11 Day African Safari & Culture Tour

Guests are met and welcomed at a location of their choice in Johannesburg by their private African Sky guide. After taking care of a few formalities, your tour departs the city and travels north along South Africa's national N1 route. En route, the first stop of your tour will be at Makapansgat near Mokopane (previously Potgietersrus), an archaeological location within the Makapansgat and Zwartkrans valleys. These valleys are important paleontological sites, with the local limeworks containing Australopithecus-bearing deposits dating back to between 3 and 2.6 million years. The entire Makapan Valley is declared a South African Heritage Site.

Later, we'll continue north to Mapungubwe in the Limpopo Valley, with an en-route stop for lunch included. The remainder of your day may be spent at leisure.

Today, you'll enjoy various activities in the region. The Mapungubwe National Park landscape is an open, expansive savanna at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers. Mapungubwe developed into the largest kingdom in the subcontinent before it was abandoned in the 14th century. What survives are the almost untouched remains of the palace sites, the entire settlement area dependent upon them, and two earlier capital sites, together presenting a fascinating picture of the development of social and political structures over some four hundred years.

After Mapungubwe's decline, it is believed that the people moved northwards and established Great Zimbabwe in the present-day district of Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo in Zimbabwe. When Great Zimbabwe was abandoned some three hundred years later, possibly due to a political breakdown, several groups moved south across the Limpopo River into the northeastern areas of South Africa. They established new, smaller chiefdoms, such as Thulamela, which we visit later on in your tour. Mopane Bush Lodge also offers guided excursions to various rock shelters within their reserve to view their existing rock art panels.

From Mapungubwe, your tour travels in a generally easterly direction, passing through the large tribal district of Thohoyandou before entering the northern Kruger National Park at Pafuri gate. After your guide completes a few formalities, we enter the park.

The park's northern region contains several archaeological sites, including Thulamela, a late Iron Age settlement forming part of what is now referred to as the Zimbabwe Culture (along with Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe). A guided visit to Thulamela is included before you enjoy your first afternoon game drive en route to your overnight accommodation at Punda Maria rest camp.

While in Kruger, you'll enjoy daily drives in various park regions. Once in the park, your private guide will communicate the finer details, such as departure times, length of drives, and the direction they'll take—as well as when and where meals are taken. Your guide will keep track of animal activity through sighting boards and use their extensive knowledge of the park to ensure maximum wildlife sightings.

In the north of Kruger, we find moderate to dense bush savanna, covering mountainous regions and vast open plains, with stands of fever trees along river courses lined with massive specimens of leadwood and African ebony (jackalberry). The baobab, the largest tree in Africa outside tropical forests, dots the northern Kruger landscape. Here, animals such as nyala are common. Along river courses like the Luvuvhu, spotting Pel's fishing owl – considered a specialty sighting by birders - is always possible.

After breakfast, you'll enjoy your last game drive as you exit the Kruger National Park and head south to Hoedspruit. After passing the town, we'll visit the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center, where you'll enjoy a guided tour of the facility. The center is also home to African wild cats, ground hornbills, bald ibises, and African wild dogs (captured as 'problem animals' by conservation authorities).

After your tour of the HESC and lunch, we'll also visit the Moholoholo Animal Rehab Centre. Injured or ill animals are brought here and, once healthy, reintroduced into their natural environments. Those not fortunate enough to recover fully are cared for by the center and are used to educate visitors to Moholoholo. Their honey badger, Stoffel, is something of a celebrity. After visiting Moholoholo, you'll retire to your nearby accommodations for the evening.

After breakfast, your tour travels west and ascends the commanding Drakensberg Mountains. We'll first stop at the 'Three Rondavels' overlooking the Blyderivierpoort Dam. The Rondavels - or 'roundhouses' - are so named as they remind one of a group of traditional round African huts with thatched roofs. After enjoying the spectacular view, we'll continue along the Blyde River Canyon escarpment and visit God's Window, where we'll take a short walk to the mountaintop to appreciate the view. Later, we'll descend the mountain again and go to Hazyview for the highlight of your day's activities. At Elephant Whispers, just outside Hazyview, you'll enjoy their Ultimate Elephant Experience, starting at 12H00 sharp.

Your activity at Elephant Whispers includes an elephant walk, a delicious picnic, and a South African sparkling wine. Later, you'll sit nearby watching the elephants enjoy a water and mud bath. The activity will last approximately two hours, after which you'll travel to your overnight accommodations for the evening.

Traveling south and passing Mpumalanga's largest city, Nelspruit, we'll turn due east for a distance along the national N4 route before heading south again toward Jeppe's Reef. Located at the border with South Africa and the tiny kingdom of Eswatini – the last absolute monarchy in Africa - we visit Matsamo Cultural Village, established as a community effort to showcase Swazi customs, tradition, and language. Participants from surrounding villages, all part of the Shongwe clan, offer visitors the opportunity to experience a touch of their ancestry, first by enjoying a guided tour of the working village and later ending with a truly impressive traditional dancing display as their drums echo throughout the valley.

After clearing customs and immigration, your tour traverses the scenic Komati River pass, stopping at the country's main water catchment supply, the Maguga Dam, before reaching Mbabane and your overnight accommodations. Reilly's Rock is set in a renovated colonial house built on a 'koppie' in the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, where sweeping views of the Ezulwini Valley may be enjoyed. The lodge grounds are a haven to several tiny antelope, including suni and blue duiker.

Today, we enjoy various cultural pursuits. First on the agenda is a visit to the King Sobhuza Memorial Park in Lobamba. The memorial was established as a tribute to the late King Sobhuza II, who led Eswatini to independence in 1968. Later, we'll visit the Mantenga Cultural Village and Nature Reserve. Our visit includes a guided tour of the reserve's cultural village with authentic beehive huts, a cultural and dancing display, and a visit to Mantenga Falls. You might also see the Southern Bald Ibis at Mantenga, an endangered bird of the region.

A mid-afternoon stop is made at a popular local candle factory. Here, you'll see many unusual candles of all shapes, sizes, and scents and those who manufacture them. Alternatively, consider taking the two-hour hike from Mbabane to Silebe Rock, the largest granite rock in the world, from where excellent views over the mountains are possible. Later, a visit may be made to a local curio market before returning to your accommodations for the evening.

After breakfast, your tour heads off in a westerly direction toward Johannesburg. Before exiting Eswatini, we'll make a stop at Ngwenya Glass. Set in a beautiful garden, this local glass factory has made glassware in all shapes and forms from recycled glass since 1987. Their products include glasses, African animals, bowls and decanters, jugs and paperweights, and other glass products.

After exiting Eswatini at Oshoek, your tour continues to Badplaas and Machadodorp, where you'll join the national N4 route to Johannesburg, ending a comprehensive cultural safari tour of northern South Africa.