We meet at the airport at 12.30pm for our Emirates flight that leaves Malta at 3.35pm and arrives in Dubai at 1.05am. We then board our flight to South Africa departing at 4.05am and arriving in Johannesburg at 10.15am. Transfer to our hotel in Dullstoom & check-in at Walkersons Hotel & Spa (or similar). Welcome dinner included.

Breakfast, check-out and then we make our way to Hazyview, visiting the magnificent Three Rondavels, Bourke’s Luck Potholes (included) and God’s window on the way. This is referred to as the Panorama Route. Our overnight stay in Hazyview is at Hippo Hollow Country Estate (or similar). Dinner - included.

Early wake-up call. We depart at about 5.30am for the Kruger National Park in search of the Big 5. Our safari in open 4x4 vehicle safari-vehicles will start officially at 6.00am and end at about 13.00pm at Malelane Gate where our coach & driver welcome you. (Today packed breakfast will be provided). The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa, remaining white rhinos, together with other animals such as buffalo, elephants, black rhinos, leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs & giraffes and one of the few viable lion populations in southern Africa. Overnight at Piggs Peak Hotel (or similar). Dinner – included. Piggs Peak is a town in northwestern Eswatini. It was founded around gold prospecting in 1884, but its main industry is now forestry.

Breakfast and we check out. We continue our journey through the Royal Kingdom of Eswatini to the Ngwenya Glass Works. Our next stop is at the Swazi Candle Factory with colourful handmade products. We can enjoy a quick lunch here (extra) and then continue our journey and cross over the second border at Golela and travel to Mkuze, a small town situated in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. Overnight at Ghost Mountain Inn (or similar). Dinner – included.

Early check-out with breakfast boxes to meet our rangers in 4x4 safari vehicles this morning at Memorial Gate for a 4–4.5 hour game drive. Enjoy the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, proclaimed as the oldest reserve in Africa. 96,000 hectares of wilderness, rolling hills and magnificent wildlife awaits you. Onward journey to St Lucia, primarily known as a fishing destination before the establishment of the Isimangaliso Wetland World Heritage site in 1999. St Lucia is a paradise for nature lovers. Overnight stay at Elephant Lake Hotel (or similar) in St Lucia.

After breakfast, you will free time for optional excursions. Possible boat trip for whale watching. Lunch opportunity in the town of St Lucia or at the Hotel. Later in the afternoon, we proceed to St Lucia Estuary, also South Africa’s first world heritage site, where we will embark on a 2-hour hippo and croc cruise safari. The Estuary is home to 800 Hippos and approximately 1200 Nile Crocodiles and abundance of bird-life. Dinner – included.

Today, we have breakfast, check out and we are transferred to King Shaka Int Airport, Durban, for our domestic flight. We drive along the Dolphin Coast of KwaZulu-Natal for the Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha). Our overnight will be at The Boardwalk Hotel (or similar). Dinner – included.

After breakfast we will check out. We travel via the coastline to the beautiful Tsitsikamma National Park ‘garden of the Garden Route’. One can enjoy a walk along the suspension bridge across the Storms River mouth gorge which offers incredible views. If time permits, we stop at Birds of Eden along the way (extra). Upon arrival at Knysna, we proceed to our hotel – Knysna Hollow Country Estate (or similar). Dinner – included.

Breakfast and transfer to Knysna Waterfront where we will board a ferry in order to visit Featherbed Nature Reserve, situated on the Western Head of Knysna, for a 3-hour eco-experience. Return ferry trip - 4x4 vehicle & trailer drive - Reserve Walk followed by lunch (included) under the milkwood trees on this small Island. This afternoon option to enjoy an optional whale watching boat cruise (weather permitting) if not successful in St. Lucia. Leisure time for shopping or to enjoy a walk on the beach or simply to relax at the hotel. Dinner (extra).

We enjoy breakfast and later we make our way to Oudtshoorn – the ‘ostrich capital’ of the world. Oudtshoorn is a small town situated with the Swarberg mountains to its north and the Quteniqua Mountains to its south. We stop at an ostrich show farm in the Schoeman’s Valley for a guided tour where we will learn about different kinds of ostriches and have the possibility to buy some ostrich products. Time permitting, we will also visit to the Cango Caves, a cultural and natural heritage of South Africa, for a standard one-hour tour. Dinner – included. Overnight stay in Oudtshoorn at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge (or similar).

Opportunity before breakfast for an optional excursion to enjoy a 1-1.5-hour meerkat experience at Buffelsdrift. Check out and transfer to Franschhoek situated in the Winelands via Barrydale, on a scenic Route, referred to as 62. Barrydale is a village located on the border of the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions of the Western Cape Province. Upon arrival in Franschhoek, we check in at Protea Hotel by Marriott Franschhoek (or similar). Dinner – included.

Breakfast and check-out. Today we will explore the Winelands. Our first stop chocolate tasting at Hugenote Chocolate Factory Shop in Franschhoek. We will then proceed to Tokara Wine Estate for olive tasting as well as their flagship wine tasting. Opportunity for own lunch and shopping in Stellenbosch with all its street cafés, antique shops, art galleries and much more. Transfer to Cape Town for our last overnight at the V&A Waterfront. Dinner included at our Hotel, The Commodore (or similar).

After breakfast we transfer to Table mountain (weather permitting) where we have access (extra) to one of eight natural wonders of the world with a cable car. The panoramic views from the top of its 3,563-foot (1,086-meter) peak are well worth the visit (extra). We will then travel to the Silvermist Organic Farm in Constantia where you will enjoy an organic tea-tasting followed by a drumming Show and lunch (included). (This excursion is subject to availability and could be replaced with a lunch and drumming show at Gold Restaurant in Cape Town). Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens next on the itinerary. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is acclaimed as one of the great botanic gardens of the world. Few gardens can match the sheer grandeur of the setting of Kirstenbosch, against the eastern slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain.

After breakfast, we travel along the Atlantic Seaboard via Sea Point, Clifton and Camps Bay to Hout Bay (optional boat trip to Seal Island). We later continue via Chapman’s Peak (weather permitting) to Cape Point and the Good Hope Nature Reserve (funicular included) and then to historic Simon’s Town – a village with charming Victorian architecture, a naval base. We will stop at the beautiful Boulders Beach where we can enjoy watching a large colony of penguins wobbling along the beach and diving for fish. Today’s lunch is included.

On our last day in South Africa, we have a leisurely breakfast and check out. Transfer to Cape Town International Airport after lunch (extra) for our flight back to Malta that departs at 6.20pm to Dubai, this is followed by the flight from Dubai to Malta departing at 8.00am (5th September) and arriving at 2.05pm.