals - including turtles, dolphins, seals and penguins. Here there are snorkelling ponds with over 5,000 fish.

In the afternoon we drive along Durban beachfront, with its colourful markets, to Moses Mabhida Stadium which was built for the 2010 World Cup. This stadium has a cable car (40 stories high), which offers wonderful views of Durban and its coastline.

Our day finishes with a visit to the Sharks Board in Umhlanga, for an audio-visual presentation and shark disection (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday only).
Day 12 : Durban North Coast

At leisure to relax on the warm golden beaches of the Durban North Coast.

Many optional activities are available such as a marine cruise to search for dolphins, turtles, sharks, whales (in season) and other fascinating sea life. Championship golf, horse riding and deep sea game fishing are also available.
Day 13 : Departure

Transfer to Durban 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	$ 4037 / Adult

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

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Package Start From

Durban, 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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