South Africa Lodge Safari

Arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, and once home to both Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. A city of stark contrasts and infamous history, Johannesburg is going through rapid change and urban regeneration. For those arriving on time today our Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 12pm for the welcome meeting and to take us on the afternoon Soweto tour. Soweto, originally an acronym for South Western Townships, played a prominent part in the fight against the former apartheid regime, notably the uprising of 1976; when mass protests erupted. We will take a tour of the area and meet residents to understand how life has changed since the end of apartheid. We will visit the Hector Pieterson Memorial, a museum that honours the vital role that the youth of South Africa played during the struggle. He was one of the first students to be killed during the uprising when he was just 13. We will also visit Nelson Mandela's former home (now a museum) which tells the story of Mandela and his family. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is just a short 10 minute drive from our hotel. Please note that if you wish to join the Soweto tour today, you must arrive at the hotel by 12pm. If you are booking your own flights, we recommend giving yourself at least 90 minutes to clear the airport. From the airport to the hotel is around 10 minutes' drive, so therefore the latest your flight can arrive is 10.30am. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up. Please note: A majority of flights will land into Johannesburg in the early morning and it's often too early to be able to check straight in to your room. However, early arrivals will have access to tea and coffee, toilets and the hotel lounge.

After breakfast we'll depart Johannesburg, travelling east towards Kruger National Park. The journey will take us through Mpumalanga affectionately named as the 'Place of the rising sun' and home to some of the country's most awe-inspiring scenery. This region's landscape has many rivers, waterfalls, dramatic escarpments and colourful birdlife, and along the way we'll stop at several excellent viewpoints, including beauty spot 'God's Window' to admire the vast views over Blyde River Canyon. Graskop is perfectly positioned between the Panoramic Route and Kruger National Park ready for tomorrow's safari adventure. The journey from Johannesburg to Graskop is around five hours, with a stop for lunch and some time to take in the scenery at chosen viewpoints, we will arrive at our accommodation mid-late afternoon.

We'll have an early start this morning to make the most of our day on safari inside Kruger National Park. Kruger is one of the best game viewing areas in Southern Africa and as well as attracting many wildlife lovers, the park remains committed to it's original purpose; animal conservation. We'll be using the national park's open-sided game vehicles to maximise the viewing opportunity to 360 degrees, and the exact timings and routes of today's game-drive will depend on the wildlife! Expert rangers will track the animals and endeavour to provide us with once-in-a-lifetime encounters. During this exhilarating safari we hope to see buffalo, lion, cheetah, giraffe, elephant and zebra plus many more species. For lunch we'll make a stop at one of Kruger's restaurants or picnic stops before continuing on our safari this afternoon. Tonight we'll be located inside the national park at one of the rest camps. The rooms and communal facilities are simple but do offer a great opportunity to spend a night in this wild setting, listening to the sounds of nature while our leader cooks up a traditional brai (barbequeue) that will wrap up a very adventurous day.